Debra Messing Movies
A stunning brunette, New York-born actress who shot to stardom with her role as the latter half of television's Will and Grace, Debra Messing's playful creativity beginning in her youth left her family with little doubt that the talented youngster would seek a career in some aspect of the entertainment industry.Raised in a small community outside Providence, RI, Messing's song and dance routines were the source of endless entertainment for her family throughout her youth, and the precocious youngster frequently attended performing arts camps in order to focus her skills as an actress. Later touring Canada, the U.S., and Mexico before planning her initial bid for stardom, Messing followed her mother's advice and enrolled in Massachusetts' Brandeis University, where she majored in theater arts. Traveling to London late in her schooling to study at the prestigious B.E.S.G.L. program, she was later accepted into New York University's Graduate Acting Program.
Early roles such as a stint as sexpot Dana Abandando on television's NYPD Blue garnered much attention for the stunning starlet, and it wasn't long before Messing made her feature debut with A Walk in the Clouds (1995). Jumping back to the small screen for the short-lived Ned and Stacey the following year, she next turned up in the feature Prey (1997) and a subsequent television series based on the film. Launching her career into overdrive in 1998 with her role as Grace Elizabeth Adler in television's Will and Grace brought Messing critical and public praise, and her role as the interior designer living with a homosexual lawyer charmed audiences with its snappy writing and talented cast. With personal interests lending to involvement with such organizations as the Best Friend's Pet Sanctuary, Gay Men's Health Crisis, and AmFAR, the actress uses much of her personal time to encourage social awareness of HIV and AIDS-related issues and encourage people to adopt pets.
The massive success of Will & Grace helped Messing gain a foothold in a film career. She tested the waters gingerly at first, taking small but key roles in films as diverse as the thriller The Mothman Prophecies and the Woody Allen comedy Hollywood Ending. She played Ben Stiller's newlywed wife in the hit comedy Along Came Polly in 2004. Although audiences ignored her romantic comedy The Wedding Date, Messing scored her most prestigious post-Will & Grace work yet landing a major role in Curtis Hanson's Lucky You in 2006, the same year as she lent her vocal talents to the animated film Open Season. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2008
Debra Messing stars in this primetime comedy/drama based on the Emmy award winning mini-series of the same name. It focuses on the frequently wild experiences of Molly Kagan, once the wife of Hollywood royalty and now, a frantic divorcee struggling to figure out life on her own terms. Molly is faced with nothing but firsts, from raising her seven year old daughter Jaden as a single mom, to starting up a career in her 40's. The waters usually seem rough, but she's determined to stay focused on her future - even when her past keeps landing her in court. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Debra Messing, Hart Bochner, (more)
Based on the 2005 bestselling novel by Gigi Levangie Grazer, the six-part miniseries The Starter Wife starred former Will & Grace leading lady Debra Messing as Molly Kagan, an archetypal "Hollywood wife" who for ten years had enjoyed the perks and privileges of being married to powerful studio executive Kenny Kagan (Peter Jacobson). All of this changed drastically when Kenny dumped his spouse for a much-younger pop singer named Shoshanna (Trilby Glover), adding insult to injury by informing Molly that their marriage was through via cell-phone. Having carefully timed the breakup to coincide with the expiration of the couple's pre-nuptual agreement, Kenny was able to escape without providing Molly with a huge monetary settlement, leaving our benumbed heroine high and dry. Also, Molly was now "persona non grata" in her Brentwood community, with many old doors (especially those on stores and restaurants) being literally closed in her face, and such fair-weather friends as Cricket Stewart (Miranda Otto) and Joan McAllister (wonderfully played as a self-hating lush by Judy Lewis) conspicuously unavailable. Vowing to start life anew for the sake of herself and her teenaged daughter, Molly relocated to Malibu, where she found a new best friend in the form of airheaded Malibu gate guard Lavender Caraway (Arika Noni Rose). She also entered into a brace of tempestuous relationships with aging, moody movie producer Lou Manahan (Joe Mantegna) and handsome but untrustworthy beachcomber Sam Knight (Stephen Moyer). All of the episodes were scripted by Josann McGibbon and Sara Parriott and directed by Jon Avnet--and curiously, all were filmed in Australia rather than "La-la Land". Making its USA Network debut on May 31, 2007 with a two-hour episode, The Starter Wife ran on a weekly, hourly basis until June 28 of that year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Debra Messing, Joe Mantegna, (more)
