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Paget Brewster Returns In "Huff"

Showtime's dark comedy "Huff" kicks off its second season in April. It has been a huge hit with the critics, earning seven Emmy nominations in its first season. Hank Azaria, stars as Dr. Craig "Huff" Huffstodt, an L.A. psychiatrist with a very dysfunctional family. Paget Brewster plays his long-suffering wife, Beth, who is struggling with her mother's declining health.

Brewster talked with The Early Show's Harry Smith about the role.

"It's wonderful," said Brewster of the series, which in its first season featured high-profile guest stars such as Lara Flynn Boyle and Swoosie Kurtz, who plays Brewster's mother. Kurtz will return for season two.

In the new season, which debuts April 2, Brewster's character is dealing with her mother's diagnosis of cancer. Brewster dished about what else is in store. "We've broken the format from the first season," she said. "Which is the show started with a patient with Huff in his office and we followed the stories of the family."

Brewster said Sharon Stone and Anjelica Huston will appear during the new season.

Season one ended with Huff visiting his schizophrenic brother at the hospital. In season two, the plot thickens. "His brother escaped to Tijuana," said Brewster. "Huff is in Tijuana trying to find his brother. And Russell, his best friend [played by Oliver Platt] is nuts."

The show is filmed in Sylmar, Calif., a city located in the San Fernando Valley. "We only do 13 episodes. It's five months in the desert. It's a very exciting little town," she joked.

Five months in the middle of nowhere could be tough for a cast that doesn't get along. Luckily, the cast of Huff enjoys each other. "Thank God we do," she said, "because that would not be fun, 16 hours a day with someone you didn't like."

The show has been showered with critical acclaim since premiering in 2004, garnering seven Emmy nods in its first season. Last year, Platt was nominated for a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Russell Tupper, Huff's unethical lawyer and best friend. Azaria was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild award in 2004.

As a part of Showtime's "It's All For You" free preview weekend, the network will offer the premiere of "Huff" to non-subscribers on April 2, along with the U.S. television premiere of the Oscar-winning film "Crash." The preview will be available in a record 45,000,000 households.

"Anyone with basic cable can watch Showtime for free," said Brewster.

Brewster, 37, began her career in New York in an off-Broadway production of David Rabe's "Hurly Burly." She eventually moved out west, where she did sketch comedy on a public access show called "Strange America" until she landed a local late night talk-show, "The Paget Show."

"I did 65 shows in San Francisco," she said.

Working on "Huff" has been a delight for the actress. "Well cast, well played, well written. We're lucky," she said.

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