I was intrigued to hear that ...

• Jul 30, 2007 04:00 AM ET
• by Matt Roush

Question: I was intrigued to hear that the creative team behind Dead Like Me is producing the new Pushing Daisies. And since Tony Award-winning actress Kristin Chenoweth is in the cast, I can't be more excited for this show. I find her to be one of the most underrated talents in television and film. Producers are now choosing their actors from the Broadway community (i.e., Sara Ramirez) more than ever. Considering Chenoweth's career as a popular character actress in film and television (remember her show Kristin?), it will be interesting to see how her persona comes through and is challenged by this character.
Answer: As I've been telling everyone, and as I reported again in the last days of the TCA press tour, Pushing Daisies is easily my favorite pilot of the new fall crop. Besides Chenoweth, the cast also includes stage vets Swoozie Kurtz, Ellen Greene and, as the romantic leads, theater-trained Lee Pace (who was also seen in Bryan Fuller's Wonderfalls) and Anna Friel (Broadway's Closer). Chenoweth, who might actually wish you'd forget the misbegotten Kristin (she was much better than the material in that one), is delightful in this in what for now is very much a supporting part — but everything about the show is touched with magic.