An unhappy woman finds new love with her old boyfriend in this romantic comedy-drama from writer and director Edward Burns. Patti Selma Blair) is a woman in her early thirties living in New York City. For years, Patti chased after her dream of becoming a successful novelist, but recently she's had to put writing on hold and is unhappily working in real estate. Patti's ennui isn't helped by the fact her marriage has fallen into a rut and neither she nor her husband are interested in one another anymore. When she was in college, Patti was in love with Brian (Patrick Wilson), and while Brian is fortunate enough to support himself writing crime fiction, he's smarting from the uncharitable reviews given to his latest and most personal work. One night, Patti is having dinner with her best friend Kate (Debra Messing) when she bumps into Brian, who is out with his friend Murph (Edward Burns), who in turn used to be involved with Kate. As the former lovers talk about their past and where life has taken them, Patti finds herself falling for Brian all over again, but both she and Brian are still dealing with the differences and insecurities that drove them apart years before. Purple Violets received its world premiere at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Selma Blair, Patrick Wilson, (more)
Will and Grace was supposed to have been cancelled at the end of its seventh season, but somehow managed to hang on for an eighth and final year. To improve its flagging ratings (the series had dropped from ninth place in 2001 to a miserable 61 five years later), NBC moved the show to a new timeslot, sequestered among the network's most successful sitcom offerings. As a ratings gimmick, two of the episodes--including the season opener--were telecast "live", a ploy that had worked wonders for such previous offerings as ER and Drew Carey. The festivities begin as gay attorney Will (Eric McCormack) tries to keep the snobbish but emotionally fragile Karen (Megan Mullally) from finding out that her wealthy ex-husband Stan, believed dead, is actually still among the living. At the same time, Will's erstwhile straight roommate Grace (Debra Messing) toys with the possibility of compromising her values by beginning an affair with her old flame Tom (Eric Stolz), who happens to be married. Also, Will's flamboyantly gay pal Jack (Sean Hayes) launches the latest phase of his checkered showbiz career as host of his own TV series, "Jack Talk". This last-mentioned device seems to have been contrived purely for the purpose of spotlighting Season Eight's most highly publicized celebrity guest star Britney Spears, gloriously miscast as an ultra-right-winger with whom Jack is forcibly teamed on the air. Other well-known actors passing through during this season are Andy Richter as one of Grace's blind dates, Richard Chamberlain as an elderly homosexual whom an altruistic Will "adopts", and Debbie Reynolds, who after a long absence returns as Grace's overbearing mother. This is also the year in which Will enters into a new romance with James Hanson (Taye Diggs), whom he meets at a Sound of Music singalong, and with whom he shares his first serious onscreen kiss (a piquant moment which, like the Britney Spears appearance, was noisily overhyped by the NBC publicity department). Though Will eventually returns to his police-officer boyfriend Vince (Bobby Cannavelle), Grace generously offers to marry the foreign-born James so he won't be deported--only to discover on the eve of the wedding that she is pregnant, the result of a one-night stand with her ex-husband Leo (Harry Connick Jr.)! Likewise receiving a visit from Mr. Stork are Will and Vince, the proud parents of baby Ben--actually the issue of a most surprising sperm donor. Season Eight's various and sundry loose plot strands are neatly wrapped up in the series' now-famous final episode, set twenty years in the future. Though Will & Grace was clearly on its last legs, the series still managed win two more Emmy awards, making a total of sixteen. The lucky recipients this year were supporting actors Megan Mullally and Leslie Jordan, the latter cast as Karen's perennial adversary, closeted Republican Beverly Leslie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, (more)
