Noah Wyle Reflects on ER, Looks Ahead to THE RED LINE

When Noah Wyle signed on to do the new CBS limited series THE RED LINE, the series took him back to a familiar location: Chicago, where he sporadically shot ER. (ER’s series production was split between the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank—which housed the hospital set—and select shots in Chicago.)

“That was really interesting to be back in Chicago 25 years later,” Wyle told reporters after the Television Critics Association panel for THE RED LINE. “The city has changed a lot. I’ve changed a lot.”

But there was a familiar face along to bring things a little full-circle. “It was particularly rewarding to be in Chicago this year because [former ER star] Eriq La Salle [who played Peter Benton] is the executive producer of CHICAGO P.D., so he and I got to run around the city like we haven’t done in a quarter of a century and really spend good time together again,” Wyle said. “And while we were together through this, the show went up on Hulu and blew up. The 25th anniversary [is coming up in September]. We suddenly got to open up those memory banks that neither of us open up very often. It was really great.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

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So happy Noah was shooting his new show #Redline in Chicago. Gave me a chance to hang with him, wife Sara and of course the one and only Frannie Fantastic! #TBT

A post shared by Eriq La Salle (@eriqlasalle) on Dec 20, 2018 at 12:10pm PST

“Similarly, yesterday, I was on the Warner Bros. lot for the first time in ages doing some looping,” he continued. “I got there early and was walking around the backlot and saw the [fake] L track. That place is rife with memories: “There’s where I killed the rapist!” The whole place is haunted, in a wonderful way.”

La Salle and Wyle’s on-screen dynamic grew throughout their respective runs on ER—Wyle was on the show season 1-11, and then returned for arcs in seasons 12 and 15; La Salle was a regular season 1-8—but both men were aware how unique their on-screen partnership was.

“Eriq and I talked about this, our relationship on ER was such a groundbreaking one in a lot of ways,” Wyle said. “Our dynamic was completely reversed [from the expected stereotype]: [I played] a young, white doctor who was killing himself for the approval and affirmation from a black surgeon. And that was the only opinion that mattered. That was novel. And we knew that was novel when we were doing it.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Frannie Fantastic (yes that’s her name) celebrated her 3rd birthday with a #MuhammadAli themed party. When this little princess says bow down you do! Check out IG TV to watch her school me on my hair. 😂

A post shared by Eriq La Salle (@eriqlasalle) on Jun 25, 2018 at 12:34pm PDT

Now, Wyle plays Daniel Calder, a man who is mourning the murder of his husband…and trying to raise their daughter in the wake of the tragedy. (The series also stars Emayatzy Corinealdi, Noel Fisher, Howard Charles, Aliyah Royale, Michael Patrick Thornton, Vinny Chhibber, and Elizabeth Laidlaw.)

“I’ve made the joke I’m the Trojan horse that’s going to get this show into American living rooms that wouldn’t necessarily watch it,” Wyle said, noting that some audiences might come in “empathizing with me and then will allow them to [then empathize with others].”

Check out a trailer for THE RED LINE…

ER is streaming on Hulu. THE RED, Series Premiere, Sunday, April 28, 8/7c, CBS.

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