Finnigan finds her television ‘Salvation’
Q: I’m glad to see Jennifer Finnigan on “Salvation,” but is “Tyrant” over? – Mary Wade, via e-mail
A: Yes, FX canceled the show – in which the actress played the American wife of a Middle Eastern dictator’s son – last year, after its third season. Well, technically, just before its third season ended ... since the network announced just before it was televised that the finale also would be the series finale. FX was hoping to see audience growth for the drama in Season 3, but that ultimately didn’t happen. Finnigan has said how grueling the “Tyrant” shoot was for her, particularly in emotional terms. Though she told us she “almost felt like a prop” during the first two years, she found challenges in the material she was given in the last round. Now expecting her first child with actor husband Jonathan Silverman, she says she appreciates “the pleasant, happy environment” that she has found the “Salvation” set to be. Q: I know Jill Flint is starring in “The Night Shift,” but I’ve also enjoyed her appearances on “Bull.” Will she do any more? – Tim Phillips, via e-mail A: In fact, she’s set to return in the CBS drama’s Season 2 premiere on Sept. 26. She’ll undoubtedly cross swords again – supposedly figuratively, but with the professionally adventurous Flint, you never know – as her attorney character Diana Lindsay mixes it up with trial consultant Jason Bull (Michael Weatherly) again. In a scenario similar to that one, the “Sun Records” producers were said to be seeking another home for their show – which dramatized the early careers of such music legends as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis – though there were no developments on that front at the time of this writing. With “The Night Shift” now in its fourth season, what’s your view on its longevity? Oh, my gosh! We have a pretty loyal and solid fan base that we are totally grateful for, and they keep us on our toes. You put your show out there, and you never know what’s going to happen. And people keep showing up. It’s cool, man. And in France, England, Brazil, Mexico, Italy ... we have all these people everywhere who have been so supportive. I get support in multiple languages, which is lots of fun. What do you think of your doctor character Jordan’s arc in the current season? Things have been shifting in the hospital, and Jordan has started a new initiative to work for veterans. That’s a way of figuring out how they could save the hospital, actually. The one thing that makes sense to Jordan, always, is her job. She’s good at it, she loves it, she’s passionate about it. Though it’s set in San Antonio, you film “The Night Shift” in Albuquerque. Do you enjoy it there? I’m an outdoors person, and New Mexico is gorgeous. It’s like this space that nobody talks about, and they associate it with “Breaking Bad” ... which obviously was a great show, but there’s so much more. So much culture, so much history.