Season Seven of Will & Grace begins by tying up several loose ends from Season Six, notably the almost instantaneous breakup of nearly-weds Karen Walker (Megan Mullally) and Lyle Finster (John Cleese), while wedding singer Jennifer Lopez (as herself) hires--and fires--Jack McFarland (Sean Hayes) as her backup dancer. Fortunately for Jack, he quickly lands a job as executive at a new all-gay TV network, OutTV. Meanwhile, Grace Adler (Debra Messing) now knows full well that her doctor husband Leo (Harry Connick Jr.) has been cheating on her while doing charity work in Africa. Before long, the newly divorced Grace has inadvertently driven a wedge between her gay roommate Will Truman (Eric McCormack) and his police-officer boyfriend Vince D'Angelo (Bobby Cannavale, who would win one of the series' two Emmies this season). Amidst a seemingly endless parade of gratuitous celebrity cameos this season, Jeff Goldblum actually contributes something to the proceedings in the role of Karen's old high school enemy Scott Woolley, who spends half of the season vengefully sabotaging her designing career, and the other half trying to win her love! Likewise seen to good advantage are Lili Tomlin as Will's new law-firm boss Margot; Edward Burns as Nick, a handsome greeting-card writer who briefly dates Grace; Luke Perry as bird fancier Aaron, with whom Jack is fixed up in a double date; Sharon Stone as Will's therapist Georgia Keller; Seth Green as a nasty child actor who causes Jack to lose his TV job; and Alan Arkin as Grace's aloof father Martin Adler. As the season rushes to a conclusion Will experiences an epiphany and quits the legal world to become a writer, linking up with a well-connected gentleman named Malcolm (Alec Baldwin) who turns out to be a covert government agent; Grace rekindles an old flame in the form of Tom (Eric Stolz), who happens to be married; and Karen must publicly humiliate herself to avoid a lawsuit from her longtime adversary, closeted ultraconservative Beverly Leslie Leslie Jordan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, (more)
Picking up where Season Five of Will & Grace left off, Season Six begins as gay lawyer Will (Eric McCormack) awaken from a drunken evening on an ocean liner to find themselves naked and in the same bed--but with no recollection of how they got there. Simulatenously, Will's straight interior-designer roommate Grace (Debra Messing) has stumbled upon evidence that her doctor husband Leo (Harry Connick Jr.) is cheating on her; and meanwhile, Grace's newly widowed business partner Karen (Megan Mullally) is somewhere in the middle of the ocean, stuck in a life raft with her former maid (and Jack's former wife) Rosario (Shelley Morrison). Once this situation is ironed out and everyone (except Leo, still in South America with Doctors Without Borders) is back in Manhattan, several new complications spring up, among them the revelation that Leo's former girlfriend (Mira Sorvino) is also the only woman that Will has ever slept with, giving Grace two more reasons to seethe with jealousy. Also, a revenge-bend Karen begins searching for Britisher Lorraine (Minnie Driver), the woman who broke up her marriage with her late husband Stan; ironically, Karen ends up engaged to Lorraine's zany father Lyle, played by an uncredited John Cleese! And elsewhere, Will reluctantly moves in with his recently disabled (and impossible-to-live-with) mother Marilyn (Blythe Danner). But, wait, there's more! Will falls for gay cop Vince D'Angelo (Bobby Cannavale), while Jack, newly graduated from nursing school, takes up with Will's client Stuart (Dave Foley), whereupon Jack and Stuart become the first clients of new business partners Will and Grace, who have launched an apartment-refurbishing operation. Most of the one-shot guest stars this season appear as themselves, with such noteworthy exceptions as Geena Davis, who is seen as Grace's freeloading sister Janet. Otherwise, Barry Manilow plays Barry Manilow, James Earl Jones plays James Earl Jones, and so on. In another cliffhanger season finale, Karen elopes to Las Vegas with her new love Lyle, coaxing Jennifer Lopez to sing at the wedding; and the long-overdue reunion of Grace and Leo is scuttled by a freak accident! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, (more)
- 2002
Parenthood prospects fluster Will and Grace, who consider having a baby; a conjugal visit vexes Karen; a Broadway audition rattles Jack. ~ TV Guide, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, (more)
- 2002
Will and Grace decide to have a child together; Karen becomes enamored of a smooth-talking man-about-town (Rip Torn). ~ TV Guide, All Movie Guide
- 2002
Harry Connick Jr. guest stars as a charming MD drawn to Grace, who's still intent on having a child with Will. ~ TV Guide, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, (more)
