Buzz Interview: Barry Watson of Samantha Who?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:47:26 -0700

Before the writers' strike essentially halted new television, the charming Samantha Who? was one of the TV season's breakout hits. The show returns tonight with its first new episode in months, reclaiming its post-Dancing with the Stars time slot — and, with any luck, the audience that fell in love with it last Fall.

Last week, I had a chance to chat with Barry Watson, who plays opposite Christina Applegate as Samantha's ex-boyfriend, Todd. We talked about his move from What About Brian, which he starred in for two years, to a half-hour comedy, as well as his career aspirations and his hopes for Todd and Samantha in the future. Here are highlights:

After What About Brian ended, did you know you wanted to do another series? And did you know you wanted to do a comedy?
No, actually — no to all of those questions, because I didn't know until they offered me the role of Todd that What About Brian was completely done yet. That was my first sign of the cancellation of Brian — that's a good title, by the way, "the cancellation of Brian." So I kind of took a couple days to kind of think about whether I wanted to jump back into another show again, but when I did the pilot, Todd's character was only in the pilot episode, he wasn't really a series regular yet, so I figured why not? It wasn't like I was held down to any contract and had to do another series, so I was like, yeah, I'll come and do the pilot. They said I had like another day to think about it, and once I got off the phone I was turning on the TV, and Don't Tell Mom, the Babysitter's Dead was on, and I was like, well, there's a sign right there, I'm going to do it.

How did Todd go from being just in the pilot to being a series regular?
I was so brilliant! [laughs] No, I don't know how that happened — I guess there was always talk that he would become more of a recurring [character] or a regular, but he was only kind of cast in the pilot. They could have kept it going, or they probably could have taken the character out after the pilot, if they wanted to, but the chemistry between Christina and me just worked and they wanted to keep me around for a little bit, which was nice.

I've got more from Watson, including hints about what happens with Todd and Samantha in the upcoming episodes, so just

Pilot Watch: "Samantha Who?"

BuzzSugar — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 23:50:00 -0700

The networks have announced their fall schedules, but which of the series will actually be worth watching? Throughout the summer, as I watch the pilots, I'll be posting my first impressions. A lot can change before a show makes it to air, so these aren't comprehensive reviews, just quick thoughts on how the shows look now. Today's installment: The show of many name changes, ABC's "Samantha Who?"

What's it about? Samantha Newly wakes up her coma after a hit-and-run accident with no personal memories — which means she has no idea what a horrid person she's always been.

Who's in it? Christina Applegate, Jean Smart, Jennifer Esposito, Melissa McCarthy, Barry Watson

The good: Somewhere between "Married with Children" and here, Applegate has grown up into a funny, appealing leading lady who knows how to sell the show's little moments. The interplay between Samantha and her mother, played by the always-awesome Jean Smart, got a few chuckles out of me. It's a single camera comedy with no laugh track, which automatically makes it less annoying than three-quarters of the comedies on TV.

The bad: The rest of the supporting characters were weak and fairly uninteresting. If the show just has Samantha discovering a new horrible thing about herself every week, it's going to get old very quickly.

Will I watch? I'm not setting a season pass just yet, but I'm planning to check out a few more episodes.

To watch a preview and see a gallery of photos,

BuzzSugar -- Entertainment hourly.

Buzz Interview: Barry Watson of Samantha Who?

Pilot Watch: "Samantha Who?"