Ming-Na and Jaime Pressly by Lester Cohen/WireImage.com

Amanda Peet and Matthew Perry by Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage.com

Jaime Pressly by Mitch Haaseth/NBC

Amanda Peet by Theo Wargo/WireImage.com

Lisa O'Connor/ZUMApress.com

1.17.06 - Click here for a picture of Jaime Pressly at the 2006 Golden Globe Awards.

12.12.06 - Don't miss the article: "5 Reasons We Love Jaime Pressly" on page 26 of the December 12th issue of TV Guide magazine.

Ivan Sergei by Mitchell Haddad/WB

by Matt Webb Mitovich

Earlier this month, Ivan Sergei — whom you probably remember as the Jill in Jack & Jill — returned to WB via Charmed (Sundays at 8 pm/ET), playing Henry, a lawman oblivious to the ladies' witchy ways. Here's what the actor had to share with TVGuide.com about his charmed existence, the one role he let slip away and his flirtation with danger.

TVGuide.com: For the uninitiated, how would you describe your Charmed role?
Ivan Sergei: I'm playing Henry, a parole officer. In my first episode, one of my parolees is destined for future greatness, but he's not really showing it to me, so I need Rose McGowan's Paige character to come along and show me the way. In the process, we start a budding little romance.

TVGuide.com: Are you being groomed to fill the void left when Brian Krause exits as Leo?
Sergei: Well, as of now, Henry is not aware of any witchcraft or anything like that, which has been kind of fun.

TVGuide.com: You're Darren Stevens with a badge!
Sergei: That's true.

TVGuide.com: How long does Charmed have you for?
Sergei: The rest of the season.

TVGuide.com: How is the "colorful" Rose McGowan as a leading lady?
Sergei: She's absolutely great. I'm not really one who reads the magazines or anything, so I didn't know anything about her. When I came on, people said, "Rose is a strong person." I kind of like that, actually, so it's been all gravy for me.

TVGuide.com: When I interviewed Justin Kirk about Weeds, we were talking about how all of you Jack & Jillers seem to be doing well for yourselves.
Sergei: I think so. Not as well as Amanda [Peet], as of yet, but yeah, everybody's working. Jaime [Pressly] is doing well, as [My Name Is] Earl goes strong....

TVGuide.com: How was Jack & Jill as a work experience?
Sergei: It was a little up-and-down — our show runner left after one year — but it was a great experience. For me, just to be a title character on a show that's on the air for two years was wonderful. I previously had done John Woo's Once a Thief, which was a Canadian show, so this was a great opportunity. I actually got offered the part and got to sit in on most of the auditions and have a bit of say, in particular with Justin's character [Barto] coming in. I think we had replaced Amelia Heinle (The Young and the Restless) as the original Jack, so I had a little say in bringing Amanda in.

TVGuide.com: Amelia and Amanda are, like, "separated at birth," looks-wise.
Sergei: Yeah, but they couldn't be more different in personality, and I think that was a different direction the show wanted to go with.

TVGuide.com: How was your gig as a Crossing Jordan doc?
Sergei: You know, I'm very happy on Charmed, but I really wish I had stayed on Crossing Jordan. I took a chance to go do Hawaii, where I was the No. 2 guy on that show and it was a Hawaii-based cop show. I actually asked the people at Crossing Jordan, where I was No. 9 on the call sheet, to release me from my contract.

TVGuide.com: The math seemed simple enough.
Sergei: The math looked simple and the location was simple [Laughs] but Crossing Jordan has some great producers and a great show runner. It's the same feeling I have on Charmed — a well-run, friendly set.

TVGuide.com: On Jordan, did you overlap with Jennifer Finnigan (now star of Close to Home)?
Sergei: Yeah, absolutely. That was the whole time Jill [Hennessy] was pregnant, so they were bringing in new people to do new things with the show. I think that helped it keep going at a time when their lead character wasn't around for half the season.

TVGuide.com: In a way, Finnigan arrived at the same crossroads as you, leaving Jordan to headline the sitcom Committed.
Sergei: Yeah, but she was only recurring, whereas I had a six-year contract. She knew she was going to be moving onto another show, having come off [three Daytime] Emmys [wins] and doing so well in daytime.... She's really talented and obviously [Close to Home producer] Jerry Bruckheimer is the best in the business. He started my career, so I have nothing but fondness for him. My first film was Dangerous Minds, which you wouldn't expect to go make $100 million necessarily, but put it in the hands of someone like him and he turned it into gold.

