After 18 months of strike-ridden delay, RESCUE ME, FX’s smart and funny series following a ragtag team of New York firefighters, is finally back after a doozy of a fourth season – one that I feared may have spelled the end for Tommy Gavin (Denis Leary, who just might have the most multi-facetious sneer on television) and the men of 62 Truck. But as they say: time can heal even the deepest wounds.

Focus has been diverted away from the eternally melodramatic Gavin family and back to the firehouse, where a French journalist (Karina Lombard of THE 4400) is interviewing the team for her book about the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11, thereby bringing RESCUE ME’s emotional core back to the foreground, hearkening back to where the show started creatively: ripping open old wounds of tragedy while juxtaposing those moments with those of inspired humor. RESCUE ME is once again the show that can make you laugh, cry, and twist your stomach into knots all at the same time.

And what a relief it is to see the cast again – Lou! Mike! Crazy Sheila! — as if they were old friends, having never left: Tommy is continuing to dance along the line of sobriety and alcoholism as he deals with another one of his ex-wife Janet’s (the stunning Andrea Roth) boyfriends, this one a loudmouth who’s particularly good in the sack, played by Michael J. Fox with a winning sense of glee.

The supporting cast – one of the best on television – has extended their debauchery to a bar Mike (Michael Lombardi) invests in with his mother’s inheritance money along with Sean (Steven Pasquale) and Franco (Daniel Sunjata). They open it to attract women, but go about it the wrong way: mainly, they attempt to stylize the place by painting everything – everything – black.

But what threads this team together is the shared experience of running into the the Twin Towers confused, scared, and determined to save everyone they could. They all have their own quiet, personal moments: Callie Thorne’s Sheila has always been an off-the-wall loony, but this season she has one of the most poignant moments of the show; Franco is the black sheep, speaking out against the attacks as an inside job; one character develops cancer from helping clean up Ground Zero.

What has always been a potential problem for RESCUE ME has been that it can edge towards the threshold of exploiting tragedy for entertainment – but Leary along with fellow exec producer Peter Tolan have always proven themselves to have a handle on when to explore and when to venerate: seven of the first nine episodes are written by them, with both delicacy and a sharp-tongue.

In a cable oddity, RESCUE ME was picked up for 22 episodes this season (to air uninterrupted starting tonight) in addition to 18 more next season, to air in 2010. Catch it while it’s hot.

RESCUE ME returns tonight at 10 p.m. est on FX

Photo Credit: Craig Blankenhorn / FX

Hey gang, did you miss me? It’s been a long time since I’ve done the Tuesday column thing and for that I absolutely apologize and promise we’re all back on track! This week, I want to spend some time with you all, with the hopes that by the end of the next few paragraphs or so, you’re as pumped about Season 3 of 30 DAYS as I am.

First things first, I think Morgan Spurlock is a genius. He isn’t preachy. He doesn’t force you to care, but somehow, after spending an hour with him or one of his weekly participants, you start thinking about changing things in your life. What he tries to do is show another side of things, the part of life you wouldn’t normally get to see and it’s some of the best television I’ve ever watched.

I was lucky enough to view all 6 episodes of the new season, starting June 3 at 10PM on FX, and, to be honest, my only complaint is that I wish there was more. Everything we love about seasons past is there – the raw emotion, the intriguing stories. This season, I feel like Morgan and Co. stepped it up a notch.

The first episode of the season deals with Morgan living with a coal mining family in his home state of West Virginia. I learned so much more about the lifestyle than I ever thought I would be interested in learning. Did you know that you can make over $100K a year by running a coal mine? I didn’t, and now I want to move down to WV and see what I can help with! I found myself caring about the families, especially Dale and Sandy, who Morgan bunked with for 30 DAYS. I worried about Morgan’s wife, and what would happen if these 30 DAYS were going to be his last because of a mine collapse. I was intrigued by the financial aspect of coal mining that Morgan got from the suits involved in the trade. So much great stuff in one hour, by the end, I found myself moved to tears.

Episode 2 continues the trend, with a great story of former Broncos Cornerback Ray Crockett living his 30 DAYS in a wheelchair. It was really great to see how he was visibly affected by what he was going through. His family was incredibly supportive, and it looks like he made some great friends along the way. Cut to me, once again at the end, in tears. I just like when people learn a lesson or realize something without being force fed the way to do it.

I want you guys to tune in and pay attention to the show for yourself, but here is a sneak peek into the rest of the season:

Morgan himself has said that he thinks Episode 3 (“Animal Rights,” the episode where hunter George Snedeker finds himself living with a vegan campaign coordinator for PETA in LA) is “maybe the best hour of television [he has] ever seen in [his] life.” That’s a rather glowing review from the creator, but he’s not really exaggerating. The episode ranks extremely high on my list of favorite hours of TV, too.

Episode 4 deals with a hot issue right now, the argument for and the argument against “Same Sex Parenting.” Whereas Episode 3 is outwardly the “best hour of television” of the season, Episode 4 packs a punch. Kati lives with Dan and Thomas and their four adopted sons in Michigan. It’s a difficult story to tell, because there are people on both sides of this argument, but I think anyone with a thought on the matter could appreciate this episode.

“Gun Nation” features a woman steadfastly against guns learning to shoot after getting her gun license. It could have been just another episode detailing the gun/no gun argument, but, of course, it goes in a great direction that’s so much deeper than that.

Morgan is back in the season finale, living his 30 DAYS on an Indian Reservation – and it’s another hit. He’s a naturally funny guy, and it’s so intriguing to see him out of his element. I don’t know if could do what he does and be so gracious and understanding about it all.

It sounds like I’m just blowing smoke, but I honestly love this show and hope you’re all excited to watch Morgan and Co. help us see the other side of the coin. Let us know what you think after you’ve tuned in!

FX continues to crank out the good shows as they get set to roll out seven new episodes of THE RICHES, starting with the Season 2 premiere, Tuesday, March 18.

If you didn’t watch Season 1 or need more enticement to watch Season 2, here are some reasons to tune into the premiere:

Eddie Izzard – the man of the house, Wayne Malloy (Doug Rich). He is ridiculously intelligent, terribly loyal, and constantly trying to get out of a bad situation that only gets worse as it goes. He is funny, yet painfully good at playing a father saddened by the need to fix things for his family. And he can give a monologue that makes you want to rise up with fists.

Minnie Driver – the matriarch, Dahlia Malloy (Cherien Rich). I was not convinced she had it in her until I started watching this show. She is powerful, and devastating and inspiring, all rolled into one. Watching the now-clean Dahlia try to keep her family together is really interesting. In Season 1, it was all about the family staying together once Mama got out of jail. In Season 2, it’s about getting the family back together after everything that they went through.

