Here is a series of promo pics of the Pushing Daisies cast, recently released by ABC:

Lee Pace stars as Ned.

Swoosie Kurtz stars as Lily.

Anna Friel stars as Chuck.

As Pushing Daisies moves along, fans might get annoyed by one tidbit: Will Ned and Chuck truly never kiss?

Considering the fact that any re-touching of his deceased love will cause her to die, it seems reasonable to assume that this will be a never-ending, possibly-annoying story line on the show, right?

Not entirely, claim creator Bryan Fuller and star Lee Pace.

They gave The Chicago Sun-Times a brief glimpse into one Pushing Daisies spoiler: how will these two lovers ever connect?

Fuller does say he’s “steering right into” the unrequited love frustration: “We’re doing an episode that’s a procedural,” he told the newspaper, “with dog breeders. So Chuck and Ned are surrounded with sex.”

But they won’t be able to actually have any themselves, right? Pace points to episodes that will see the couple using unsexy “prophylactics,” such as when they kiss covered in Saran Wrap or wearing protective suits.

Like bear suits?

“I don’t think we’ll get that kinky,” Pace said.

“Them dancing in bee suits, with bees swarming around them, is more our speed,” Fuller said.

We now continue with the interview we started yesterday, courtesy of the Televisionary. Let’s hear from Pushing Daisies co-stars Chi McBride and Kristin Chenoweth…

Q: You’ve become known for your dramatic work in such series as Boston Public and The Nine, so what is it like playing a more comedic character?
McBride: I actually started out in comedy in series like The John Larroquette Show and Married with Children and didn’t get to do drama until [David E.] Kelley. In this business, you get pigeonholed and have to educate and re-educate people about what you can do. I went out for a part in Undercover Brother and had people say that Chi’s not funny. What drew me to [Pushing Daisies] was a single line of Emerson’s: “You couldn’t have just scooted back?”

The part is closer to me, he’s always got a smart line. I read a lot of mindless, vacuous scripts and wanted to do a smart TV comedy like Seinfeld or Frasier. It’s a no-brainer opportunity to show another side of you.

Q: What excites you most about the series?
McBride: I really love the cast; I couldn’t pick a favorite. I have great chemistry with Lee Pace and love the chemistry we share. Emerson is a guy with questionable morals. His main goals are to make money and go home. Lee’s character is more empathetic but distant due to his power to bring the dead back to life; he’s damaged and looks to Emerson as a father figure.

I really like the way [Bryan Fuller] juxtaposes the way Emerson looks at life with the way Ned does. I knew what this series could be when I read the script and, as soon as I saw Barry [Sonnenfeld] in the room, I knew what it would become. It turned out even better than I imagined.

Q: What’s Emerson’s back story?
McBride: I had lunch with Bryan [Fuller] and pitched an idea of why Emerson became a private investigator. All of the elements of Emerson’s dark/sardonic nature are a cover for something. I told Bryan why I thought Emerson was the way he was and Bryan loved it. The [Pushing Daisies] comic actually deals a little bit with Emerson’s story.

And here is what Kristin Chenoweth had to say…

Q: Will you be singing on Pushing Daisies?
Chenoweth: I don’t want to sing just because it’s gratuitous and expected. But I WILL be singing. It’s a sad moment and it involves the dog. Olive just can’t understand why she can’t get the guy and she’s a girl who always gets the guy.

Q: What’s it like working with the rest of the cast?
Chenoweth: The dynamic between Anna and Lee is awesome. Usually there’s a sour grape in the bunch but there just isn’t here.

Q: Do you feel that ABC is behind the series?
Chenoweth: We’re very nervous about being the prom queen, we all just want to do our thing. We’re very excited about the show. I’ve been the recipient of when the network really is behind the show and when they’re not and ABC is definitely behind this show. I did a show a few years ago called Kristin on NBC and they canceled it after four episodes and replaced it with Fear Factor. At the time I said that Fear Factor would never last. Shows what I know.

We know, we know: the Pushing Daisies season premiere hasn’t even aired yet.

So how can we have insight into the show’s second episode? We’re just that good.

Therefore, consider this your Pushing Daisies spoiler alert, as we briefly summarize the events in “Dummy:”

• Ned revives Bernard Slaybaugh, an auto safety specialist who was murdered. While Bernard doesn’t know who killed him, he does know he wants Ned and Chuck to tell a woman (Jeanine) that he loved her.

• Ned also accidentally revives a woman who died while on a ferris wheel and learns that she had donated her body to science.

• Meanwhile, Ned’s power is shown through flashbacks to his childhood, including an incident involving the dissection of frogs in school.

• Ned, Emerson (Chi McBride) and Chuck later visit the morgue to inspect the body of a victim of a car accident. It’s a 45-year old man who specialized in automobile safety.

The police are offering a reward to anyone who can find the killer; so, naturally, Emerson wants answers in order to get the reward.

Chuck asks the wrong questions of the (formerly) dead victim, nearly running out the clock on how long they can keep him alive, but the trio manages to get the information they need in time. With the assistance of Ned, the victim reveals that ia crash test dummy is responsible for his death.

