There's been a lot of buzz about Dirty Sexy Money changing showrunners (again) and getting soapier this season, which, frankly, had us a little concerned. After all, it was so good last season that we didn't want it to change. Fortunately, Peter Krause (who plays the lead character, Nick George) took time out of his busy schedule on a brief trip to New York City to chat via telephone, and let us know that it's all going to be okay. We also asked him about his past shows, Six Feet Under and Sports Night, and tried to get him to reveal this season's Dirty Sexy secrets.
TWoP: Thanks for taking the time to talk to me. Are you familiar with Television Without Pity?
Peter Krause: Yes. I became familiar with it through Six Feet Under -- Alan Poole, one of the producers on the show, told me about it.
At this point, Peter went off topic (banned!) and asked the history of, in his words "the mighty Television Without Pity" -- how it got started and became what it is today. Yes, he used the word mighty without knowing anything about the backstory, or that it used to be Mighty Big TV. I filled him in, and we got back on topic.
TWoP: I had read that you weren't interested in returning to a TV schedule ...?
PK: Yeah, television schedules are very grueling. The pay cable world is more forgiving because you only make 10 to 12 episodes a year instead of 22 to 26. It's a really difficult schedule and there isn't time for much else. I have a son and I like to spend time with him, so it's difficult. I couldn't really do a show that isn't somewhat of an ensemble show because then you absolutely have no time. But I'm very comfortable being sort of the central character in an ensemble show. It gives me something to chew on. I'm not comfortable not having something to do. I try to work with good writers, going back to Matt Williams (a writer on Krause's early show, Carol & Company, who later created Roseanne and Home Improvement). ... If you focus on trying to work with good writers, it's very satisfying. I've done that: Craig Wright (showrunner for Dirty Sexy Money), Arthur Miller (Krause was in his play, After the Fall, on Broadway), Alan Ball (Six Feet Under showrunner), Aaron Sorkin (Sports Night showrunner) -- many of those being playwrights. This year, we're creating a high-stakes, splashy soap. Last year we shied away from that a little bit.
TWoP: I love Craig Wright. He came to a play reading in Portland, OR last year when a local theater company was putting on one of his plays, and I saw the play. He's amazing. And isn't he also a seminarian?
PK: He used to be. He's a heavy thinker.
TWoP: Yes. Didn't he also write some episodes of Six Feet Under?
PK: Yes. He wrote some of the best episodes: He wrote the episode in which Nate Fisher, the character I played, buried his wife, Lisa, with his bare hands. He wrote the episode with Nate's birthday where he breaks down with the broom to get the bird out of the house. He wrote "Static," after Nate is dead and he comes back to Lauren Ambrose's character. He wrote some really good episodes.
TWoP: You talked earlier about the show being more of a high-stakes, splashy soap this season. And there has been a lot of buzz about the show being dirtier and sexier this season. Can you tell me a little bit about what that means?
PK: Let me just explain that last year there was concern on behalf of the studio and network that the characters all be likeable and nice. When (ABC head) Steve McPherson and I sat down in May, we knew we wanted it to be more of a soap. We rolled out some episodes with (former producer) Daniel Cerone who had worked on Dexter. They didn't quite work. We got (new producer) Jon Feldman on board now with Craig Wright. They're a great match. We finally found someone that Craig could write with and get along with, because Craig's very particular. We didn't want to lose any of the poignancy, but we did want a prime-time soap that worked like Dynasty or Dallas. ... It's less mysterious, but there's also something virile beneath all the glitter. But at the same time we wanted to make sure the show is entertaining and could reach a large audience. That's the trick: You want a show that's artistically sound for the actors and writers to be satisfied, but also that's entertaining. ... So that's what we've done, and I think it's going to perform very well. I think there are some people who will be sort of put off because it was highbrow, but it will still be that. But it will also be a soap: Big story lines. Big things going on.
TWoP: So, can you reveal any of those "big" things that are going on?
PK: I don't know when this article will run, but in the in the premiere:
-- Somebody will get arrested for the suspected murder of my father, Dutch George.
-- Two characters who should not be touching lips are found kissing.
-- Somebody gets punched in the face.
-- During an argument between two spouses, somebody dies.
Obviously, there's other things I cannot tell you. The show operates on surprise and suspense. It is a soap, albeit a smart and good one.
TWoP: I think some people are resistant to that term, and I really like that you guys embrace it. Ultimately, it sounds like you feel this change was a good one.
PK: It was something that I was resistant to at the beginning, because I thought it was mutually exclusive, that it had to be one thing or the other -- that if we went down that road we could never achieve what I thought we could as far as being artistic. But I think we do achieve both things now, and it works.
At this point, a loud ringing begins in the background. Krause asks me to hang on, and then he hollers, "Come back later, please!" When he gets back to the phone, I apologize for taking up his time, and interfering with his life. He tells me it's not a problem, but he's at the end of a long morning that included President Bush bumping Krause's segment on Good Morning America, so he only ended up getting one minute instead of five, and with a different interviewer than he'd expected. But he was gracious about it, and said he knows that sort of stuff happens.
TWoP: You mentioned a death. What other changes can we expect to see this season, cast-wise? Any other major deaths, additions to, or removals from the cast?
PK: Lucy Liu joined us this season.
TWoP: What about Samaire Armstrong? Will she be back?
PK: I can't say. I'm sorry. There's so much I can't talk about concerning the show, which is a drag.
TWoP: No, that's okay. I expected that. Now for more of a personal question: What's it like for you to watch yourself on TV and in movies? Are you removed, or is it sort of uncomfortable?
