In this exclusive interview with Made in Hollywood, the stars of ‘Firefly Lane’ talk about their new Netflix series.
Katherine Heigl (Tully) and Sarah Chalke (Kate) both show how impressed they were with the work of her younger co-stars. Then Ali Skovbye (Young Tully) and Roan Curtis (Young Kate) talk about what it’s like to collaborate with someone playing the same character years later. And Ben Lawson (Johnny) shares how his character relates to Kate and Tully and their long-term friendship.
Katherine Heigl is packing up her “Suits” to move to “Firefly Lane.”
The “Grey’s Anatomy” alum will star in and executive produce Netflix’s 10-episode adaptation of Kristin Hannah’s bestselling novel. Maggie Friedman (“Witches of East End”) will serve as showrunner.
“Firefly Lane” centers on two inseparable best friends and their enduring, complicated bond, spanning four tumultuous decades.
Heigl, who is wrapping up a two-season run on USA’s “Suits,” will play Tully Hart, a magnetic, ambitious, reckless and fiercely loyal force of nature.
According to the official logline, Tully is still bearing the scars of a traumatic childhood and dogged by inner loneliness, even as she goes on to fabulous fame and fortune as a journalist and talk show host. Her saving grace is her best friend and soulmate, Kate (still uncast), with whom she shares an unshakable bond, over the course of four tumultuous decades.
USA has renewed the legal drama for a ninth and final season. The last 10 episodes are expected to air later this year.
The renewal and finale news comes as “Suits” Season 8B premieres tonight.
The series premiered in 2011 and centered on the shark-like lawyer Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht) and the brilliant college dropout Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) that he hires as an associate. As Mike hid his fraudulent credentials, he also fell in love with paralegal Rachel Zane (Meghan Markle).
Markle and Adams left the show at the end of Season 7, after their characters got married and decided to move to the West Coast. Their send-off aired just before Markle married Prince Harry and became the Duchess of Sussex.
“Suits” had something of a reboot after they left, with Katherine Heigl joining the cast as a series regular and Dulé Hill and Amanda Schull promoted. Season 7 has followed the ups and downs of the firm as first Harvey and now Louis took on the managing reins.
This isn’t the end of the “Suits” universe, however. A Chicago-set spinoff titled “Pearson” starring Gina Torres as her character Jessica Pearson is will premiere later this year.
“Suits” creator Aaron Korsh released a statement thanking the cast, crew, and viewers:
“Though I know it isn’t true, it seems like only yesterday USA Network took a chance on an unestablished writer’s very first hour long script. These days that’s a common thing, but forty seven years ago when I first wrote the Untitled Korsh Project, nobody did it. Nobody except the people at USA and UCP.
“First and foremost I would like to thank Alex Sepiol and Dennis Kim, without whom Suits would never have gotten made. I also cannot thank Bill McGoldrick, Jeff Wachtel, Bonnie Hammer, Chris McCumber, Ted Chervin, Dave Bartis, Gene Klein, Doug Liman, Dawn Olmstead and everyone at the network and studio enough for their dedication and support throughout the years. And to the exceptional writers, cast and crew – thank you for your passion and devotion, without which, Suits would be nothing.
“And last but never least, to the fans who have stuck with the Suits family through thick and thin, through can-openers and flashbacks – thank you for always speaking your mind. Without you, I might start to think I’m getting the hang of this writing thing. And once that happens, nobody wins. I look forward to enraging and hopefully sometimes delighting you with the final episodes. Finally, to my wife Kate and my children Cooper and Lucy. Thank you for enduring countless late nights and times away, for me to get to live my dream. I love you. Love, Aaron”
It’s been eight years since Katherine Heigl left “Grey’s Anatomy,” but the show’s fans haven’t forgotten her character, Izzie Stevens.
The newest “Suits” star recently chatted with TVLine, and during it, her interviewer brought up the recent TV marriage of Alex Karev (Justin Chambers), Izzie’s ex-husband, and asked how Izzie would react. The actress herself was happy to hear the news, but in order to determine how her character would feel about it, Heigl had to think about where Izzie would be now.
“I don’t know [how Izzie would react],” she told TVLine. “I’d have to start wondering where Izzie is.”
Heigl started considering the question and expressed her hope that Izzie would still be pursuing her medical career. She also speculated that her character could have a family of her own.
“She could have children by now,” she said. “She could be married… If she has moved on, then I would expect Izzie to be very happy for him. She would want him to be happy.”
Funnily enough, Heigl’s hopes for Izzie match those that Alex expressed when he discussed how he imagined his ex’s life with his then-wife-to-be in an episode of “Grey’s Anatomy.”
“She’s married with three kids, and she lives somewhere, I think, kind of woodsy,” he said, before going on to add that his version of Izzie is a surgeon still and is just as happy as he is.
Their visions for Izzie are nice, so we hope they’re right. The actress hasn’t appeared on the show at all since she left, and it seems unlikely that she will anytime soon. Heigl’s keeping busy, and we’ll see her as a lawyer soon.
