Question: Do you have scoop on any new characters coming to The O.C.?
Answer: Jeff Hephner (Fox's The Jury) has been cast as Sandy's new business partner. He first airs Nov. 10. That's all I got.
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Last Tuesday night, TV viewers rendered their verdict on Fox's The Jury: Guilty — of a lukewarm series debut. Only 4 million tuned in to the courtroom drama's two-hour premiere, which lagged behind the NBA finals on ABC, Last Comic Standing on NBC and WB's Summerland. For producers Barry Levinson and Tom Fontana — the men behind HBO's Oz and NBC's Homicide: Life on the Street — that had to hurt.
"We didn't expect to start out extremely well," Levinson tells TV Guide Online. "I don't think anybody thought that. The only unknown was the fact that the NBA finals ran smack into us. That's not something you can anticipate in advance. We're gonna have them [this] week, too! It impacted on us."
It also doesn't help that Jury lacks recognizable stars who might draw viewers to tune in. Levinson, who plays a judge, is the cast's biggest name! "Then we're in trouble," he laughs, adding, "We went
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Yeah, yeah, he's starred in series like Gideon's Crossing, Hack and scores of teleplays and feature films. He even appears in TNT's remake of Stephen King's Salem's Lot later this month. But to us, Andre Braugher will always be the ultracool, cagey Det. Frank Pembleton from NBC's late, great Homicide: Life on the Street. He recently reunited with his old Homicide honchos — producers Tom Fontana and Barry Levinson — on their newest crime drama, The Jury (debuting tonight at 9 pm/ET on Fox).
"It's a very interesting Rashamon kind of idea. The jury's invited to recreate the crimes for themselves in order to come to verdict," Braugher, 41, tells TV Guide Online. "Barry Levinson plays the judge in the first eight episodes, and I'm the judge in the last two episodes of the season."
As an actor, Braugher conveys an intellect and gravitas that'll no doubt make him a convincing (and in
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