Neal McDonough is Desperate’s new man
One thing you have to say about the powers that be at Desperate Housewives, they’re really great with casting. Great looking guys, beautiful women, quirky character actors; we’ve seen them all on Wisteria Lane and usually they leave a lasting impression.
The latest name to check in to Desperate Housewives is Neal McDonough. He’ll be appearing in the new season and Hollywood Reporter is wondering how he’d do with Nicolette Sheridan’s character, Edie Britt. Is that wondering or playing matchmaker? How do we know that Marc Cherry isn’t setting him up as a mystery man from Bree’s past? Cherry is nothing if not inventive, so good luck trying to anticipate his plotlines!
Neal McDonough is a well-known face on TV, but he’s a guy who’s never quite had a breakout hit. He was riveting in Band of Brothers on HBO, which lead to an NBC primetime series.
Remember when Boomtown was being hailed as NBC’s next great show? The pilot was great, and Neal was terrific as its lead. The show sort of fell apart after the pilot — and hasn’t that happened to other highly-touted series before — and McDonough moved on to the next project.
There was Medical Investigation, Traveler, the mini Tin Man. As an actor, McDonough is always working.
Now, it’s Desperate Housewives. In addition to McDonough, Gale Harold will also be joining DH in the recurring role as Ken. In the flash-forward finale, he was the man kissing Susan.
Harold, a fan favorite from Queer as Folk, was killed in Vanished on Fox — that was a show that ended too soon — and also did a two-parter on Grey’s Anatomy.
Housewives Borrows a Neighbor From Boomtown
Neal McDonough is the future on Wisteria Lane.
The former Boomtown star will be joining the cast of Desperate Housewives this fall as a new addition to the neighborhood who could become more suit-clad prey for Nicollette Sheridan’s man-eater Edie Britt, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The blue-eyed McDonough most recently starred in the short-lived ABC series Traveler, the Sci Fi miniseries Tin Man andwe won’t hold it against himthe much-razzed Lindsay Lohan flick I Know Who Killed Me.
As Desperate fans know, the show jumped five years into the future toward the end of the fourth-season finale in May, so our heroines will be greeting an unfamiliar set of only-time-will-tell challenges in season five.
Joining McDonough on the block is Gale Harold (he briefly starred in the ill-fated Fox mystery Vanished), who will provide a personality for Ken, the mystery man Teri Hatcher kissed in the finale.
Tin Man Postshow: Peek Behind the Curtain
Ding-dong, the witch is dead! Or at least kind of melty…And now that you've seen the whole shebang, it's time to really get to dishing about Sci Fi's blockbuster miniseries Tin Man.
Click in for scoop on a possible series, Neal McDonough's take on Cain and DG and what it was like for Kathleen Robertson to play someone so monkey-bats–t insane; plus, cast your vote in our Tin Man polls!
O.Z. POV: So, why is it called Tin Man instead of Farm Girl, Cowardly Lion or Absent-Minded Courtier? According to cocreator Craig Van Sickle: "It's Tin Man because the original concept was a cop show set in a Blade Runner kind of Oz, where this old woman has been killed who was known as a bitch, and they're looking for a runaway named Dorothy Gale. And that was all we had." That and Neal McDonough, with whom Van Sickle and Steven Long Mitchell worked on NBC's short-lived drama Medical Investigation. "Neal was such an iconic character and a strong character that when it came to casting Tin Man we were like, We gotta get Neal, we gotta get Neal." (And for that, thank you very much.)
Get Your Mind Out of the Gutter: According to McDonough, any Cain-DG chemistry you might be seeing is strictly platonic. "She was basically my daughter in the show," he says. "And it was great to have that crazy father-daughter relationship. And I really get what that's about now that I have a daughter of my own—a six-month-old baby. I'm truly blessed." Awww, congrats on the baby. As for Cain-DG, um, la-la-la, we can't hear you.
Double Trouble: Kathleen Robertson says she loved playing Azkadellia as a schizophrenic princess battling the evil demon inside her. Says Robertson: "The character is really complex. Those scenes where she's talking to herself, those are the scenes to me where the choice was the witch was asleep and that was her now. I had to be very specific and very clear about my relationship with every character. The scenes with Zooey were really interesting to play because, even though the witch is evil, there's that emotional thing of, yep, this still is my sister."
From the O.Z. to the N.Z.: When asked if he'd be interested in doing a series, Raoul Trujillo (Raw) says, "Well, I think all of us might say the same thing: That we would want to do it, but we'd like to shoot it somewhere other than British Columbia, because it rains a lot there. But on the other hand, it's an incredible place to do it. Maybe we can go for New Zealand. Live in New Zealand for a while. South Africa. Why not, right?"
Where to Now? So, after becoming Sci Fi's top-rated telecast ever, could the Tin Man miniseries go to a full series? "Yes, for sure it can be a series," says cocreator Mitchell. "Write all those letters to Sci Fi. We've looked at a series a couple ways. We could pick it up where the story ended, or it could be a prequel to this. Basically, the O.Z. when it was falling apart, and when the Tin Man was a cop, and the downfall of the O.Z. before Dorothy got there. We have several ideas."
Canada! For all you Canadians out there who have been asking, the production company tells me it will air on Super Channel (a pay-TV channel), but it doesn't have an airdate yet. We'll let you know if we hear something specific!
Interested in more Tin? Make your picks in the poll below, and then tell us about your preferences for a possible continuation. Should it be set in the future or the past? Would you only watch if the entire original cast returned? Series or sequel? Post in the Comments below!
—With reporting by Jennifer Godwin
Flags of Our Fathers’ Neal McDonough Has a Girl
Flags of Our Fathers actor Neal McDonough has become a father for the second time, his rep tells PEOPLE exclusively.
His wife, Ruvé Robertson, gave birth to daughter Cate – full name Catherine Maggie McDonough – May 14 at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles. The couple also have an 18-month-old son, Morgan.
“[Cate] is so beautiful and healthy and is much adored by her brother Morgan,” McDonough tells PEOPLE. “I am truly blessed – Ruvé has given me yet another gorgeous, wonderful gift.”
McDonough, 41, and Robertson, a former model from South Africa, met in London while he was filming the 2001 TV miniseries Band of Brothers. They wed in 2003.
The actor, who had roles in The Hitcher and the TV show Boomtown, will next appear on the big screen in I Know What Killed Me alongside Lindsay Lohan, in theaters in July.