The kids – Cael, Di Di, and Sam (Noel Fisher, Shannon Marie Woodward, and Aidan Mitchell) are really great in their own ways. Cael is rebellious and thrilled to be back on the road, living the traveler life he feels meant to live. Di Di is pretty much the exact opposite, angry to leave the Buffer life she started to love. And then there’s little Sam, confused about just about everything in life.

Singalongs and drunken “Hunsbergers” – Janis Joplin as done by the Malloys (without Wayne but with some friends) is really worth watching the premiere, even if it’s only for a minute. Also making the premiere worth watching is Logan’s pop from GILMORE GIRLS (Gregg Henry) who is so good as “Doug’s” boss. He shows up at the Rich household and causes more problems for Wayne (as if that could be possible).

They need viewers – THE RICHES is too good to be getting the low ratings it has been getting. I thought that Season 1 got better and better with each episode, and the storylines, acting, etc, are often times brilliant. Season 2 is no different, and they just keep stepping it up!

Do yourself a favor and tune in. This season is darker in tone, but still filled with the idea that no matter where you are or what you’re doing, family is what matters above everything else.

Since FX was kind enough to send me the first two episodes of the second season of DIRT, I have to say that I’m pretty excited / interested in what they’re doing this year. Here are four reasons to check out Season 2 of DIRT, premiering tonight at 10PM on FX.

1. Courteney Cox is really great as magazine editor Lucy Spiller. We’re used to seeing her as a loveable “Friend” or as a cutthroat news reporter in the Scream movies. She is something else in the role of the editor who was stabbed at the end of season 1. She’s back with a bit of a vengeance, trying to make her magazine succeed. I’d be afraid to work with her character, for sure.

2. I feel more invested in the relationships this season. The friendship of Lucy and Don Konky (Ian Hart) is really celebrated. He’s on his meds to treat schizophrenia, and she’s really there to help take care of him. Holt McLaren (Josh Stewart) still loves Lucy and you get the feeling in the first two episodes that there might be hope for them. And Lucy and Willa (Alexandra Breckenridge) have reached a détente, and they seem to work better this year.

3. Guest stars are pulled right from the pages of our favorite tabloid magazines. Tom Arnold is really great as a David Hasselhoff / Alec Baldwin clone. Elizabeth Harnois plays a socialite modeled after Paris Hilton. Kiersten Warren (Slater’s girlfriend from Saved by the Bell: The College Years) is featured as an Anna Nicole Smith type. I like her better as a super-beyotch, and not as the whiny girl we knew back in the College Years. Ashley Johnson (Growing Pains) is fabulous as a popstar who has a run in with Lucy. It’s very Britney Spears.

4. The storylines are self contained, so you don’t need to watch every episode if you don’t have the time. The stories are a bit lighter, and they are set more in the Dirt Now offices. We see more of the day to day magazine making business. The writers (and the cast, even) seem aware of what was wrong last season, and they have made a notable decision to change it up, and fix the problems.

Check it out on FX tonight, let us know what you think.

Recently I had the great opportunity to interview one of my personal favorites, Courteney Cox, star of DIRT [and that little show about six friends and a coffee shop]. In anticipation of DIRT’s second season, premiering this Sunday March 2 at 10PM on FX, Monica, umm… I mean Courteney was kind enough to spend a half an hour chatting it up with some of the sleazy and underhanded brilliant and good-looking reporters that DIRT so easily loves to dish about.

I was wondering, this season feels a little bit more ripped from the headlines, and we were just curious to know if that was something of a conscious choice, just following the past year of what’s gone on, or if it was just accidental?
Courtney Cox: No, it’s absolutely a choice. We thought that would be a good way to just start the season, and it is absolutely ripped from the headlines. We usually do a hybrid of celebrities and then add to the story like maybe what happened to cause this to happen to them or sum it up in a different way just for fun. But yes, it’s definitely relatable this year and I think it makes for just a more exciting television show.

Are there any other celebrities, because right now we have some story lines that are a little bit a la Nicole and Paris and David Hasselhoff, are there any other celebrities that we can expect to see something from? Any little tidbits you can give us on that?
Well, there is definitely going to be, in almost every episode you’ll see something that you will recognize, and that’s kind of hopefully the fun of it that you’ll be able to guess who this person we might be talking about, even though it’s not really about them. It could be about, like I said before, just a couple of people or a couple of situations. But yes, every episode there is that relatable kind of relatable story line.

Have any of the celebrities that have been touched upon contacted you guys?
No, I don’t think they’ve seen them yet. We air March 2 and we’ll see. I think there’s a fine line that the producers, even me as a producer, will take. We don’t ever intend to hurt anyone. And as a matter of fact sometimes we make the characters sympathetic just by showing our creative version of what their life must be like or how they got to the place where they did something outrageous. It’s all in fun. It’s much lighter this year and it’s funnier, and I don’t think anyone’s going to get upset. And if they do, that I guess, it wasn’t intentional.

I wanted to ask you, just kind of following up on that last question, how do you kind of keep the show grounded and not go too far and not make the characters too out there? It seems like a show where this must be something you have to think about of making it still relatable. Do you find that difficult as you go into season two?
Well you know you would think that that would be a problem, but really if you just look at any magazine or follow any celebrity that people are fascinated with, they seem to do the outrageous things on their own. We’ll come up with something that we think “okay, now what’s really shocking,” because we want to make good television. So obviously we want to shock people. But then, lo and behold, it ends up happening or something. Life is outrageous enough. I don’t think that we have to worry about making anything seem crazy, because through time if you look at all the tabloids from the last whatever many years it pretty much speaks for itself.

And do you find that true even for your character, that you don’t have to worry about keeping her grounded because just the world she’s in is out there?
Yes, I think that the world of magazines, and I think it’s so competitive that you do have to go to great lengths to get the exclusive story or the perfect picture. It’s just so competitive. So I think that that’s what great about this show and the subject matter, because there are no limits. You could go anywhere and it wouldn’t be—yes, last year we did some things, which I really loved, where Don Konkey, he cut off his finger to get a story, but that’s because he really was loyal to Lucy. He’s also a schizophrenic and wasn’t on medication. I want to be as kind of outrageous but within the realm of reality as possible, and so far it hasn’t proven to be something that’s hard to come up with.