Fans of Will & Grace were taken aback by the series' fifth season, in which plotlines bordered on the ludicrous and the main characters became more wildly inconsistant--and much, much, more abrasive. For starters, longtime friends and roommates Will (Eric McCormack) and Grace (Debra Messing) (he's the gay lawyer, she's the straight interior designer) have a bitter falling out when she decides not to bear his child by artificial insemination, choosing instead to impulsively marry a handsome Jewish doctor named Leo Markus, played by singer-composer Harry Connick Jr.) (the fact that TV journalist Katie Couric is present at the ceremony would seem to prove beyond doubt that the marriage was preplanned as a fall-sweeps ratings stunt, rather than a logical outgrowth of Grace's character). At the same time, Grace's business partner Karen (Megan Mullaly) goes into full harpie mode when her wealthy incarcerated husband Stan throws her over for prison cafeteria worker Lorraine Finster (Minnie Driver), reducing Karen to homeless destitution (for a while, she lives in the family limo!) And Stan's flamboyantly gay buddy Jack (Will Hayes) morphs from harmless eccentric to menacing stalker when he spots Kevin Bacon (one of several celebrities playing themselves) strolling down the avenue. Guest actors this season include Gene Wilder, whose performance as Mr. Stein, the long-missing, hyperneurotic senior partner of Will's law firm won the actor one of the series' four Emmy awards for 2002-2003 (another Emmy went to star Debra Messing, and about time!); Rosanna Arquette as a masseuse who evidently has the "hots" for Grace; Dan Futterman as Grace's gay cousin Barry, only recently and very awkwardly "outed", who briefly becomes the object of affection for both Will and Jack; and Madonna as Karen's new, high-maintenance roommate. As the season winds down, Stan starts divorce proceedings against Karen, who is incensed to find that Will is representing her husband (HER attorney is a greenhorn played by Macauley Culkin)--but the courtroom proceedings are interrupted by some shocking news about Stan. Everything comes to a head in the season's cliffhanger finale, which takes place during an ocean voyage, wherein Grace weighs the possibility of moving to Guatemala to be closer to husband Leo. . .until she finds out about Leo's sexy coworker (Nicollette Sheridan). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, (more)
As Season Four of Will & Grace gets under way, we find interior designer Grace Adler still living with her oafish boyfriend Nathan (Will Harrelson), but before long she has gravitated back (platonically, of course) to her former roommate, gay lawyer Will Truman (Eric McCormack). Eventually, Nathan proposes to Grace, but she turns him down--and lives to regret it. As for Will's flamboyantly gay buddy Jack (Sean Hayes), he is basking in the joys of new-found parenthood as he bonds with Elliott (Michael Angarano), the teenaged son that resulted from one of Jack's sperm-bank donations. This story arc leads to a nasty confrontation with Elliott's biological mother, a vitriolic lesbian named Bonnie (Rosie O'Donnell). Meanwhile, Grace's wealthy socialite business partner Karen (Megan Mullaly) blithely continues living the high life even though her husband Stan has been thrown in jail for income tax evasion. Guest stars this season include Blythe Danner as Will's nails-on-the-blackboard mother Marilyn; Suzanne Pleshette) as snooty Karen's trailer-trash mom Lois; Matt Damon as a straight man posing as a homosexual in order to take a free trip to Europe with a gay men's chorus; Parker Posey as Darlene, Jack's coworker at Barney's Department Store; Eileen Brennan as Jack's whisky-voiced acting coach Zandra; and Glenn Close as an eccentric celebrity photographer named Fannie Lieber (sound vaguely familiar)? In the season's cliffhanger finale, Will and Grace respond to their mutually ticking biological clocks by deciding to have a baby together (though just HOW they plan to do this remains up in the air!); and Karen toys with cheating on her incarcerated husband with courtly Lionel Banks (Rip Torn). Will & Grace enjoyed its best-ever ratings during its fourth season, attaining the coveted Number Nine slot. Also, the series picked two more of its sixteen Emmy awards. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, (more)
He was a poor carpenter who never traveled further than 50 miles from his home and died at the age of 33, but his teachings changed the world and he's still followed by hundreds of millions of people around the world, 2,000 years after his death. Jesus, originally produced as a television mini-series, offers a glimpse of the human side of the messiah, as well as recounting the story of his life and martyrdom. Jeremy Sisto stars as Jesus, with Jacqueline Bisset as Mary, Armin Mueller-Stahl as Joseph, Gary Oldman as Pontius Pilate, and Debra Messing as Mary Magdalene. The home video release is expanded from the broadcast edition, featuring material that was cut for time purposes. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeremy Sisto, Jacqueline Bisset, (more)
