Danson, Garber on Pilot Track
Hope Davis also signs on for TV work
March 1 2006
After two years away from series TV, former "Cheers" and "Becker" star Ted Danson is ready to get back in the game.
He leads a round of pilot casting that also includes "Alias" star Victor Garber, indie-film regular Hope Davis, "Reunion" star Amanda Righetti and former "Daily Show" correspondent Rachael Harris.
Danson will star in an ABC comedy called "Help Me Help You," the showbiz trade papers report. The show is about a group of people who attend the same therapy group; Danson would play the therapist, who has problems of his own.
Danson was nominated for an Emmy for playing Sam Malone in each of "Cheers'" 11 seasons on NBC and won the award for lead actor in a comedy series in 1990 and '93. He's also a three-time Golden Globe winner -- two for "Cheers" and one for the 1984 TV movie "Something About Amelia."
He was recently seen in the A&E movie "Knights of the South Bronx" and Showtime's "Our Fathers."
Also at ABC, Davis ("American Splendor," "Proof") has signed on to the J.J. Abrams-produced "Six Degrees," about a group of New Yorkers with intertwining lives. It would be her first series work since the short-lived NBC show "Deadline" a few years back. Righetti is also at the Alphabet in the drama "Enemies," which has also added Bess Wohl ("Flightplan"), while Harris ("Fat Actress") has joined the comedy "Notes from the Underbelly, along with Melanie Paxson ("Happy Family") and Michael Weaver ("The Mullets").
Garber, meanwhile, will move on to the FOX pilot "American Crime" when he's done with "Alias." The Jerry Bruckheimer-produced show is about a group of high-powered defense attorneys; he joins Rebecca Mader ("Love Monkey") in the cast.
He's one of several "Alias" regulars who have already found follow-up projects; Greg Grunberg is starring in NBC's "Heroes," and Ron Rifkin is staying at ABC with the drama "Brothers & Sisters."
Spy Daddy... Oh well.