And last year was great when you had Jennifer Aniston on, that was a lot of fun for people. I didn’t know if there are any other guest stars you’re planning on or you can tell us about or hopes you have to?
We have great guest stars this year. We don’t have any cast members of Friends, but we do have, Tom Arnold was on and Rosanna Arquette, my sister-in-law, and Vicki Lewis and Sharon Lawrence and Richard Karn, all just really great actors. And we have recurring role characters and new characters on the show that work in the office. I think it’s been a great season for just really good actors being on the show.

I want to go back on something you just said a few moments ago. You said this year’s going to be lighter and funnier. You seemed to have a great year last year, was there some feedback that made you say we do need to lighten it and funny it a little bit this year?
I think it’s just more making it relatable. Last year I thought was really interesting, and we had kind of the subject was about the Apocalypse and it was heavier. This year we just want it to be a little bit more of a broader appeal. I think the people who loved Dirt last year will hopefully love it this year, but there will be just more of an audience because the people who read US and In Touch and all those tabloid magazines I think will get a kick out of the show.

And can you just talk a little bit about doing the double duty of both starring and being exec producer. Can you wear both hats at the same time or do you have to at one point say okay, I’m now thinking as the star and now I’m thinking as the producer?
No, I would say I wear the hat all the time. But the only difference is because I’m an actor I probably have a lot more, I mean I have probably not more compassion, but I definitely am for the actor always. Just because I’ve been there and I understand, and trying to take care of their needs I think is really important to me. But no, this job was something that I love every hat that I wear and it’s been fantastic.

I love the character Ian Hart plays. I love your secondary characters that you’ve cast in the show. Don Konkey—
Yes, he’s wonderful.

I was wondering how you found him and the whole subject of schizophrenia your writers treat with humanity and humor, and it’s not pandered to. A lot of mental illnesses are treated in these extreme arcs. And I just wanted to know what was the story behind him and how you found him?
Well, how we found Ian was he came in to read, and Ian’s an amazing actor and he’s done tons of stuff, but he came into our office at Coquette, our production company, and read as well as all the rest of the cast that we hired, but he just was so unique and interesting. And what happened was, when we originally pitched the show to FX we had a very outrageous paparazzo, but he didn’t have schizophrenia. And when we hired Matthew Carnahan, who ended up writing and creating the show, he put that character trait to Don Konkey. It wasn’t there originally in the first pitch. And I just think it made it so great because you had sympathy for him, so he kind of got away and can get away with doing even more kind of strange things.

And Ian has such heart and walks such a fine line of making his character not seem—I mean just making him real. Actually, Ian knows a lot. He’s got a few—well, I don’t know if I can say this, but I guess he does—he’s got a couple family members that have schizophrenia or had schizophrenia and so he knows it really well. So he’s never overdoing it, and he’s just playing it as real as possible.

It’s very well done. I’ve noticed that your show that I’ve watched it, it sort of exposes the dividing line in the celebrity world from serious celebrities who are in it as a career versus the people who are in it for the party and the photo events. Do you feel that your show is paparazzi sort of like their say or their side exposing celebrities that kind of manipulate them for these photo opportunities and these outrageous situations or for a quick buck versus the serious actors who just want to work? I want to know your opinion if your show illuminates paparazzi in a kinder light?
Oh illuminates, okay in a kinder light. Well no, I don’t think we’re trying to show them in a more positive light. The only thing that you can say is how many there are and how competitive it is, but no, I don’t think anyone in our show really comes off smelling like a rose. And I think that we’re showing the humanity of everyone, but no one’s looking great, whether it’s Lucy who’s out to, you know she’s having more fun this year at getting the stories and she’s loving her job more. She may be a little lighter on her staff than she was last year, but she almost died and I think she just has a different outlook on life. But she still will go pretty far to get what she needs.

I guess I missed making my point. I think that to me just as an observer—no, it’s my fault. It seems like there are celebrities out there in the real world that are in it just for the celebrity … photo op and manipulate the paparazzi, and then there’s real serious actors, the majority of actors, who lead quiet lives and just want to work. I don’t know. It feels like your show, to me, when I watch it illuminates that reality, and I didn’t know if you felt strongly about that.
We are illuminating those people because that’s the stories that you read about. So in making a fun television show you want people to be able to relate and go “Oh my God, is that so and so? Oh wait a minute, but didn’t that happen to that girl?” And then we kind of are combining them and making just really for fun television. But yes, we are highlighting those people because they’re the ones that are in the headlines of these magazines. Did that answer it?

I’m just curious, what has been your favorite story line so far that you’ve filmed?
Okay, let me think about that, my favorite story line. We have this character on the show this year that will definitely resemble someone that’s in the press all the time, but she’s a recurring character. And I won’t say who she’s portraying, because you’ll be able to figure it out relatively early on, but what I like about it is it kind of shows a side to this person’s character like what could have happened or maybe there’s a different side to the story that we don’t know about. And we give another version and I think it’s been really interesting. Her name is Sharlee Cates [played by Ashley Johnson]. An amazing actor.

My question for you is, has your role as Lucy affected your views or your feelings at all towards the paparazzi or towards tabloids?
I would say that playing this character and working on this show has definitely shown me how hard it is and how competitive it is. It’s just really hard to run a successful magazine. I get that. And I’ve gotten just how many paparazzi there are out there and how hard it is to get the exclusive picture. So yes, I guess I’ve learned, it doesn’t mean that I agree with it all, and I definitely don’t agree with the obsession on certain celebrities. I understand the fascination, but when it gets obsessive I think it gets dangerous. So I haven’t changed my view, but definitely I’ve learned all sides of it, for sure.

I wanted to go back to something someone asked earlier about the sort of ripped from the headlines aspect. Do you ever worry that real life is almost stranger than fiction at this point?
Well, I think that there’s a fine line in deciding what is appropriate, what’s just good entertaining television, and what is exploitive and hurtful. But I feel like what’s been really interesting is that we come up with these story lines, and sometimes we think wow, no way this could happen, but man would it make for a good episode, and then you find out after you filmed it, you’ve written it, that something even more outrageous has happened, or they’ve done exactly what you thought they were going to do. When you sit in a writer’s review you go okay, what is the wildest thing that you could imagine this character doing? Sometimes it actually happens, because people are just really unpredictable. So it doesn’t scare me, but I definitely feel sometimes that people will see things on our show and say oh my God, they just took that right from what happened, and we actually may have filmed it before it even happened. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true.