“Roswell,” but had things gone differently, it could have been “Dawson’s Creek.”
Now that the classic WB teen drama has reached its 20th anniversary, the cast and creator Kevin Williamson have been celebrating. They spoke recently spoke with Entertainment Weekly, and Williamson had some intriguing “Dawson’s Creek” history gems to share, particularly in regard to casting. It turns out Heigl was in serious consideration to take the role of Jen before it ultimately went to Michelle Williams.
Steve Miner, who directed the pilot episode, had previously worked with Heigl on the film “My Father the Hero,” so he had her audition for a part. She did, and it was “a great audition,” according to Williamson.
“I remember we were all sort of like, ‘Wow, she’s good,’” he said.
He didn’t lay out exactly what made them cast Williams over Heigl, but he did say that Williams “came across as an angel,” which apparently fit what they wanted.
It all worked out for Heigl in the end, of course. She played Isabel on “Roswell” for multiple seasons and later had enormous success as Izzie on “Grey’s Anatomy.” Her list of film credits includes “Knocked Up,” “Unforgettable,” and more, and she has recently joined “Suits” as a series regular.
The “Grey’s Anatomy” alum is joining the cast of USA’s legal drama “Suits” in season 8 as a series regular. Her addition follows on the heels of the departure of stars Patrick J. Adams and Meghan Markle.
She’ll fill a void left by Markle, who is retiring from acting ahead of her marriage to Prince Harry. Meanwhile, “Psych” alum Dulé Hill was promoted from a recurring role to step into Adams’ shoes opposite star Gabriel Macht.
Heigl — who most recently appeared in the short-lived CBS drama “Doubt” — will play Samantha Wheeler, a new partner at Pearson Specter Litt who will be “the firm’s greatest ally or most powerful enemy.”
“I cannot wait to have [Heigl] come play with our entire cast and crew,” said showrunner Aaron Korsh. “Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Harvey, Louis, Donna and Alex as the mysterious Samantha Wheeler is a direct threat to their status quo. One thing is for sure — Samantha’s wit, charm, loyalty, strength and vulnerability will all be put to the test as she muscles her way into the firm currently known as Pearson Specter Litt.”
“Suits” has undergone some seismic shifts in the last couple of years, first with the exit of Gina Torres as firm boss Jessica Pearson. And Adams and Markle will say farewell in the Season 7 finale, which will air in April.
Fans of longrunning ABC medical soap “Grey’s Anatomy” have already heard plenty of tantalizing teases about the show’s upcoming landmark 300th episode, and this latest one should make them even more excited for the milestone hour: Cristina, George, and Izzie will all be back — in spirit, anyway.
Sadly, there don’t appear to be any plans for actors Sandra Oh, T.R. Knight, and Katherine Heigl to reprise their roles for the episode. But according to a new tease from cast member Sarah Drew, they will be getting some pretty convincing doppelgangers who seriously mess with the staff of Grey Sloan Memorial.
“Cristina, George, and Izzie we’re thinking about a lot during this episode because our three guest actors on the show actually really look like them and remind the rest of the doctors of those characters,” Drew revealed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “That causes the original group to really remember those people well and want to fight for these ones to live.”
That jibes with the previous intel we’ve heard about the episode, which has a “ghosts from the past” theme. In the short promo that aired on ABC last week, we get a quick glimpse of the Cristina and George lookalikes, who grow pretty exasperated with Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and Alex (Justin Chambers) constantly comparing them to their pals. And we also hear the familiar strains of Snow Patrol’s “Chasing Cars,” which we hope will soundtrack a major moment in the episode.
The 300th episode of “Grey’s” airs on ABC on November 9.
Katherine Heigl has enjoyed playing what she calls the “goofy neurotic fun-loving gal,” but when the thriller “Unforgettable” came along, she leaped at the chance to explore her dark side as Tessa, a woman who isn’t dealing well with her ex-husband’s new fiancee, played by Rosario Dawson.
“It would be challenging, totally different for me. I’ve done some creepy characters in the past — but no one every saw those particular projects — but I hadn’t done it in a long time,” she tells Made in Hollywood reporter Julie Harkness Arnold. “And I thought I just want to dive into this woman’s mind.”
As Heigl examined her character, she realized that Tessa was more than a one-dimensional villainess.
“I felt some sympathy for her, some compassion for her,” says Heigl. “I thought this would be interesting. Can I do that? She is essentially a monster. But can I create a monster with a heartbreak, that you can feel for her?”
Helping her do that was the fact the story contained issues and situations many people could relate to, from coping with divorce to meeting a new love’s former flame, while still allowing Heigl to let loose, including one scene in which she confronts Dawson.
“That was really fun to play because it was just diving into Tessa’s diabolical mind and enjoying that cat-andmouse game,” says Heigl. “She loves that game and she knows she’s going to win that game.”
“Roswell,” but had things gone differently, it could have been “Dawson’s Creek.”
Fans of longrunning ABC medical soap “Grey’s Anatomy” have already heard plenty of 
