Justin Kirk/ photo by Mark Mainz
A former Minnesota actor is currently looking for work. Justin Kirk, who got his start on Twin Cities stages, found out Thursday that his NBC sitcom, "Animal Practice," will be yanked off the air on Nov. 14 with no plans of it coming back. It will be replaced by "Whitney."
"Practice"'s Wednesday night episode only drew 3.8 million. The series had taken some ridicule for seemingly putting more attention on a monkey than on Kirk's character, a tactless veteranarian. "Practice" is the second network show this season to get the axe. CBS gave up on "Made in Jersey" earlier this month.
I had lunch with Kirk a few weeks before the show's highly touted debut and asked him about the possibility of the show not catching on.
"Either we're going to be done and people will say, 'Remember that stupid show with the monkey?'" he said. "Or we're going to be a cool show that just happens to have Crystal (the monkey) on it."
I suggested that the monkey's presence might let him off the hook. People will remember it as "The Monkey Show," not "The Justin Kirk Show."
"That's a good point," he said. "I get to skate away."