Season Three of Will & Grace finds gay lawyer Will Truman (Eric McCormack) returning from his annual vacation to find that his straight roommate Grace Adler (Debra Messing) is torn between two lovers, Josh (Corey Parker) and Ben (Gregory Hines), the latter gentleman happening to be Will's law partner. Meanwhile, Will's flamboyantly gay buddy Jack (Sean Hayes) has a falling out with Grace's wealthy, self-centered business partner Karen (Megan Mullally) when he divorced Karen's illegal-immigrant maid Rosario (Shelley Morrison). This season marks the first appearance of diminutive character actor Leslie Jordan as Karen's bete noire Beverly Leslie, a noxious right-winger who covers up his obvious gayness by spouting homophobic drivel; Beverly is introduced in the controversial episode wherein gay actress Ellen DeGeneres shows up as a nun. We also meet Tina (Lesley Ann Warren), the manipulative mistress of Will's father George (Sidney Pollack); Will's athletically inclined boyfriend Matt, played by future Grey's Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey); and most significantly, Grace's loser-lout neighbor Nathan (Woody Harrelson), with who she inexplcably falls in love. Season Three also marks the first of the series' several celebrity cameos, as Jack unexpectedly confronts his idol Cher, in an episode which also features a pre-Boston Public Camryn Manheim as a psychic. Topping off the year is Jack's astonished reaction to the fact that he's a father--and in fact has been one for nearly a dozen years! Ranked as the 14th most popular series in America during the 2000-2001 season, Will & Grace also won three more Emmy winners, one of them picked up by leading man Eric McCormack. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, (more)
Moving out of the apartment she shares with gay lawyer Will Truman (Eric McCormack), straight interior designer Grace Adler (Debra Messing) personifies the old adage "gone but not forgotten" when she moves into the apartment next door to Will's as Will & Grace begins its second season. Meanwhile, in an effort to avoid a scuffle with the INS, Will's flamboyantly gay pal Jack (Sean Hayes) moves in with his much-older immigrant bride Rosario (Shelley Morrison), former maid of Grace's filthy-rich business partner, the selfish, superficial, squeaky-voiced Karen Walker (Magan Mullally). Major developments this season include Will's brief and frustrated period of unemployment, and a run-in with his otherwise supportive father George (Sydney Pollack), who has gone to great lengths to cover up his son's sexual orientation by telling his friends that Will and Grace are married. Also, Jack tries to belatedly break the news to his hyperjudgmental mom Judith (Veronica Cartwright) that he's been "out" for years; and Karen faces the possibility of losing her cushy home and limitless bank account when her fabulous wealthy, grotesquely overweight husband Stan (who remains an unseen presence) has a heart attack. The season ends with Will trying to act as peacemaker in the battle of wills between his law partner Ben Doucette (Gregory Hines) and his once-again-roommate Grace, with surprising results; and Rosario, far from grateful to Jack for keeping her from being deported, demands a divorce. Will & Grace closed out its second season by winning three Emmy awards, one for "Outstanding Comedy Series", and two for supporting players Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, (more)
The first season of Will & Grace begins as scatterbrained interior designer Grace Adler (Debra Messing), having broken up with the latest in a long line of boyfriends, moves in with her best friend, level-headed attorney Will Truman (Eric McCormack). The set-up is a bit unorthodox, but there can be no question (at least for now!) that the relationship is anything but platonic, if for no other reason than Will is gay and Grace is straight. At the same time, a slightly bizarre friendship develops between Will's flamboyantly gay pal Jack McFarland (Sean Hayes), an aspiring actor, and Grace's business partner Karen Walker (Megan Mullally), a supercilious, self-centered socialite. Also seen in the earliest episodes are Grace's yuppie ex-sweetheart Rob (Tom Gallop) and his fiancee Ellen (Leigh Allyn Barker). Throughout Season One, the perennialy unemployed Jack flounces through a variety of jobs, at one point becoming Karen's personal assistant. Also, we meet such eccentric recurring characters as Grace's insufferable mom Bobbie (Debbie Reynolds), Will's estranged older brother (and Grace's temporary main squeeze) Sam (John Slattery) and Grace's boozy, combustible neighbor Val Bassett (Molly Shannon). Two of these peripheral characters were planned as regulars, but only one made the grade. Gary Grubbs, briefly seen as Will's client Harry Polk, never quite caught on with viewers, though it is he who first makes the sage observation that, despite their polar-opposite sexual preferences, Will and Grace are clearly more than just good friends. As for Shelley Morrison as Karen's middle-aged Latino maid Rosario Salazar, she is destined to skyrocket to prominence at the end of Season One when, in order to save Rosario from deportation, Jack impulsively marries her! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, (more)
