NYPD Blue Love Triangle?

Charlotte Ross is as anxious as anyone to find out with whom she's going to be paired romantically on NYPD Blue. The two-time Emmy nominee — who joined the force March 6 playing tough gal Det. Connie McDowell — has pretty much narrowed it down to two finalists: Rick Schroder or new lieutenant Esai Morales.

"My guess would be that it's either going to be Rick or Esai," Ross tells TV Guide Online. "But at first, I was wondering if they were going to make me a lesbian."

Such a development would come as a crushing blow to Blue's male recruits, many of whom are single and, as Ross jokingly points out, in hot pursuit. "I don't think they've brought in a new female in a while because [co-star] Henry Simmons said to me, 'Did they bring you in for me?' I'm like, 'I don't know, but I think I'm having an interoffice relationship.' And he goes, 'Did they say interracial?'"

Original castmember Gordon Clapp was also hoping Ross would come to the aid of his unlucky-in-love alter ego. "Gordon says, 'Well, I think they should play something about the fact that you remind me of [former flame] Gail O'Grady,'" Ross recalls with a laugh. "And I said, 'I don't know, they're not really telling me.'"

Personally, Ross — who spent two years chewing scenery on Showtime's showbiz satire Beggars and Choosers — is taking a liking to Morales, who in last night's episode replaced James McDaniel as the precinct's top dog. "He has this natural charisma, along with being very subtle, and obviously a very strong actor... I really like him," she says. "I think he's going to be great in the role."