Animal Practice Preview: NBC's New Comedy Starring Justin Kirk And Tyler Labine

Those of us who enjoy Justin Kirk in Showtime's Weeds will be have Animal Practice to look forward to when the comedy series joins NBC's 2012-2013 line-up this fall. The half-hour comedy has Kirk playing a successful New York veterinarian whose style of operating is a big unorthodox.

As you'll see in the cast photo below, Reaper's Tyler Labine is also among the cast, along with Bobby Lee and a monkey that does cute things like play cards.

NBC's official synopsis for the series offers the hint of some romantic tension between Kirk's character and his old flame Dorothy, who holds the control over his practice…

Meet Dr. George Coleman (Justin Kirk, "Weeds"), a top-dog New York veterinarian. With an unorthodox style of operating, George's success comes from his undeniable gift with animals of all kinds. That is, all but the human kind. Dorothy Crane once held the key to George's heart, but today she also holds the key to the family business as she takes over Crane Animal Hospital. Not only is she George's new boss, but her romantic history with him and her lack of experience with animals is seriously cramping his style.Dorothy is whip-smart and ambitious, and she's going to make George pay for the past. Needless to say, he’s determined not to make any changes in his (animal) kingdom – which includes poker games with a resident capuchin monkey. Also starring are Tyler Labine ("Reaper," "Sons of Tucson") as Dr. Doug Jackson, a vet who's great with animals but hapless in matters of the heart, Bobby Lee ("Harold & Kumar") as Dr. Yamamoto, and newcomer Betsy Sodaro as Angela.

Should we expect lots of animals in this series? Based on the clips from the pilot, it appears the comedy will deliver on that. It's a veterinarian office, after all…

NBC currently has Animal Practice set up on Wednesdays this fall, which puts it up against ABC's comedy line-up. But those looking for an alternative to The Middle (assuming ABC leaves the half-hour comedy in its usual Wednesday at 8 time-slot) might want to check this one out.

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Kelly West
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Kelly joined CinemaBlend as a freelance TV news writer in 2006 and went on to serve as the site’s TV Editor before moving over to other roles on the site. At present, she’s an Assistant Managing Editor who spends much of her time brainstorming and editing feature content on the site. She an expert in all things Harry Potter, books from a variety of genres (sci-fi, mystery, horror, YA, drama, romance -- anything with a great story and interesting characters.), watching Big Brother, frequently rewatching The Office, listening to Taylor Swift, and playing The Sims.