- 1998
In this science-fiction TV series, bio-anthropologist Dr. Sloan Parker (Debra Messing) encounters an advanced race intent on wiping out present-day humans. Problem is -- they look just like us. In the opening episode, Parker learns that Randall Lynch (Roger Howarth), who murdered her mentor, may not be human after she checks out his DNA. In fact, there's a whole quintet of guys she can't trust, including even an FBI agent (Adam Storke). Her only help comes from her two associates (Vincent Ventresca, Larry Drake). Global warming has triggered the problem, but how can she stop this highly advanced race? The ABC series premiered January 15, 1998. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Debra Messing, Adam Storke, (more)
- 1997
Yes, this is the one in which George's current girlfriend uses the phrase "yada yada" -- and drives George (Jason Alexander) crazy by leaving out the important details between the "yadas."Tim Whatley, Jerry's dentist (played by Malcolm in the Middle's Bryan Cranston) converts to Judaism, and Jerry suspects that his only motivation may be the ability to get away with telling Jewish jokes. Meanwhile, Kramer (Michael Richards) and his actor friend Mickey (Danny Woodburn) fight over which girl they'll get on a double date. And Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) thoroughly louses up the chances for her married friends Beth (Debra Messing) and Arnie (Stephen Caffrey) to adopt a child. This is also the episode in which real life marrieds Robert Wagner and Jill St. John turn up at the end (as Mickey's parents, Dr. Abbott and Mrs. Abbott) and accuse Jerry of being an "Anti-Dentite."
. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Season one of Ned and Stacey concluded as selfish ad executive Ned (Thomas Haden Church) and abrasive left-wing journalist Stacey (Debra Messing) were on the brink of divorcing, thus breaking up the "marriage of convenience" that had been brokered by Stacey's sister Amanda (Nadia Dajani) so that Ned could keep his job with the firm of Kirkland & Haywood and Stacey could get a new apartment. However, there seems to be a bit of subliminal lust holding the couple together at the outset of season two, else how can one explain why this mismatched couple has decided to remain together? Even so, the series seems to be gradually morphing into "Ned and Amanda," as Stacey's sibling Amanda begins to figure more prominently in the proceedings with every succeeding episode. After getting Ned mixed up in a train wreck of a real-estate deal, Amanda still manages to talk him into becoming her partner in a small business concern, "Amanda's Amuffins" (Ford Rainey is added to the cast at this juncture as elderly Nate, the muffin shop's best customer). Meanwhile, back at the ad agency, Ned works hand and glove with Amanda's husband Eric (Greg Germann), chief clerk for Kirkland & Haywood, to thwart the machinations of such duplicitous clients as Les MacDowell (John Getz). Apparently, audiences weren't impressed by the shift of emphasis in Ned and Stacey. The second season had barely gotten under way when the Fox network decided to pull the plug, freeing up Debra Messing and Thomas Haden Church for more artistically fulfilling projects like Will & Grace and Sideways -- and leaving eleven of the series' completed episodes unaired. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thomas Haden Church, Debra Messing, (more)
- 1996
In his inimitable fashion, George (Jason Alexander) breaks up someone else's romantic relationship with a few ill-chosen words. Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) develops stomach trouble when Elaine starts driving again. Kramer (Michael Richards) has trouble with his too-tight jeans -- and by extension, so does Kramer's little-person friend, Mickey Abbott (Danny Woodburn). And Susan (Heidi Swedberg) may be having second thoughts about marriage -- much to George's relief. