"Practice" Cast Shocker
The verdict is in: The Practice will be back next year on ABC, but it will be six castmembers short.
In an effort to pull the long-running, Emmy-winning legal drama back to budget, creator David E. Kelley has announced that a half-dozen key players--Dylan McDermott, Lara Flynn Boyle, Kelli Williams, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Chyler Leigh and Marla Sokoloff--will not be back in court.
McDermott may be back for a four-episode guest stint, but his $300,000-an-episode-and-rising price tag worked to eliminate him from full-time 2004 employment. In fact, only legal eagles who will be back for certain are Steve Harris, Camryn Manheim, Michael Badalucco and a few Practice newbies, like Jessica Capshaw.
In a statement, Kelley blamed the departures to "economic and creative realities," citing the need to bring the show back on budget and get viewers interested in new, exciting story arcs.
"It hurts, professionally and personally," said Kelley. "This is perhaps the finest group of actors and people one could ever hope to work with. I hope for all of them to recur if possible, and if I'm lucky, I'll get to work with them on future projects as well. I'm indebted to each and every one of them."
The move comes on the heels of a long and bloody battle between Kelley and the Alphabet network to keep the show on the air. The acclaimed scribe fumed earlier this year when the hit series was moved to Monday from its longtime Sunday-night spot, calling the relocation "an act of stunning stupidity" and saying it was an obvious bid to knock down the price of the show.
Kelley then penned the 2003 season finale and gave it the ominous-sounding title of "Goodbye," saying the episode could double as a series finale if the network decided to pull the plug.
Eventually, Kelley and ABC worked things out, and it seemed that the ruffled feathers had been smoothed. The Practice was picked up for the 2003-04 season and returned to its Sunday-night time slot at 10 p.m.
Now, network execs even stand behind Kelley's bold decision to dump many of the show's headliners.
"For the past seven seasons, we've successfully relied on David E. Kelley's creative vision for The Practice, and we'll continue to rely on his vision for the future of this series," an ABC spokesman said, adding the net was "sorry to see these talented castmembers leave the show."
The departure of the six high-profile characters should free up some much needed cash for the show's eighth season. The Practice was only renewed with the stipulation that the approximately $6.5 million license fee be chopped in half, and previously, the show has run in a deficit, which Kelley vows not to repeat.
Still, the move comes as a bit of a surprise considering that McDermott, Williams, Hamilton, Sokoloff and Leigh were jetted to the Big Apple last week to mug for the press and advertisers at ABC's fall schedule-unveiling presentation and party.
It remains to be seen if Kelley's bold casting shake-up will pay off, even though he has hinted about bringing in some big-name stars to rejuvenate the show. In the past, major cast shake-ups have had mixed results.
Some shows, like ER, Law & Order and NYPD Blue have remained at the top of their games in spite of the consistent infusion of fresh blood and the departure of beloved veterans. Kelley's own L.A. Law, however, tanked in the ratings when its founding castmembers either quit or were jettisoned during the show's final seasons.
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