Pauley Perrette & More Stars Returning to TV in 2019-2020
Preview
It’s hard when your favorite actor moves on from playing the character you’ve loved for years.
But if you were a fan of these beloved TV stars, you’re in luck! You may not get to see Abby on NCIS, Rachel on Friends, Frankie on The Middle, or Bobby on NYPD Blue again, but you can see the people who played them in new series soon.
Read on for all the scoop on these returning stars’ new roles!
(Sonja Flemming/CBS)
Pauley Perrette in Broke
After 15 years playing NCIS‘s quirky scientific genius Abby, the warm, wildly popular Pauley Perrette loses her neck tattoo and comes out of the lab.
In the sitcom Broke, she’s Jackie, a cash-strapped single mom who feels obligated to take in her formerly über-rich sister, Elizabeth (Natasha Leggero), brother-in-law Javier (Jane the Virgin‘s Jaime Camil), and their assistant Luis (Izzy Diaz), after Javier is cut off by his father. The house is small; her guests’ needs are oversized.
Broke, Midseason, CBS
(Kevin Mazur/VF17/WireImage)
Jennifer Aniston in The Morning Show
Relatable, perky, and quick with a quip, Jennifer Aniston would make a winning morning show personality. So it’s fitting that 15 years after her iconic hit Friends ended, the actress’s first lead TV role is as an anchor on The Morning Show, one of Apple TV’s inaugural series.
Aniston and Reese Witherspoon (above) produce and star in the dramedy described as “an inside look at the lives of the people who help America wake up in the morning.” We’re pouring our coffee already.
The Morning Show, Fall 2019, Apple TV+
(Sonja Flemming/CBS)
Patricia Heaton in Carol’s Second Act
Both of three-time Emmy winner Patricia Heaton’s hit sitcoms — Everybody Loves Raymond and The Middle — lasted nine seasons. The inherently funny actress might have another nine-year wonder with this comedy about Carol Kenney, a retired teacher who goes to medical school after her divorce.
At 50, she’s commonly known as the “old intern,” but Carol doesn’t let ageism get the best of her. She’s smart, a bit of an anti-authority maverick, and eager to show she’s as good a doctor as the twentysomethings around her. Luckily, she’s already impressed Dr. Stephen Frost (Kyle MacLachlan), the handsome senior physician on her ward.
Carol’s Second Act, Thursdays, 9:30/8:30c, CBS
(NBC)
Jimmy Smits in Bluff City Law
Jimmy Smits broke hearts with his death as Det. Bobby Simone on NYPD Blue in 1998. Since then, he’s been the president-elect on The West Wing, an attorney on Dexter, and a senator on 24: Legacy.
Adroit at playing charmers hiding criminality, he’s more of a hero in this new legal drama: Memphis civil rights lawyer Elijah Strait, who takes on controversial cases of social injustice alongside his daughter and partner, Sydney (Caitlin McGee).
Bluff City Law, Mondays, 10/9c, NBC