TVGuide.com: You costarred with Tori Spelling in the TV-movie Mother, May I Sleep with Danger....
Sergei: Which airs all... the... time. [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: I take it you were "danger"?
Sergei: I was "danger," yes. Tough role to play. If I had a chance to do it again, I'd probably play it differently; I feel like I overacted a bit. But those are the chances you take when you take a psychotic role. I mean, what do you really draw from? [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: Leave us with a tease of what's coming up on Charmed.
Sergei: They don't really tell me too much. I know that I am going to find out that Paige is a witch. I think it's going to be a fun kind of episode where I'm having a bad week, so she tells the fairies to stop stealing my keys and tells the leprechauns to help me out a bit, so I, like, win the lottery and stuff like that. I think they're going to have some fun with it, and I'm looking forward to it. I'm having a great time.

Jaime Pressly by Justin Lubin/NBC Universal

by Matt Webb Mitovich

For a moment there, it appeared as if Jaime Pressly's legacy might be Not Another Teen Movie, in which her cheerleader RSVP'd to a rival's invite to "bring it on" by snapping, "Oh, it's already been broughten." But with her starring role on NBC's hit freshman comedy My Name Is Earl (Tuesdays at 9 pm/ET), Pressly has dodged such a date with infamy, eliciting raves from both the press and the populace for her portrayal of Jason Lee's on-screen ex, Joy. This week's episode, centered around Joy's pending nuptials to Darnell (aka Crab Man), promises Pressly in her finest form, as the script immediately became the actress' favorite to date.

After recounting Earl's glowing reviews — most of which single out Pressly for bringing sheer Joy to her role — TVGuide.com asks if the transition from being an actress often cast for her, well, "more aesthetic assets" into a critically lauded one has been a surreal experience. "Absolutely," she answers, adding with a laugh, "but it's about time, right?

"You know, I've been [acting] for 11 years, so for me it's been all about the timing," she continues. "It's really nice to get noticed for something other than my T&A."

From the moment that the Earl opportunity crossed Pressly's path, it was a gimme. "As soon as my manager read the script, she called me and said, 'Jaime, I found your role.' We've been together since day one, so I believed her. And once I read it, I went, 'Hmm, here we go. Here's my role.'"

Sure, Joy can be anything but to her ex-husband, always scheming for her piece of his lottery-winnings pie, but embracing that inner she-devil is pure heaven for Pressly. "It's always therapeutic to play a bitch, because you get to let a lot out," chuckles the actress, who cites as her inspiration for the character "everybody from North Carolina, where I'm from. Not one individual person.

"The thing that I love about Joy is how colorful she is, how you never know what she's going to do or say. But she's not doing it because she's trying to be that way; she's doing it because she doesn't know any better."

A woman like Joy — and a series such as Earl, for that matter — is just what today's TV needs, says Pressly. "The BBC has so many amazing television shows that push the envelope, but they're in England. So for me, it's refreshing to finally see something on [American] television that tells the truth. Our show basically talks about the way society is and makes fun of it, but then it corrects it in the end. It rights the wrongs." Case in point: "The fact that [Joy] had a black child was a big deal back home for me," Pressly shares, "but it was funny and we made fun of it, and it was great. It's about time somebody did that on television."

As for this week's actual episode — which actually features two weddings, Pressly teases — will Crab Man finally make an honest woman of his babymama? Or does Earl (and/or Earl) have a twist in store? After all, Pressly notes, there actually is a whole lotta sugar behind the spice she spouts at her former hubby. "I don't think she hates him at all. It's like how you hit the one you like in the third grade. There's still something there."

Whatever the outcome, Pressly is along for the wild ride, savoring this chance to prove something that she has always known about herself, but others necessarily didn't. "It was tough in general growing up, being that [pretty] girl that gets pinpointed, the one that everybody wants to watch mess up. So it's nice to be on My Name Is Earl, because my good karma came into play and I'm getting to show them, you know."

And karma, Earl will tell you, is the name of the game.

5.25.04 - Matt Damon and Amanda Peet have signed on to headline the geopolitical thriller Syriana. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film is based on real-life CIA agent Robert Baer's memoirs, See No Evil: The True Story of a Foot Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism. George Clooney, who is among the pic's producers, is in talks to play Baer.

5.21.03 - TV Guide Online: Meet Niles's New Flame - Good morning kisses from Ewan McGregor and sisterly advice from Renée Zellweger. After facing her initial fear of a visit from the "acting police," you could say filming the over-the-top, '60s sex romp Down with Love was easy for Sarah Paulson....

5.24.02 - TV Guide Online "Caught in the Act" - On the spot: After donning this bizarre dress for the Identity premiere, Amanda Peet may want to consider a fashion victim's protection program.

3.13.03 - NBC sitcom pilot Alligator Point has cast Jaime Pressly. The cast also includes Nathan Fillion, Jim Rash and James McDaniel.

3.4.03 - Sarah Paulson has been cast opposite Steven Weber in the ABC pilot The D.A.