One of my favorite things about Dirt is the relationship between Lucy and Don, and I was wondering if we are going to get more of that this season and how it’s going to evolve?
Well there definitely is more of it this season, and I think they’re kind of the core of the show, and that relationship is really important. And Don this year has taken, he’s on medication now so his schizophrenia has been toned way back and he’s much more in control, which makes him have to look at what he’s do for a living and how far he goes for Lucy. So they’ve kind of reversed roles a little bit. As opposed to her taking care of him, he’s taking care, did I say that right, yes, he’s taking care of her more. And so it’s an interesting change this year.

I just wanted to know, I’m also a big fan of your character Gail Weathers in the Scream series. And I wanted to know if there was any inspiration, because you were kind of a ruthless editor in that, or ruthless reporter, and now you’re a ruthless editor.
Well it’s an interesting parallel because Monica was a ruthless competitive, competitor or whatever, girl, but I guess I have that streak in my personality. Gail Weathers though, was really campy. I think we’re making a fun show, but I don’t think it’s campy, so that would be the big difference. In Scream 3 I did have the worst hairdo in the world, so other than that. I can’t believe it’s forever on film, brutal.

You touched on this a little bit earlier, but I just wanted to ask if you can talk a little bit more about how and if Lucy has changed this season after being stabbed, after almost dying. Does she come back with a different outlook or is she the same ruthless person we saw in season one?
She is ruthless, but she definitely has a different outlook on life. She doesn’t take it quite so seriously. I think she’s a little more appreciative of what she has and how great—I think she just likes her job more as opposed to needing to tell the truth for some personal reason. It’s more like hey, I’ve got a great job. This is fun. I want to be the best I can be at it. And I think that she’s a little more daring in certain ways, but for a better reason, just for a more fun outlook as opposed to for, like I said before, some personal vendetta against people.

What about playing the editor-in-chief of a tabloid magazine appealed to you?
Well, just playing a character that is strong, that is very ruthless, but with a heart. When I originally pitched this show to FX it didn’t even have a woman character in it. It was really about a Hollywood young actor who was willing to kind of sell his soul to a paparazzo to kind of keep up in the world of Hollywood; FX came up with the idea of making it centered around a female at a tabloid magazine. And it sounded so good the way John Landgraff pitched it back to us that I was like, wow, maybe I should be playing this character, and that’s how it kind of happened. I know this world, so I thought it would be a fun character to play, and it turned out it is.

Now I’m curious, you guys ended season one with that great cliffhanger, and I heard that you guys were only able to complete seven episodes this year because of the strike. And I’m wondering about the through line over the course of the season, does it just sort of drop off at the end or is there going to be another great cliffhanger? What’s going to be happening?
Well, we didn’t know that we were going to not finish, but the strike kind of changed all of that. So luckily, what works in our favor this year, which would have not have worked last year at all, is that each episode is self-contained, even though there may be a character that goes over a few episodes you can watch each one and feel like you’ve wrapped up a story. So luckily, episode seven, which is the one that we finished on, if you didn’t know it wasn’t, no one’s getting stabbed, but it’s still an exciting episode. I mean, do we have bigger plans? Sure, but does it work? Yes.

I wanted to see if you could touch on the new hires in the office and how they’re going to be changing the dynamic in the workplace?
Well, I think the whole show this year takes place, not solely, but much more, well maybe solely, in the offices of Dirt now and what it takes to run this magazine. So we have new cast members that are enriching that world. And I think that it’s great. It just kind of keeps it all within the office, and you’ll see love triangles and personal issues and stuff. We have a new character named Farber, and his name is Ryan Eggold, and he’s just a great actor and a great asset to the show. He’s got a little love thing going on with another character. I think it just makes for a much more enriched world within the walls of Dirt.

My question touches on relationships, and I like that you mentioned the Lucy and Don relationship and how great it is, and I’m a fan of Lucy and Holt as a romantic relationship. Do you think that they ever will have some kind of healthy relationship, and is Lucy able to have a healthy relationship?
That’s definitely something that we were going to explore, and we did. I like Holt and Lucy too. I think it’s really interesting. Two kind of lost souls trying to make it, and the way they come together. I think that’s kind of what we were going to explore and we started to. And we’ve continued to explore it in season three, if we get picked up. So she definitely has her fears and intimacy issues, as many of us do, but I don’t know, I like that you like that and I think we’re going to explore it more.

I was actually wondering if you were personally really affected by the paparazzi in your past life, and if this show’s a really good and fun retaliation like producing all the scripts, getting back at the paparazzi a little bit?
Well, you know it’s funny because I definitely have a lot of experience with the paparazzi, but I don’t feel like it’s really a retaliation. I feel like we’re just kind of—I’ve said this before, but I really mean it, I think that no one’s really a good guy in this. I think it really shows the dark side of magazines, it shows the dark side of paparazzi and it also shows, I think we humanize everyone too. So it kind of is, I think, a little bit of an accurate portrayal of these kinds of characters.

I’m near the tail end here so a lot of the stuff I was kind of thinking of asking has obviously been asked. But one thing I did want to pick your brain about was Kenny, and the kind of running gag of your assistants being kind of insecure, and obviously we know what happened to Kenny last season. I had the opportunity to watch the first episode for this season a little earlier today, and you have a new Kenny.
Yes. He’s great.

And you kind of have fun with him at the expense of his problems, and I‘m just kind of curious if we’re going to see some more humorous moments between you and him as the season progresses?
Absolutely. He is such a great character, and there is a condition like that where people get really nervous and need to self-soothe. But yes, I think he adds for a lot of comic relief and he continues to be throughout the whole season. He’s great, just a really great actor [Kevin Wheatley]

I read that in the season premiere that Holt’s fame is rising and Willa wants to take on a bigger role at the magazine. Can you elaborate on that a little bit?
This is for season two. What happens at the end is that I get stabbed, we open it up with me in the hospital, and at this point Holt is extremely famous. He’s kind of gotten all of his wishes come true except for he has a lot of baggage that came with it. And Willa, who was wanting to take over my job, she kind of has a revelation that maybe it’s harder than she thought. But she’s now not the young, new reporter, she’s much more savvy this year and she’s just become really smart. And Don Konkey is on medication, so there’s been a bunch of changes this year.

