Boreanaz on Buffy and Angel's Big Split

At the WB's fall schedule presentation to advertisers last week, Angel hunk David Boreanaz practically woke the dead when he stumbled onstage and uttered: "This isn't the UPN." The crack — a not-so subtle reference to the Smackdown network's acquisition of Buffy the Vampire Slayer — made WB execs' blood boil, and intensified speculation that Boreanaz wanted Angel to join its sister show across the dial.

But in an interview with TV Guide Online, the actor insists that he "really didn't have a preference" either way. "If Angel ended up on UPN, I would still have gone into work and done my thing. And if it stayed on the WB, I'd do the same thing. That's what I get paid to do. I am not in a position to decide what network we should be on."

Of course, Boreanaz concedes that having Buffy and Angel on rival channels will make crossovers "difficult" — but not impossible. "If the storyline calls for a major crossover, then we'll cross that bridge when we come to it," he says. "But I think that the distance between the two shows will enhance the storylines. I think that the writers will be even more creative than they are now."

With Season Two of Angel concluding tonight, Boreanaz reveals that year three will feature an expanded cast (Amy Acker comes on board full time as Fred, Cordelia's friend from the netherworld) and a less hellish title character. "Angel is going to be a little bit more of an action hero, rather than a slumping depressed person," he previews. "He's going to break out of that, and I think his humor will also come out more and more."

That said, even a sunnier, funnier Angel will stand in stark contrast to 7th Heaven's innocuous Camden clan. "But sometimes an illogical match-up is good," Boreanaz says of the WB's decision to shift Angel to Monday nights in the fall following the family-friendly drama. "I am really happy about the Monday night timeslot. Tuesdays were very good for us, but at the same time, Monday is even better. It's the start of a good week."