Small Screen
72 AMERICANWAY
NOVEMBER 1 2008
ONEATTORNEYONTHESHOWCALLSHER “ASADIST INAROBE.”ANOTHERCALLS
HER “APETTY, SPITEFULTYRANT.”WELL, THEN.
Needless to say, I’m a little intimidated. You can’t play roles like those thatwell without
being a little unglued yourself, can you?
But insteadof theoverbearingmotormouth I’ve seenherplayon television, Kaczmarek is
downright…sweet. “Inmycareer, Ialwayswanted toplay thevictim, thepersonwhowould
beweeping,” she laments. “But I always got cast as the personmaking the othersweep.”
With that kind of a cry-inducing CV, it is no wonder that Steven Bochco, the veteran
producer of hits like
L.A. Law
and
Hill StreetBlues
, thought of herfirst for the roleof Judge
TrudyKessler.
“Wewanted adominant personality for that role,” Bochco says. “So fromday one, there
was a very, very short list. And shewas number one on that short list.”
Sohe enlisted the helpof the sitcom veteran, whohadbeennominated for anEmmy for
each of her seven seasons on
Malcolm
, to helpbring his legal drama to life.
“It’s a take-charge role but on a different level of complexity andmanipulation,” Kacz-
marek says. “Getting those boys to behave on
Malcolm
took a certain level of cleverness.
But there are farmoremindgames on
Raising theBar
.”
While the complexityof the character appealed to theactress inKaczmarek, the chance
to share the spotlight with a larger ensemble cast appealed to the busy mom in her. On
Raising the Bar
, which costarsMark-Paul Gosselaar and Gloria Reuben, Kaczmarek steals
more scenes than she stars in. But after having watched her kids log so much time with
caretakers during her
Malcolm
run, she craved a lighter schedule so that she could spend
more time at home.
The product of an educator mother who pushed academics and discipline, Kaczmarek,
who grew up near Milwaukee and earned degrees from the University of Wisconsin–
Madison and the Yale School of Drama, admits to running a tight ship at home: little TV,
lots of books. She shares that homewithher actor husband, BradleyWhitford, best known
for his role as Josh Lyman on
TheWestWing
. A few years ago, she andWhitfordmoved
their family from Los Angeles to Pasadena, California, because, she says, “It has a more
Midwestern feel.Whenyoumeet aparentwho says she’s anastrophysicist, it doesn’tmean
she plays one onTV.”
But she admits that it’s not always easy having a spouse in the same profession —
especiallywhen thepublicknowsyouasone toughmama. She tellsmea storyabout a time
when shewas travelingwithWhitfordandhewasapproachedby some fans. Theypromptly
ignored her. “I remember saying to Brad, ‘Gosh, that kind of hurts my feelings,’” she says.
“He turns tome and says, ‘They’re
afraid
of you.’”
With Kaczmarek returning for
Raising the Bar
’s second season next year, it appears as
though “cries on cue”will continue to be a stage command reserved for her costars.
Ever since
Hill Street Blues
, Steven
Bochco’s first successful series, about an
inner-city police precinct, the veteran
producer has pretty much stuck to his
crime-and-punishment formula. Some-
times it’s worked; sometimes it hasn’t.
See which shows hit the bull’s-eye,
whichonesmissed themark, andwhich
onesweremisunderstood. —K.P.P.
StevenBochco’s
Best andWorst
This copdrama
allowed stories
to unfold in a
semi-serial fash-
ion. Itwould
set the standard
for nearly
every other
Bochco series
that followed.
TheGood
TheBad
TheMisunderstood
HILLSTREET
BLUES
(1981 to 1987)
COPROCK
(1990)
HOOPERMAN
(1987 to 1989)
L.A. LAW
(1986 to 1994)
PUBLICMORALS
(1996)
MURDERONE
(1995 to 1997)
NYPDBLUE
(1993 to2005)
Thismore styl-
ish version of
Hill Street
was
set in a lawfirm
instead of a police
station. It came
at a timewhen
greedwas good;
the drama lasted
eight seasons.
For 12 seasons,
thisDennis
Franz–ledpolice
drama drove cen-
sors battywith
its nudity and
foul language, but
itwas a critical
darling and a
ratings success.
Itwas a tough-minded
drama inwhich cops and
murderers broke into song.
No, really.
This flopwas like an
updated version of
Barney
Miller
butwithout a sense of
humor and in poor taste.
Was this show, about the
life of a policeman, a half-
hour dramawith occasional
laughs or a comedywith
elements of drama? Either
way, audiences didn’t get it.
This high-concept legal
drama spent an entire
season slowly unwrapping
one case. Viewers craved
more action. It got the ax
after only two seasons.