PK: It's not uncomfortable for me. I've spent time editing myself for movies. I'm pretty removed. I look at it as objectively as possible.
TWoP: Do you read what fans and critics are saying about you and about the show?
PK: I don't pursue it, but it makes its way in front of my face from time to time. Ultimately I don't care. Everyone's got an opinion.
TWoP: That's a good attitude to have, because it has to be difficult sometimes. Even working at TWoP, it can be hard to ignore some of the negative things people say about the site or me personally.
PK: Yeah, look. For me, I've been very fortunate. I've gotten to do some of the best TV of the past 10 years: Sports Night, Six Feet Under, and Dirty Sexy Money.
TWoP: Sports Night was so good. It should have lasted longer.
PK:It's fascinating to me to see what people think about network shows. Aaron Sorkin famously writes his scripts so that the network can't see them. Craig Wright's a different kind of guy. Craig tries to work with the network and studio, and it is very difficult to make a show that is artistically sound (what the writers and actors want to make) and at the same time appeal to the studio, who is trying to sell the show. It can't be that offensive, but it has to be somewhat offensive, because this is a soap. ABC has been very supportive of this. I have a history with them, and they have been very supportive of what we want to do. In the past, ABC would just dump a show, like Sports Night. At the time, there were less caring executives. Michael Eisner put Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? on five nights a week. He was a bottom-line guy. Fortunately, now, it's a different group over there and they've really gotten behind Dirty Sexy Money. And I really think them for that. They've been very supportive. And, to their credit, they've dared this season to let the show be more of what we wanted it to be from the beginning.
TWoP: Do you keep in touch with the cast of Six Feet Under?
PK: I do. I saw Michael [C. Hall] last week. I was doing some looping over on his stages ... I talk to him a lot. I'm going to try to see Lauren Ambrose here while I'm in New York.
TWoP: Where is Dirty Sexy Money filmed?
PK: We film it in Los Angeles. We filmed the pilot in New York, but we film it in Los Angeles.
TWoP: Was that important for your decision to take the role?
PK: Yes. I live in Los Angeles, and my son goes to school in Los Angeles, so I couldn't be on something that was based somewhere else.
TWoP: Well, it looks like New York.
PK: They do a good job. We shoot a lot in front of a green screen. ... Hopefully someday we'll come to New York and film a little bit.
TWoP: Do you watch the shows that your Six Feet Under castmates and crew are involved with now, such as Michael C. Hall on Dexter, Rachel Griffiths on Brothers & Sisters, even Rainn Wilson on The Office?
PK: Rainn and I went to school together at NYU, so I've known him for a long time. I watch him in The Office. Michael and I are close, so I watch Dexter. I have watched a couple of episodes of Brothers & Sisters, but don't watch regularly. I don't have that much time to watch TV, but I keep up on Dexter and The Office.
TWoP: Do you watch (Six Feet Under creator Alan Ball's new show) True Blood?
PK: I have not watched True Blood yet. Have you?
TWoP: No. It's stacking up in my TiVo. I don't have as much time to watch TV as I'd like to, either, surprisingly enough.
PK: There's a lot of good programming out there.
TWoP: There really is. So, do you think there would ever be a chance for the folks from Six Feet Under to work together again?
PK: Um, who working with whom?
TWoP: You working with anyone from the cast and crew.
PK: Oh, I'd love to work with Michael again. I'd love to work with the cast again. I'd love to work with Alan again, too. Probably on a film though. I don't think we could beat Six Feet Under in terms of our television work together. That was a special series.
TWoP: Going even farther back, do you keep in touch with the people you worked with on Sports Night?
PK: Yes. Josh (Charles) and I are also really good friends, and I talk to him all the time. I haven't spoken with Robert Guillaume in awhile. I'm going to see Sabrina (Lloyd) while I'm here in New York. I talked to Josh (Malina) recently. Felicity (Huffman) and I run into each other a lot because of our ABC connection.
TWoP: Do you watch her show?
PK: Desperate Housewives?
TWoP: Yes.
PK: I've watched a few episodes, early on, but not in the past few years. Love her, not my cup of tea. Seriously. I love Felicity, but that show is not my cup of tea.
TWoP: You mentioned Aaron Sorkin earlier, and he's sort of a household name now, but he wasn't when you worked with him on Sports Night. What was that experience like, working with Sorkin before he was really "Aaron Sorkin"?
PK: I already knew Aaron. We bartended together here in New York City. ... We've known each other since 1987, '88. I knew him as a guy who invited me to do a playreading ... and the play was A Few Good Men. Aaron, more so than any other writer I've worked with, is really built for television because he's so fast. Craig is as well, but Craig is more diplomatic in some ways. They're both really prolific. Craig really does let other people in on the process more.
TWoP: In closing, are you sure there aren't any more surprises you can tell me about Dirty Sexy Money?
PK: One of the female characters will slap Nick George, the character that I play, a few episodes into the season. I won't tell you who and I won't tell you why, but Nick deserves it. You're going to really enjoy the series this year. It's really quite good. It's much more of a page-turner, if I could use a book reference. You definitely want to find out what's going to happen . It's really, really good. Much better than it was last year. For the writing staff and the actors and studio to all agree. ... This show was this piece of taffy that was being pulled in four different directions last year. The fact that we're all in agreement this year is a real boon to the show.
TWoP: Thanks for taking the time to talk to me. I know you're very busy.
PK: No problem. You just caught me at the end of a very long morning, but this was fun. Thanks, DeAnn.
Read our recaps and talk more with other fans in our forums. Plus: Get our review of the first season on DVD, and find out what we think of the 10th anniversary Sports Night collection.