"Up All Night" Season 2 Changes: Sean Hayes Joins Cast, Sitcom Dropping 'Ava' Talk Show
07/31/2012


NBC's nascent comedy "Up All Night" is going to look different when it returns for its sophomore season. "Will & Grace" star Sean Hayes has been cast in a multi-episode arc as Ava's (Maya Rudolph) former accompanist, the network revealed on Facebook.

"Up All Night", which stars Will Arnett and Christina Applegate, is also ditching its show-within-a-show "Ava", and re-tooling around "smaller, lower-key home stories," Todd VanDerWerff, TV editor at the A.V. Club reported from set visit day at the 2012 Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour.

NPR's Monkey See blog also reported on "Ava" changing direction, tweeting, "They're basically dropping the Ava show and concentrating on home stories."





But while the show might be moving away from "Ava", it won't be moving away from Rudolph's character.

"Maya Rudolph is not leaving. Ava will be doing other things," Monkey See clarified. Maybe reviving her R&B career with Hayes' character?



"Up All Night" Season 2 premieres Thursday, Sept. 20 at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/31/up-all-night-season-2_n_1725359.html?

Keck's Exclusives First Look: Sean Hayes on "Up All Night"
Aug 27, 2012
by William Keck


Six years after saying goodbye to his Emmy-winning "Just Jack" alter ego on "Will & Grace", Sean Hayes is returning to NBC. He'll be recurring on "Smash" and is developing his own comedy series.

But first up comes an amusing arc as a passive-aggressive nemesis to Ava (Maya Rudolph) on "Up All Night".



"My character, Walter, used to be Ava's musical accompanist," explains Hayes, who'll duet with Rudolph on a naughty jingle. "When Ava got the talk show that catapulted her to stardom, I assumed she would bring me along."

When that didn't happen, Walter built up years of resentment. "We run into each other at a children's party and rekindle a friendship. It doesn't come out until later how angry I am."

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Sean-Hayes-Up-All-Night-1052386.aspx