1.17.03 - Zap2It.com: Sergei Joins 'Crossing Jordan' Full Time - Perhaps Boston isn't the best place to die an unnatural death. Whereas Jill Hennessy's medical examiner character Jordan Cavanaugh found her way back home after her anger management issues made her a career pariah, new series regular Ivan Sergei plays a coroner who gets one last chance in Bean Town after his slacker attitude makes him person non grata every where else....

8.20.02 - TV Guide Online: Simon Rex, Destiny's Child - Had destiny not smiled upon Simon Rex during his late-1990s run as MTV eye candy, he easily could have suffered a fate worse than death becoming the next Downtown Julie Brown....

6.25.02 - Production on "The Whole Nine Yards 2," starring Amanda Peet, Bruce Willis, Matthew Perry, and Natasha henstridge, will begin on October 4th in Los Angeles.

5.24.02 - TV Guide Online "Caught in the Act" - Two can play that game. Video vixens Jamie Pressly and Nicole Eggert celebrate the grand opening of the PlayStation 2 Hotel in Los Angeles, Calif.

4.26.02 - Sarah Paulson has nabbed a supporting role in "Down with Love," an upcoming romantic comedy starring Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor.

3.5.02 - TV Guide Online: Sarah Paulson Has Faith - Despite a harsh reception from critics, NBC's Leap of Faith enjoyed a surprisingly strong debut in its post-Friends timeslot. To leading lady Sarah Paulson, numbers are what counts....

3.5.02 - HBO has picked up the television rights to Warner Bros. Online short (8-minute) film Date Squad, starring Amanda Peet, Sandra Oh, Adam Scott, Olivia Rosewood and Jordan Feldman, written/directed by Amie Steir. The short is one of a collection of online films produced and created exclusively for Warner Bros. Online. HBO will air the film on March 27th.

3.1.02 - Ivan Sergei is in a new series on ABC called Wednesday 9:30 (8:30 Central). The show, which first airs on Wednesday at 9:30pm ET on March 27th, is about a fledgling entertainment network IBS trying to make it in Hollywood. Also starring are Ed Begley, Jr., Melinda McGraw, Sherri Shepherd and James McCauley, and John Cleese in a recurring role.

2.21.02 - TV Guide Online "Caught in the Act" - School daze revisited: Donal Logue, Amanda Peet and GQ magazine help server disadvantaged students at a party for the Fulfillment Fund in Los Angeles, Calif.

1.10.02 - Leap of Faith, starring Sarah Paulson, will start airing on NBC at 8:30pm ET Thursdays as of February 28th.

11.20.01 - NBC has given a six episode order for a midseason comedy called Leap of Faith starring Sarah Paulson. Leap of Faith is from writer/producer Jenny Bicks (Sex and the City). The show focuses on Paulson's character, an early thirtysomething who has just called off her engagement and decided to break out on her own and find a life.

6.18.01 - Don't miss Jamie Pressley on the cover of Stuff magazine.

5.14.01 - According to the WB's Fall Schedule advance copy, Jack & Jill has been cancelled and will not be returning next season. The official announcement will be made sometime tomorrow.

4.10.01 - TV Guide Online: Uphill Battle for Jack & Jill

4.3.01 - Ivan Sergei will star in Peter Tolan's "The Web," a comedy pilot for ABC, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Sergei will play a Midwesterner who moves to Los Angeles to become a television executive at the fledging network where the series is set. Sergei says that his role on Jack & Jill will remain a priority.

4.1.01 - Jack & Jill gets cheers from the April 10th issue of Soap Opera Digest for having the show's two main characters get engaged, and yet not having them stop being engaging.

3.20.01 - Wanda at E!Online says that it's not looking very likely that there will be a third season of Jack & Jill. The ratings have been less than stellar and Amanda and Sergei want out to focus on their movie careers.

3.15.01 - "Tomcats," starring Jaime Pressly, opens in theaters everywhere March 30th.

2.6.01 - Jaime Pressly has been cast in the new Columbia Pictures project. It's called "Teen Movie," and will begin shooting in two weeks. The writers are Buddy Johnson and Phil Beauman (both from "Scary Movie") and the film will be a spoof on all the teen movies that have gone before.

1.26.01 - From Entertainment Weekly: The trailer for Saving Silverman, due February 16th, has been caught in a cover-up. Seems that two scenes in the PG-13 film, about two pals trying to rescue Jason Biggs from marrying the wrong woman, were deemed too risqué by the MPAA for a trailer aimed at general audiences. So a pair of blue briefs were digitally painted onto a naked, yoga-practicing Steve Zahn. And Amanda Peet's cleavage-revealing outfit, described by director Dennis Dugan as "pneumonia-inducing," was turned into something fit for the PAX network. Why not ax the scenes rather than spend $30,000 to fix them? "Once you've hammered, argued, yelled, listened to 300 opinions, and finally have the trailer that tests great," says Dugan, "you'd rather pay the price than lose the shot." -Allyssa Lee

1.8.01 - Wanda at E!Online reports that Jaime Pressley and Simon Rex are dating.

