LOS ANGELES _ The long and winding acting road for Katherine Heigl has delivered her to another starring role in a TV series. This time, Heigl stars in "Doubt" as Sadie Ellis, a sassy New York attorney who takes on the toughest cases. Think of her as Perry Mason in a pencil skirt.
Since her run as the ghost-seeing Dr. Izzie Stevens on "Grey's Anatomy," Heigl has found very little acting success. Her series, "State of Affairs," got canned quickly, while her film "One for the Money" didn't pay off.
Her biggest accomplishment since her "Grey's" days ended was a TV commercial campaign for cat litter.
Now, Heigl's back in the CBS series that also stars Dule Hill, Laverne Cox, Dreama Walker and Elliott Gould. The new show means starting from square one again for Heigl.
That's OK for the 38-year-old actress who came to fame through "Roswell."
"Just to get the pilot made and then just to get it picked up and then just to have even a few episodes to shoot and see if people will like it _ it's a whole exciting process," Heigl says.
"But it's also terrifying and stressful and can be _ if one goes there, which I'm trying very hard not to _ scary. But I think I'm really trying to just stay focused on how much fun it's been."
Heigl's character is a legal eagle who becomes attracted to her client, a surgeon (Billy Brennan, played by Steven Pasquale) accused of a 24-year-old murder.
"Her first instinct is to believe the best in people. And she is obviously clouded a bit by her not terribly professional feelings for this man," Heigl says. "But she's so determined to save him and so determined to prove his innocence that she's trying to separate herself emotionally but struggling with it.
"And I feel like that struggle can go one of two ways. It could go very kind of like, 'Oh, come on, this isn't realistic at all' or it can feel very human. And that's what I think we're trying to do. Keep it feeling very relatable and human."
"Doubt" is from the husband-wife team of Tony Phelan and Joan Rateer who worked on "Grey's Anatomy" for a decade. That included the years that Heigl was on the ABC medical drama.
They have created "Doubt" in a similar fashion where there will be some serious moments and some lighter instances. They believe that's a reflection of real life.
Another thing that Heigl has going for her with "Doubt" is a veteran actor she can look to in Gould. He's playing a lawyer who is a mentor in many different ways to Heigl's character.
Gould loves the chemistry he's found with Heigl and that the chemistry of the cast will help the show connect with the audience.
It's been a bumpy road for Heigl in recent years but "Doubt" puts her on CBS, a network where law dramas have done well, along with having two executive producers who know her work and a veteran actor to lean on when needed. It's now up to viewers to see if this is the beginning of a long highway for Heigl or another dead end.