I watched the first two episodes, thankfully for the screeners and I think you guys fixed everything about the show that didn’t work for me last year in like the first 20 minutes. You made a lot of great changes. Absolutely. And some of them I won’t say, because I don’t want to ruin it for … The most important one is the kind of relocation, refocusing at the Dirt offices, which you’ve already mentioned. As the executive producer, what else is important for you to change when coming back for the second season?
I would say to make it more relatable so it wasn’t alienating. I think the fans that liked it last year, hopefully they will be like you and hopefully they will enjoy the changes that we’ve made. But I felt like last year it was dark and it was serious, and it was really interesting and I loved it. But I think this year it’ll be more of a fun show to watch, where you’re kind of guessing who are we talking about. And it’s stuff that people know about, and then we can give you a different perspective on it. We have new characters that I think add humor. It’s just an all over more fun, lighter tone, but hopefully still outrageous.

FX has renewed DAMAGES for not one, but two seasons. Which equals 26 episodes of suspense filled, head-scratching fun.

“FX is proud of our status as a leader in fostering bold, high-quality scripted programming,” said FX Networks President John Landgraf. “We commend [creators] Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler, Daniel Zelman and their magnificent cast, headed by Glenn Close, with pulling off this hugely ambitious series and establishing ‘Damages’ as one of the best dramas on American television.”

Season 2 of DAMAGES will begin filming early next year in New York with Glenn Close, Tate Donovan and Rose Byrne all signed on for the ride. Giving fans one more reason to hope this strike ends soon.

[Commence shameless sucking up]

… the world’s coolest cable netlet. The network famous for shepherding little watched, yet critically acclaimed dramas like DAMAGES and THE RICHES….

[End shameless sucking up]

… to renew DAMAGES for a second season.

That said, the season finale has left my head spinning with questions. And if I have any hope of getting to bed in order to wake up for my [shameless plug] 8AM TV Addict radio spot on Flow 93.5 in Toronto, I’m enlisting the help from YOU, my far smarter and better looking readers. So here they are, a few questions with regards to first season finale of DAMAGES.

1] Is Arthur Frobisher really dead? If BATTLESTAR GALACTICA’S William Adama and 24’s Tony Almeida can survive, we have a feeling Frobisher can.

2] What’s the deal with Patty’s deceased child? Does she have any connection to Frobisher? The accident in Arlington?

3] What was the unexplained mystery surrounding Patty’s son. Clearly he’s up to no good.

4] Why is Patty being investigated by the FBI?

5] Lastly, when will FX end the suspense and officially pick-up DAMAGES for a second season? Lord knows if DIRT received a second season, surely there’s room for Patty Hewes.

When Nip/Tuck premiered on FX 5 seasons ago, I was immediately hooked. In love with the totally over the top way it approached every subject. It’s crazy, sure, but I always found some way to relate. These characters, as much as they sometimes hate each other, love each other to the core, and prove that they would do anything for each other. And the story lines in the beginning? Sure, they were nuts, but at the end of the day they were truly fabulous and ground breaking.However, I almost feel like the show lost its way a bit over the past few seasons. There was The Carver storyline, the Scientology storyline, the Julia falls for the nanny storyline (okay, that one was pretty awesome because I love Peter Dinklage). It hasn’t been as grounded in truth as it was in the beginning.I’m thrilled beyond belief to let you all know that Season 5 is back on track.

The first two episodes had me laughing, rolling my eyes, loving every minute of what I was watching. I’m usually not a big fan of guest stars, but wow. Two episodes in and we’ve got the best of the best.

Lauren Hutton – she plays Fiona, Sean and Christian’s new super expensive Publicist.

Daphne Zuniga – she plays Carly Summers, an aging movie star, that Christian screws and screws over (go figure).

Bradley Cooper – if anyone plays over the top, it’s him. He plays Aidan Stone, star of the show-within-a-show Hearts and Scalpels. He does overacting like nobody’s business, and I mean that in the best way!

Paula Marshall – one of my favorites in the entire universe (you all remember Cupid, right?), she’s playing the antagonist, on screen and off, of Bradley’s character. She’s starting a little something with our boy Sean, and I love it! She’s a little crazy, too, and I love that as well!

Oliver Platt – he’s playing an extreme version of what I can only imagine is Ryan Murphy and Marc Cherry all rolled into one. It’s a really great role for him.Jennifer Collidge – She is one of my favorite Christopher Guest cast mates. She’s funny in anything, and this is no different. She takes a one-off role and turns it into something amazing.

Portia DiRossi – Does she need any introduction? The lady that was Lindsay Bluth Funke and is currently Ellen’s better half.

If guest stars aren’t your thing, there’s plenty of action with the main cast. Christian and Sean are at odds because for once in their life, McNamara is getting the action and Troy is pushed to the side. Sean has a great new job as the consultant to Hearts and Scalpels, while Christian is learning the hard way that he’s never going to be the new face in town.

Julia is back in town to surprise Sean and Christian with her new love. Not only is the fact that she’s got someone new a surprise. Who it is is much more surprising to our favorite surgeons. Portia’s not on the show for surgical reasons. She’s Julia’s new love interest and it blows everyone’s mind.Liz is still around and kicking, being the strong sassy woman she used to be, before the stolen kidney, the controlling Alanis Morrisette situation, and just about everything she’s dealt with over the past few seasons.

Still not doing it for you? Episode 1, we get Julian McMahon’s naked behind (as has become the norm). In episode two, we get almost the full monty as Christian decides it’s a good time to get down to his leopard print skivvies. And then? He takes them off and poses for a nude photo shoot. It’s FX, not Showtime or HBO, so we don’t see it all, but there’s not much left to the imagination.

Even if you haven’t ever watched the show before, the fact that these guys are starting over in a new city means that you’ve are starting the LA journey with them and shouldn’t have any trouble understanding them!

Do yourself a favor and tune in Tuesday night at 10 on FX for the premiere. I guarantee you’ll be entertained! In the coming weeks, look for John Hensley and Kelly Carlson (Matt and Kimber) to appear back on the scene. Oh, and John Schneider (Oh Papa Kent) appears as a porn kingpin, so that’s something crazy and fabulous to look forward to. Let us know what you think about the premiere! Feedback is welcome at mytakeontv@thetvaddict.com. Look for me on Twitter – twitter.com/mytakeontv. Find me on AIM as mytakeontv!

The season finale of DAMAGES airs tonight on FX and I have to tell you, I cannot wait. You know who else is excited about the finale, and this amazing show? The one and only Glenn Close, who, as the star of the show, blows me away on a weekly basis. We had the privilege of talking to Glenn as part of a conference call FX set up to gear up for what I hear is an amazing finale and she had such wonderful things to say. I could have stayed on the phone for hours!

Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule. I have so been enjoying Patty Hewes and your wonderful series on FX. I’m curious to know after the Frobisher case wraps and Ted Danson is essentially done, what actors are on your short list that you would like to invite on your series to play opposite with?