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Here's the premise for season one of Ned and Stacey: abrasive counter-culture journalist Stacey (Debra Messing) is in desperate need of an apartment. Arrogant advertising executive Ned (Thomas Haden Church) needs a wife to improve his image at the ad firm of Kirkland and Haywood, which caters heavily to the "family values" crowd. It so happens that Stacey's sister Amanda (Nadia Dajani) is married to Ned's chief accountant and best friend Eric (Greg Germann). At Amanda's urging, Ned and Stacey enter into an in-name-only marriage, with the understanding that they can continue going out with others. Not surprisingly, the couple find it impossible to get along for any more than a few minutes at a time, but they do manage to find prospective dates for one another. As the season progresses, Stacey leaves her job at The Village Voice and signs on with "Skyward," a cheap in-flight magazine for a cut-rate airline. Ned finally fixes Stacey up with "Mr. Right" and she falls deeply in love -- thus neatly bollixing up the couple's marriage of convenience. The season ends with a spirit of hearty recrimination and a determination on the part of both Ned and Stacey to get a divorce. But how can one dismiss that long, passionate kiss between them in the middle of Ned's apartment? Recurring characters during season one include Harry Goz and Dori Brenner as Stacey's parents Saul and Ellen; Andrew Arons as Eric and Amanda's son Howard; and James Karen as Ned's boss Patrick Kirkland. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thomas Haden Church, Debra Messing, (more)
- 1995
When serial killer George Putnam (Tim de Zarn) is shot down and killed at the precinct station, the suspects range from the father of Putnam's last victim to the members of a support group. Simone (Jimmy Smits) and Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) arrest a surly Romanian immigrant (Richard Schiff) as a suspected carjacker -- unaware (at least at first) that their prisoner may be a terrorist. And on the romantic front, Dana (Debra Messing) again tries to woo Medavoy (Gordon Clapp) away from her sister Donna (Gail O'Grady), while the once-burned Lesniak (Justine Miceli) is reluctant to pursue her relationship with her partner Martinez (Nicholas Turturro). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
An old cop friend of Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) is the chief suspect in the murder of a pimp. Simone (Jimmy Smits) inadvertently passes this information on to his current girlfriend, a reporter. Elsewhere, Medavoy (Gordon Clapp) is put out when an former ice-skating beau of Donna's (Gail O'Grady) returns to New York. And the relationship between Martinez (Nicholas Turturro) and Lesniak (Justine Miceli) becomes more serious. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
It's an evening of togetherness as Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) and Sylvia Costas (Sharon Lawrence) move in together, and Donna Abandando's sister Dana (future Will & Grace star Debra Messing) moves in with Donna (Gail O'Grady) and Greg Medavoy (Gordon Clapp) -- whereupon Dana starts putting her on moves on Greg. In other developments, Simone (Jimmy Smits) has trouble believing the confession of his friend's son (Adam Hann-Byrd) regarding a school shooting. And while Martinez (Nicholas Turturro) and Lesniak (Justine Miceli) prepare to file charges against a man who knowingly transmitted HIV to his girlfriends, one of the man's victims grimly prepares her own brand of justice. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Freddy Rodriguez, John Leguizamo, Debra Messing, Alfred Molina, and Elizabeth Peña star in Washington Heights director Alfredo de Villa's earnest family drama about the importance of familial relationships in times of personal crisis. The snow is falling and Christmas has come to Chicago. For the Rodriguez family, there is particular cause to celebrate this year; youngest sibling Jesse (Rodriguez) has recently returned home safe and sound after fighting in the war overseas. But as the members of the Rodriguez family converge on their parent's home, there's a strange sense of tension lingering heavy in the cool winter air. Despite the fact that Jesse is doing his best to get back in the good graces of his old flame, she seems reluctant to forgive him for leaving in the first place. Meanwhile, his older sister, Roxanna, has little to show for time spent chasing her Hollywood dreams, and eldest brother Mauricio (Leguizamo) is married to a high-strung executive who seems more interested in advancing her career than starting a family. But while none of this sits too well with concerned mother Anna (Peña), the bombshell she's about to drop could prove the straw that broke this family's back. When Anna announces to her children that she is planning to divorce their father, Eduardo (Molina), Roxanna, Jesse, and Mauricio instinctively pull together and begin to reevaluate their past while looking at the future in a whole new light. Later, as lingering resentments are let go and weakened bonds are reaffirmed, the Rodriquez family begins to experience the healing power of laughter while discovering that together as a family they are far stronger than they ever could be apart. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Freddy Rodriguez, John Leguizamo, (more)
