Megan Mullally joins cast of Fox sitcom “Breakin In’

By Jay Bobbin
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 – 12:01 am

If it seems Megan Mullally is breaking her way into a returning sitcom, she actually was invited.
A two-time Emmy winner as the high-pitched-in-allways Karen Walker on “Will & Grace” (still shown in weekday repeats on Lifetime), the typically amusing
actress surely isn’t lacking work. She’s a regular on Adult Swim’s “Childrens
Hospital”; she’s had guest roles lately on ABC’s “Happy Endings” and NBC’s “Parks and Recreation” (which costars her husband, Nick Offerman) and “Up All Night”; and she’s supplying voices for the soon-to-start Season 2 of Fox’s animated “Bob’s Burgers.”
Mullally also is climbing aboard the second season of another Fox show. She plays the new boss of Contra Security as “Breaking In” resumes March 6, with the humor more office-based as she joins continuing cast members including
Christian Slater, Bret Harrison and Odette Annable (who also is doing extra Fox
duty as she films the final episodes of “House,” which will be back in April).
“I remembered seeing the billboards, but I hadn’t seen the show,” the spirited
Mullally recalls of receiving the “Breaking In” offer. “They sent me three episodes, and I thought, ‘This definitely has potential.’ I got on the phone with the producers, and they were very nice, and we talked about what qualities might play best for my
character. Then they wrote two sample scenes, and I thought this was something
I could have a good time with.”
Though Michael Rosenbaum (“Smallville”) has left “Breaking In,” Mullally is enjoying working with another newcomer to the show: Welsh actress Erin Richards, who plays the new chief’s executive assistant.
“She’s quite good, and she adds a fun element,” Mullally says. “And she’s not
hard to look at. It’s a really fun group.”
Joining an existing series isn’t new for Mullally, who did the same on the Starz
comedy “Party Down” after Jane Lynch left to begin her “Glee” run on Fox.
“I would say the difference is that on ‘Party Down,’ they didn’t miss a beat,”
Mullally notes. “They just plugged me in and carried on exactly the same as before.
‘Breaking In’ has been completely revamped, and it’s almost like starting from
scratch.”
The fact that Slater’s character is no longer the boss alters “Breaking In” automatically.
“Christian has so much energy, just a bottomless well of it, physically and emotionally,” Mullally says. “And it’s positive energy, which is great.
“Since he’s No. 1 on the call sheet, that’s always a nice thing, and he couldn’t have been nicer in welcoming me. He sent me a lovely email when I decided to do
the show, and he sent flowers on my birthday. He really is quite a gentleman, and
we have good chemistry, which is helpful.”
Though spouse Offerman is busy with his own series role as Ron Swanson, who
has become iconic among “Parks and Recreation” fans, Mullally hopes he might
have enough time to do a “Breaking In” guest shot before the season ends.
“I would love that,” she says. “We’ve done an inordinate amount of things together recently, including three movies; one of them, ‘Smashed,’ was just shown at the Sundance Film Festival.
“I think that with every project I do, they’re secretly hoping they can get Nick. And I don’t want to flatter myself, but it also might hold true the other way around.”

(http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120222/ENT/120229952/1009)