Glenn: I’m totally unprepared to answer that question, because we’ve just been so concentrated on finishing up. I have not given it any thought. There are tons of actors I would love to work with, but I’d be just randomly throwing names out at this time. I think what is exciting about Damages is that the writing is such high quality that it will attract, hopefully, a lot of really, really good top actors. That’s what makes it fun for all of us.

My question for you is, you had a very critically acclaimed turn with 13 episodes on The Shield. And I’m wondering what lured you back to TV, given your success as a feature and stage actor?

Well, when I finished The Shield, I loved working on FX a lot. I really had a lot of respect for Peter Liguori, who was the head of FX at the time and John Landgraf, who is the head right now. I like the way they take risks and they give really gifted writers a lot of creative leeway. So I kind of casually said to John, “If you ever can think of anything in New York, just let me know.” And lo and behold, I guess it was about a year later, I was told that these three guys wanted to pitch me an idea. It would be shot in New York, which was imperative for me, because I can’t go to California, because of my family.

So we sat down and talked about it and I said, “It sounds really intriguing; I’ll wait to read the pilot.” I read the pilot and I said, “Wow, this is really good.” So on the strength of that one script and the fact that I’d be working in my backyard close to my family, I said, “I think this has become a no-brainer.” I was teamed up with FX again and a really incredible cast and crew and writers.

We’ve been sort of parceled out pieces of Patty’s back story over the last few weeks. I’m wondering how much information you were given ahead of time about Patty’s character, how much you created in your own mind for her and how that shaped your portrayal of this character?

That for me was the trickiest exercise of all, because this is the first time I’ve played a character that didn’t have a beginning, middle and end. And when I have a character, I know where they start and where they end. Then you go nuts creating a back story, because it’s all potentially there. And even if the audience doesn’t have an idea of all your secrets, you’re allowed to have secrets. And I think it always informs behavior in a very crucial way. So it was very disconcerting for me in the beginning to not know a lot about Patty.

I had gone with the writers to meet Mary Jo White and her partner. Mary Jo was just an iconic lawyer who was the DA here and we got a lot of information out of her. I knew that I wanted to be a woman who was at the top of her game, who was highly intelligent and highly capable, really formidable, because you have to be if you’re the head of a firm. To get where she is in this profession, you have to be a thousand times better than any guy that you’re going to be standing next to. So that was important to me.

But as far as her back story, I had to kind of give it up, because I asked them if I could formulate my own back story and they kind of said not to, because they want to keep their options open. I might know a little bit more than you now, but not much. And I kind of think it’s one of the thrilling aspects. It has become the thrilling aspect of this collaboration, because you actually feel like you’re living a novel, you’re living something out. Like life, we don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. But I think as I get to know more and more about her, I will be able to deepen her, my portrayal of her.

Speaking of that, it’s been presented that she is essentially a very morally ambiguous character. And I’m wondering how you approach that as an actor. Do you feel that she is the hero in her own story? Is she evil or is she just willing to win no matter what the moral cost?

I have the belief that truly evil people, it’s a genetic evil. I only have the experience of exploring the landscape of some of the characters I’ve played that people have labeled as evil; I don’t think they’re evil. I think Cruella is evil, because she’s the devil. But all the other characters, I was able to find a common humanity with them somewhere, knowing where they’re most fragile, where they’re most vulnerable, knowing some of the things that happened to them that might have formed this kind of behavior. Because as an actor, I really feel you cannot judge a character. You have to totally commit to that character. And for me to totally commit to the character, I have to find those places where I understand the sequence of behavior.

So I do not think Patty — I don’t think she’s even a hero in her own mind. I think she’s very vulnerable, as far as her son is concerned. I think she realizes that she truly is not a great mother. I think she has regrets. I don’t think she’s a settled soul, and I don’t know if she ever would be a settled soul. I think she’s very conflicted, and I really like that about her.

How do you feel about the differences between filming movies and television shows? And kind of a follow-up to that, with TV shows getting bigger budgets and persuading great film actors such as yourself, do you think that the gap between the silver screen and the small screen is narrowing?

I think there’s something thrilling about going into a movie house and seeing everything on such a huge screen. I think we’re in a culture now that is confronted with various sizes of screens, the biggest movie houses and then the smallest iPods. So I think things are going to get closer and closer to each other, because the screens will force that to happen. I think there are a lot of movies that people will only see on their computers or their iPods.

As far as the difference for me between television and movies, I really thrill to the pace of television. As exhausting as it can be — there was actually one day when we never went to bed. I left the studio at 5:30 in the morning. It’s an incredible mind exercise. You have to, obviously, have stamina, but you really feel like you’re kind of feeding your mind. It’s a challenge of learning lines very fast and then you have to be lose enough to hopefully make good choices in a much shorter amount of time that it takes to film certain scenes.

But I love the rhythm of it. And when you’re with a great crew like we had, it becomes a thrilling, again, collaboration, which is to me one of the great aspects of the process that you go through. I find myself at this point in my career, getting potentially, incredibly bored if I stand around a lot, so that’s why I really like the pace of television.

I thoroughly enjoyed the show. I just wondered, of all the great characters that you’ve had the opportunity to portray, where does Patty Hewes rank on that? Could it be considered a favorite, or most unpredictable, or most challenging and why?

I think she’s remaining one of the most challenging for that very fact that I don’t know everything about her yet. So I find that as an actor to be very challenging. I’ve kind of gotten used to that. And I kind of cling to the knowledge, really, that most of us cover up 99.9% of what’s really going on all the time. I think human beings are masters at not showing what’s really going on in their head or in their heart and sometimes showing the opposite of what’s really going on.

So I think up until now, my behavior as Patty has been pretty valid. And I really look forward — I think it’s just going to get more and more emotionally complex for me and that’s a thrilling proposition.

You do a great job with this particular character role, and you’ve actually been an inspiration to many young women in the U.S. and all over the world, seeing you as a successful and strong woman and influencing them. What things actually inspire you or influence you to keep you going in the industry?

Wow. What has influenced me? Good work, I mean work that moves me, that I connect with, always inspires me, no matter where I see it, whether it’s some little tiny Off-Broadway thing or some actor that does some surprising thing. So I’m always inspired by my fellow actors. And that’s kind of a constant for me. I have huge respect for our profession and our craft. And I seek in my work to create connections, first for me with the character and then the character with the other actors, and then ultimately, all of us together connecting with the audience in a way that sometimes is subliminal, even. I think everybody wants to connect. There is nothing worse than feeling disconnected. And stories that really move people and make people care are the ones where they feel some sort of connection.

