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Freshman ABC drama The Forgotten—about a group of civilians who band together to gather info on John and Jane Does—is in a spot of trouble. Its viewership has cut in half since its premiere, and reviews have been a mixed bag. But the network is hoping to change all that soon. Tuesday night, Elisha Cuthbert (24) joins what was previously “That one show with Christian Slater” as a new regular character, and the show will now benefit from having Lost as a lead-in. (Her first episode also features parkour, so that’s something.) We briefly chatted with Slater and Cuthbert about how things are going to change.

TV.com: Why do you think the show’s been struggling with ratings?
Christian Slater: [Pause] Well, the thing I’ve learned about this business—a lot of it has to do with lead-ins. You hope the show on before yours has at least 14-15 million viewers. Then you can ride that into your own show. Ours is a new show; it takes time to develop something like that. It’s a concept a lot of people aren’t aware of. I certainly wasn’t aware of it when I joined—that there are 40,000 cases of John and Jane Does across the country… Yesterday, putting aside ratings and all that stuff, we got amazing news that we played a significant part in giving a real family—a real family—some sort of closure. It’s almost like we have to come up with new terminology for what it is we are doing. We’re a drama, but we’re also crossing over to reality.
Elisha Cuthbert: We’ve been tinkering with some things.
CS: Dramaledy.
EC: Hybrid. [Laughs]

It’s funny you bring up lead-ins, given the popularity of Hulu, DVRs, and whatnot.
EC: Also, if it’s quality, it catches on. However people discover the show is up to the powers that be. We’re having a blast here and can only hope that as many as possible tune in.

Elisha, how were you approached about the new character?
EC: A couple of different ways. There was a spot open and this character was being written and they had me in mind. Christian called me hoping it would all work out. I had seen the show before, liked what they were doing, and was in a state of feeling like the bar had been raised. With 24 being so successful, if I was going to tackle something else in TV, I wanted to be really passionate about it.

What do you hope is going to change about the show going forward this season?
CS: Since Elisha has come aboard, the energy and chemistry has been fantastic.
EC: Yeah it’s a fun character.
CS: It feels very natural—
EC: Very blond.
CS: We’re definitely focusing on our John and Jane Doe cases, but at the same time they’re focusing on the humanity of the characters we are playing.
EC: When a new character comes in, it gets the writers excited too.

Christian, how has the show changed from the pilot to where it is today?
CS: It’s grown and evolved. We’re clearer on the kinds of stories we want to tell. I just read the last episode, and it delivers. I was blown away. Actually—I cried.
EC: Really?
CS: Yeah! I cried three times! It got me!
EC: Oh, that’s interesting. I didn’t know that.
CS: Yeah, it just—
EC: So I wasn’t the only one. [Laughs]

It’s a good thing you guys are on this show, since you love it so much.
CS: Well, exactly. What else would we do? Hard to talk about another one right now.

Is it a challenge to get excited about another procedural, given how many there are on TV nowadays?
CS: Listen, we show up to work and we’re enthusiastic. We’re allowed to be enthusiastic. We’re thrilled to get the opportunity to work—there’s a lot of people out there in this economy who are not working. To work with people I’m happy to work with, and make a difference in the lives of real people—
EC: And there’s a twist to that, because these characters are real people. I don’t think it fits into that [procedural] category as other shows do. They make mistakes along the way and solve cases the way an audience would. It gives the show an edge and separates it from the pack.

What keeps you both coming back to TV, specifically drama?
CS: Writing on TV is fun. Jerry Bruckheimer is a great producer—he’s very zen and knows how to put these kinds of shows together.
EC: I’ve been doing drama TV since I was 18, this is where I’m most comfortable.
CS: I am on The Office tonight.
EC: Really? Awesome.
CS: So there’s a little comedy for ya.

The Forgotten Live Chat with Christian Slater on TV.com

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[Amazon.com]

Listen now

Have you heard Christian interviewed about The Forgotten on your local radio station? Send an email to webmaster@christianslater.com with the radio station call letters and date it aired and we will add it here.