Wendie Malick on Hot in Cleveland and the Power of Betty White

What do get from working with Jane and Valerie? At this point you're all sitcom veterans.

Absolutely. One of those rare things... when you become part of an ensemble, you want to find your particular niche in this piece. We all realized early on that we bring something unique to this. We have great mutual respect and really get along like a house on fire. We all make each other laugh -- there have been many times where the makeup artists have to come over with Kleenex to repair the mascara from crying from laughing so hard. It's like playing tennis with great players. Everybody hits the ball back, and we all sort of get to excel that particular kind of comedy we do best.

Now, pardon this dorky superfan question, but--

Did you just out yourself as a dork?

Yes, we've reached the revelatory part of the interview. You were in a TV movie called Take My Advice: The Ann and Abby Story where you played Ann Landers and Abigail Van Buren.

I loved that!

I remember watching it and thinking you were such a natural fit for the role, which I wouldn't have guessed instinctively. How did embodying those two feel for you?

The interesting thing is that people probably know me best from my comedy, but I started out as a dramatic actress. I do a lot of plays in between my television work, or independent roles where I get to stretch and do those kind of roles. I'm probably best known for my work on Just Shoot Me and Dream On and Frasier and all that, but I come out of a theater background and so that was actually not so foreign to me.

Was there a certain pressure playing two of the most well-known female writers of the past 100 years?

Oh, I think there always is. And of course, I was probably not the most obvious choice, but it was offered to me, and I thought, "What a delicious thing to be able to play twin sisters." It was great fun, and I loved the clothes. I just love that whole time. I'm very into that period.

Your old HBO show Dream On has its own devotees. When people approach you on the street, do they often bring up that show?

It's amazing how many people come up to me and say, "You know what show I really loved? Dream On." It really was sort of a cult classic, and it was critically a hit, but so few people had HBO in those days. I sort of wished they had put it away and evolved and re-released it because it was such a brilliant show and so ahead of its time.

Lastly, do you miss anything about Just Shoot Me?

I just love those people. I love that character. She was such fun, and when you play a character for seven years, she becomes your sort-of alter ego. I enjoyed her immensely, it was such a fun character to play. I'm sure it was part of the reason I signed on to do this one. In some ways there are similarities: It's a chance to be outrageous and get paid for it.

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