Now I’ve forgotten what your question was. Can you repeat it?

What inspires you or what influences you?

Well as I said, my fellow actors inspire me a lot and really good writing inspires me. And then trying to stick to the decision to only do something that I think will challenge me and that I, personally and very subjectively, I think is good not do something because I think it will bring me a lot of money or bring me a lot of awards. I’ve tried to very, very rigorously be highly subjective about what I do. And that’s something that I think I have basically lived by.

Every time I hear your name, I think Fatal Attraction. You were so wonderful in that film.

Thank you.

And Damages is even just as well. I’ve been reading that your father had a clinic in Africa and you have a distant relationship to Princess Diana. So I’m taking the question a little bit further, how has that impacted your life and your career choices?

Well, I don’t know if I’m distantly related to Princess Diana.

I read that somewhere.

I don’t know that. But my father and actually both my parents are very idealistic people. And they’ve actually lived their life to back up their belief that they’ve always wanted to give back. And so they spent a lot of years in Africa and then they went from Africa to the middle of nowhere in Wyoming, where he ran a little town clinic for over 25 years.

So they’ve been big examples for me. And I think a very good balance to some of the kind of crazy, crazy things that can bend people’s minds when they get into being considered a high profile person, a successful person in my profession. I’ve never cured anybody. I’ve never saved anybody’s life. So it has helped me keep a good perspective, and try to be objective about, first of all, what I’m trying to achieve and then if I’m doing it and keeping a cool eye on the whole picture.

This goes along with the earlier question about what you knew about Patty’s background. Did you know the outcome of the mystery or any of the specs of the mystery when you started the show, or where you just as in the dark as the rest of us?

I was totally in the dark with the rest of you. You mean the murder side of it, David’s murder and all that?

No, I just had read the pilot, and I took this job on the strength of the pilot and so that’s as much as I knew. And the writers, because they were just leaping off the cliff together, they wanted to keep as much of their options open as possible. So it’s been literally, each episode we learned more, and it’s been fun. It’s been fun for everybody.

I would like to follow-up on that last question a little bit. Since you weren’t given the full story, were you reading scripts like a fan of the show might be watching just to kind of find out what happens, in addition to seeing where your character goes?

Oh yes, totally. In the beginning before the schedule got kind of more crazy, we would have table reads with every script in the beginning of the week or try to do it at least a day before we started that next episode. People would laugh out loud or gasp or say, “Oh no,” because all of us were finding out at the same time what was happening. It was fun.

There was a little bit of that same element on The Shield, I must say. The writing was just phenomenal, and the table reads were some the favorite times that we all spent together, as we were finding out what they wanted us to do that week.

We’ve kind of seen Ellen go from doe-eyed lawyer to cutthroat negotiator. Do you think Patty sees herself in Ellen as a protégé or has she always been part of that manipulation of the end game? And with that, have you kind of helped Rose to kind of become what you’ve made Patty become?

Ruthless? I think over the course of these various episodes that Patty, whether she’ll fully admit it or not, develops a respect for Ellen’s talents and for who she is as a human being. I don’t think Patty considers herself a great mentor. I think she’s too competitive for that. And I think there are certain things about Ellen, her youth for one thing, that she has no tools to compete against.

I think she’s always kind of hovering between developing her or nurturing her and making sure she’s not going to invade her territory. So I think it makes a very kind of juicy relationship. But I think as they bond with some of the things that they do that only they know about, that there is something that’s starting to form in their relationship, where I think Patty does care about Ellen and doesn’t just see her, as she did in the beginning, as only a means to get to Katie Conner.

Your character Patty, I’m just wondering. You mentioned that you had spoken to this former DA and I’m wondering who else or what else you might be channeling or be inspired by in this character, because she is such a force. And maybe it’s not another performance or even a real person you’re basing it on. Maybe it’s something even outside of acting or another medium. Maybe you could elaborate on that, where you’re drawing from for this character.

I was very impressed by another top woman litigator in New York called Patricia Hines and sat down with her and learned some extraordinary things about, first of all, what it means to take on a huge case that might go on for five years. She herself reads over 10,000 documents, because she has a mind for documents. And when she gives her opening statement and her closing statement, it’s all extemporaneous, which I find mind-boggling. And I said, I want to be like that.

I also have read certain things written by women litigators and not overtly, but definitely there with all the women that I talked to, I also talked to Lorna Scoffield, who was Mary Jo White’s partner, there is always a gender issue. That it’s problematic to be a woman and go into a courtroom against very, very aggressive males, how they get power and how they maintain that power.

And Patty of all the characters I’ve played is probably the most like the Marquise de Merteuil in Dangerous Liaisons in that she is playing a man’s game in a man’s world. And she ultimately gets censured for it. What is going to happen to Patty, I don’t know. But she has decided to — I think there are times when she could be seductive. There are times when she’s feminine and there are times when she’s much more kind of aggressive. But she’s going for it, and I think there’s a certain anger in her, which I sensed in some of these women that what it took to get to where they are, some unpleasant things.

When the guys pitched me this story, they were being — they mentioned David Boise as an example, and I said he’s a brilliant lawyer, but a bad example, because he’s a guy. And once you have a character like this and make it a woman, everything changes. And that was one of the really fascinating aspects of this character that pulled me in was what does it mean to be in power, ahead of your game, the top of your game and be a woman?

My question was without knowing the outcome of the series, without knowing, I guess, where Patty would end up, whether she was really evil or manipulative or maybe just a little bit crazy or just highly motivated, how did you prepare for the role or how do you go into it week-to-week without knowing what the overall big story is?

Just play the moment, that’s the fun of it. You just play the moment. It’s great writing and very clever writing, I think it’s witty. And I have those great clothes. You have a great, witty, intelligent script and you look like a million dollars, because we have a great costumer, and it’s a pretty good place to begin.

This is going to be actually a very light, fair question, but I’m curious. In one episode, we got a rare glimpse into the personal life of Patty Hewes by seeing some of here TIVO programming. And I’m just curious about which television shows might be on your TIVO?

Oh my God, you would be appalled. We have cable and there’s a TIVO capability on the cable system, which we haven’t even sat down and set up, so we really are bad at it. We do not watch a lot of shows consistently for that reason. And so I’m hoping that we will reform and get everything set up soon. I think we probably would have — I mean I’m curious about some shows.

I also at the end of the day when both my husband and I have worked so hard, you want to go straight to like Jon Stewart. You want to go to funny things, funny smart things, so he certainly would be on the list. But I want to see the Holly Hunter show, and I’ve not seen Kyra Sedgwick’s show. I have a lot of catching up to do.