• Olive sings to Ned’s dog, Digby, foreshadowing her feelings for our beloved main character.

Pushing Daisies was a hit at Comic-Con in July. During that time, the Televisionary sat down with a few of the show’s cast members.

Here’s a look at what Lee Pace and Anna Friel had to say:

Q: How did you get involved with Pushing Daisies?
Pace: Bryan [Fuller] created the part with me in mind. I was not looking to do TV this year but asked my manager for a copy of the script and called Bryan up, who said, “I wrote it with you in mind.” I really wanted to work with Barry [Sonnenfeld, who directed the pilot]. While the pilot is great, it just keeps getting better and better with the episodes I’ve read already.

Q: What excites you most about the series?
Pace: Really, the character’s relationship with Chuck and the psychology of the character. Getting to mine life and death in a profound way. Also, with the show’s procedural element, every eight days, you dive into a new world. The episode we’re shooting right now is a total caper with a Scooby-Doo feel.

Q: What are the challenges of playing a semi-comedic character?
Pace: Basic acting works. Ned doesn’t think he’s funny so it’s about playing the reality of the character. He’s not cracking jokes. It’s about the pathos of the moment and the idea that it’s the reality of being able to touch something and bring it back to life. There are moral obligations with Ned’s condition, an appetite for life and death. Chuck makes him feel like life is good, especially because we only have one life.

And here are a few words from Friel…

Q: Why did you decide to make the leap to American television?
Friel: I had sixteen movies under my belt, Broadway, and the West End and wanted to broaden my palette of work. I came over to LA to change agents and it happened to be pilot season. I read the pilot script and was struck by how joyful and playful Chuck was. I didn’t want to play the girl on the arm of some guy and US television creates the best hooks for its characters.

Q: How similar or dissimilar to your character Chuck are you?
Friel: I’m much more anxious than Chuck. I worry about things and certainly don’t wake up every day feeling that it’s a fresh start and a beautiful day. (Though I should.) Unlike most of the roles I’ve played in the past, I wasn’t able to channel that mood and anxiety into the character and had to get into a different frame of mind. As for similarities, Chuck lets me express the fun, quirky side of my personality. But there is one big thing that’s not similar. Unlike Chuck, I’m not American.

Continue reading this article …

A few members of the Pushing Daisies cast and crew held a screening yesterday at the New York Television Festival.

The following were in attendance: Lee Pace (Ned), Jim Dale (narrator), executive producers Barry Sonnefeld and Dan Jinks, and creator Bryan Fuller.

Ellen Greene stars as Aunt Vivian on Pushing Daisies.

But, as many followers of this veteran’s career knows, this isn’t the first time she’s been involved in a show with plants.

Greene originated the role of Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors on Broadway and then again in the 1986 movie of the same name.

A Brooklyn-born musical comedy actress, Greene has also made a name for herself as a nightclub chanteuse. She began singing in such Manhattan clubs as Reno Sweeney’s and The Brothers & Sisters while attending Rider College in New Jersey, and was later discovered by a scout for The New York Shakespeare Festival.

Here is a quick look at her career milestones:

• 1986 Reprised role of Audrey in feature version of musical “Little Shop of Horrors”
• 1982 Breakthrough stage role, Audrey in musical “Little Shop of Horrors”
• 1977 TV debut in “Seventh Avenue” (NBC)
• 1976 Film debut in “Next Stop Greenwich Village”
• 1973 Broadway debut in “Rachel Lily Rosenbloom”

Yes, you read that headline correctly. Which means fans should be excited for two reasons:

1. They can already browse through a few Pushing Daisies quotes.
2. The pilot episode of the series is entitled “Pie-lette.” How great is that?

Of course, those uninterested in these Pushing Daisies spoilers should stop reading.

But viewers who can’t wait for October 3 to roll around can read a brief summary (to be updated at length after the season premiere) of the first episode right now, while also checking out the aforementioned quotes and a few pictures.

Enjoy!

If you’d prefer not to read any Pushing Daisies spoilers, we suggest you skip this post. Below is a brief summary - and even a pair of images - from the show’s series premiere on October 3.

Summary: Ned, a mild-mannered baker of fabulous pies, discovered as a child that he had a unique gift. Ned had the ability to return someone dead briefly back to life with just a simple touch. Through the years, Ned has learned to live with his unique ability, and puts his gift to good use, working with his only friend, a private investigator, to crack murder cases by asking victims to name their killers.

But the tale gets complicated, as all tales do, when he saves his childhood sweetheart and she miraculously stays alive. Life would be perfect, except for one cruel twist: if Ned ever touches her again, she’ll lose the life he gave her, for good this time. There’s always a catch…

Meet Ned (Lee Pace) and his shady busines partner, Emerson Cod (Chi McBride).

Olive Snook (Kristin Chenoweth) loves Ned. Ned loves a dead woman he can’t touch. So it’s easy to see why even the adorable presence of Digby can’t raise Olive’s spirits here.

Subway riders in New York City would have a difficult time missing this ad for Pushing Daisies.

If the show fails, it certainly won’t be for a lack of advertising effort on ABC’s part…

Photo courtesy of Thepiemaker.com.