1.8.01 - Ivan Sergei has signed an overall development deal to create a pilot for the WB. Sergei revealed the news Saturday at the Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour in Pasadena, CA. More at Zap2It.com...

12.7.00 - "Jack & Jill" will be back on the WB primetime schedule on January 10th at 9pm. This Wednesday "Felicity" will present its winter finale cliffhanger and then go on hiatus until April when it will return with originals for May sweeps. The WB will use the three weeks between the "Felicity" finale and the premiere of "Jack & Jill," to showcase two of its freshman series, "Gilmore Girls" and "Grosse Pointe."

12.1.00 - The WB's freshman comedy "Grosse Pointe" will be taking the Wednesday, 9pm ET time slot after "Dawson's Creek." No word yet as to where "Jack & Jill" will air when it returns from hiatus in January.

11.14.00 - Justin Kirk has been cast opposite Julianna Margulies and Donald Sutherland in Jon Robin Baitz's "10 Unknowns." The play will be directed by Daniel Sullivan and open at Lincoln Center in March.

11.10.00 - Yahoo: Successful shows create problems at WB

10.9.00 - E!Online: Amanda Peet at the Moving Picture Ball

9.17.00 - Look for Elisa Donovan (Barto's friend Annie) on the new season of "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" on the WB.

9.17.00 - Look for Angela Featherstone (who stole Mikey's heart) on the new season of "Providence" on NBC.

9.14.00 - Amanda Peet in Print Soup on E!Online

9.14.00 - Look for Amanda Peet in the September 14th issue of Rolling Stone.

9.1.00 - TV Guide Online: Peet's Sweet Revenge - Amanda Peet relished the opportunity to offer moviegoers an antidote to "guy talk" in her new film, Whipped, opening today.

6.29.00 - Amanda Peet has been named the "It Scene Stealer" by the June 30th issue of Entertainment Weekly due to her role in "The Whole Nine Yards."

6.12.00 - Jaime Pressly is going to have a busy summer. She has landed roles in three different feature films. The first is "Ticker," where she joins Dennis Hopper, Steven Seagal and Tom Sizemore in a project about a former detective who comes back to work after his friend and partner is murdered by a terrorist. Pressly will play a lab researcher. The second is "Tomcats" in which Pressly stars as the girl next door in a story about a group of guys who bet each other who will be the last to remain single. Jerry O'Connell, Shannon Elizabeth and Jake Busey co-star. The last as-yet-untitled project has Pressly working with David Spade ("Just Shoot Me"), Kid Rock, Brittany Daniel ("Dawson's Creek"), Gary Busey and Roseanne. Pressly will play Spade's love interest.

5.18.00 - Jack & Jill is #7 on Wanda's list of shows to be saved (out of 8, but who's counting).

5.16.00 - Jack & Jill has been renewed for 13 episodes, according to a WB Press Release and Reuters. Look for it to follow Dawson's Creek on Wednesdays at 9 -- after the first 11 episodes of Felicity (which should be around January 2001). No word on whether it will be picked up for more than 13 episodes.

5.3.00 - Look for Amanda Peet in the new movie, "Whipped."

5.3.00 - Amanda Peet has been chosen as one of this year's 50 Most Beautiful People by People magazine - on newsstands now.

3.13.00 - From Wanda at E!Online's March 13th chat with Jaime Pressly: We don't know yet whether or not the show will be back next season.

3.13.00 - Look for Jaime Pressly in "Best Actress," the first E! original movie, premiering Sunday, March 19th at 9pm ET.

3.2.00 - "The Eden Myth," starring Justin Kirk, is now available on video exclusively at Hollywood Video stores.

2.18.00 - Look for Simon Rex in the upcoming horror movie spoof, "I Know What You Screamed Last Summer."

2.5.00 - From Deborah Poppink: "I wanted to let you know that my song, "The Wheel," will air on this Sunday's (Feb. 6) episode! I played the song on my guitar for the creator of the show (Randi) at a party in Los Angeles, and she wanted to use it at the @ bar in episode 13! Please visit my site (deborahpoppink.com) and tell me what you think. Plus you can write to faces@thewb.com and tell them to use more Deborah Poppink songs!

1.21.00 - Look for the feature film "The Whole Nine Yards," starring Amanda Peet, in theaters February 18th.

1.21.00 - Amanda Peet is featured in this month's issue of In Style magazine (with Winona Ryder on the cover) in the column "Beauty Talk."