What would you say to someone who as yet hasn’t watched the first 12 episodes, but wants to get caught, because they heard everybody likes the shows. What would you say as the star of the show to someone to get them involved? Why should they watch it?

I think it’s very entertaining. I think it’s just really great storytelling, which how Landgraf got me to do The Shield in the first place. They believed in great storytelling in kind of the grayer areas of life. So it’s great storytelling, which is based on character, rather than plot. Though plot is highly important, but you don’t feel like characters are being sacrificed to plot, there is nothing formulaic about it. So somebody who wants to be challenged and intrigued, I think would be also highly entertained.

I just wanted to follow-up, kind of as this first season wraps up, what has been the best part of it for you, now looking back, now that it’s completed? Have you felt like you’ve really grown or learned something new or maybe been challenged in a way? What has been kind of the most rewarding part of it for you, this whole experience of Damages?

I feel I’ve been very challenged and that was fun. When you’re on the set, and sometimes, because it’s been so complex and the writers have been really writing, sometimes up until the last minute and we get — for example the deposition scene between Ted Danson and myself, we got the night before, like 11 o’clock the night before, and that was a lot of words. And you kind of sit back; you separate yourself from your brain, and you say, let me see if you can do this. And that’s the kind of challenge I like.

And the writers are good in that it’s easy to memorize, and good writing has an innate rhythm to it. And I’ve always felt that it’s easier to get in your head than writing that has very kind of mind busting moments. And those moments that I find mind busting. Meaning like there’s a word that I find in a weird place. I love the process of going to the writer and working that out, because that’s just basic communication. So you have the challenge of just learning the lines, period, and not only learning them, but learning them to the extent that you assimilate them, so that you’re not worried about what the next word is coming out of your mouth when it comes to doing a scene. And you’re also in the trenches with the writers, just in the wonderful kind of back and forth of how is it best to say something, even if it involves four or five words. I love that kind of thing.

We were talking to Tate Donovan, who did a conference call on Friday. And he was talking about the finale and how it really wraps up the Frobisher case and who killed David Connor, while setting up a very interesting dynamic for a possible season two. So around that, I was wondering if you’ve had any conversations with the creative team about if there is a season two, how would it be similar or different, because it’s hard to kind of mimic the structural complexity of the first season and also what kind of the cast makeup would be, what people would actually be able to stay around for a second season?

You know I have not had that conversation. Those guys are still in the trenches, I think. I don’t know if they have delivered the final one.

J. Solberg from FX jumps in – Yes, they have, and it’s being delivered later this week.

Glenn: Right. So I have not had the time or they have not had the time to kind of hang out and have those discussions, so I can’t answer that.

Earlier you had mentioned that you’re inspired by characters and cast that you have connections to. And I was wondering what aspect of this particular character do you connect to and what do you think are some of her more redeeming qualities?

I connect to moments like — it actually is in the pilot when she’s talking about her son. Even though at the end of that scene, you’re not sure whether she’s telling the truth or not, but it happens that she is. The conversation that she has with Ellen, children want you, you know children are like clients, they want all of you all the time.

My daughter actually said that to me once, and I’ve never forgotten it, because I knew exactly what she meant. I was a working single parent, and I knew, and my kind of terrible conflict was I knew that she wanted all of me all the time, but there was no way I could give it to her. I tried to, as much as I could and I think Patty has consciously chosen not to be there for her son.

I think, again, to be able to fulfill all the demands of the career that she would have had to be where she is when we first meet her. There’s not a lot of time to show up at every little event in school. And I think she probably was missing in action a lot. I do think she’s aware of it. I don’t know how much she allows herself to think about it. But I do think there’s a part of her somewhere that is highly regretful of that. So that’s one aspect of how she deals with her child or is not dealing with her child.

I also think there is somewhere a — when Patty says, “I hate bullies,” I think she’s telling the truth. We haven’t found out yet why, where that comes from. There are intimations, a very fleeting intimation that she had some difficult relationship with her father. But I do think that Lord knows Frobisher was a terrible bully and in some aspects, we respect Patty for fighting to bring him down. So I think that part of her character is authentic and it’s a lot of what drives her.

You mentioned Holly Hunter and Kira Sedgwick a couple of minutes ago and you’re one of a lot of renowned actresses on TV right now. So I was wondering if you think there’s a broader reason for that trend, if you’re seeing any difference between some of the roles you get and the TV roles you’re offered. Is there a broader reason that there are so many sort of great, renowned women actresses making the jump to TV roles right now?

For me it’s simply because you’re given a great role. There used to be a huge snobbism between the film industry and the television industry. I produced and acted in my first — well way back — but the first thing that I produced and acted in was Sarah, Plan and Tall. And the only place to go at the time for really quality television was Hallmark Hall of Fame. And think how much television has changed since then.

I also personally have always thought, well if the English can do it all, why can’t we? What should make something decide whether they want to do something or not is the quality of the writing and the people involved, not whether it’s a film or television. And I also have always felt that television has a huge potential for the kinds of audiences that some films would never dream or ever be able to have. So that potential is very exciting to me.

First a really quick follow-up question about the Shield, had you ever been approached to return for an episode or two in the final three seasons or no?

The final three seasons, not seriously. It was very hard for me not to go back to the show.

Plus you had mentioned the LA/New York thing.

Yes, my daughter, it was her final year in school in high school, and it was just something that you just can’t do, so you don’t spend too much time thinking about it. But it was the kind of thing, like when I had to leave Sunset Boulevard, it’s a hard decision. It would have been wonderful to be able to stay on and develop that character more, but it just wasn’t in the cards. But now here we are with Patty Hewes, so I have no regrets.

My question for you is what do you plan on doing on your downtime between seasons of Damages, if you’re going to be working or taking a well-deserved vacation?

I don’t think I know what down time means, really. I hopefully will spend a lot of time with my husband, and we do kind of some great — we travel to various places and kind of keep life interesting and busy. I don’t really know. I mean I feel like I have a full schedule, but right this second, I can’t for the life of me think what it is. But I’m not going on vacation. I’m actually tomorrow going out to Montana to visit with some of my siblings who I haven’t seen for a long time, and I’m really looking forward to that.

With season five of NIP/TUCK just around the corner [October 30], we at theTVaddict.com thought we’d share some fantastic new fifth season promo pics. Not surprisingly, FX takes NIP/TUCK’s mantra “Make me beautiful” to heart. For more great pics, click the link below.