Entertainment

On Call For Only One More Season

June 19, 1998 / 8:30 PM EDT / AP

George Clooney's, Dr. Douglas Ross won't be on call at ER after the end of the next television season.

Although it was widely expected Clooney would leave the top-rated drama at the end of his five-year contract, the actor made it official with the announcement of a development deal with CBS on Friday.

Clooney may still make occasional guest appearances on NBC's top-rated drama after next season ends, said his spokeswoman, Lisa Reeder.

He's leaving on good terms, saying that he wants to try something else, she said. ER's executive producer, John Wells, has said he expected Clooney to leave at the end of his contract.

Clooney was the first real breakout star of the medical drama, parlaying his celebrity into a movie career that's included a stint in the Batman suit. His latest film, Out of Sight, is in theaters soon.

The pediatrician's active love life made him a central character in the drama, but he receded a bit into the background this season with his romance to Carole Hathaway, played by Julianna Margulies.

Shortly after NBC signed an $850 million deal with Warner Bros. Television this winter to keep ER on the air, Clooney and some of his co-stars each received $1 million bonuses.

The CBS deal reunites Clooney with Leslie Moonves, who as president of Warner Bros. cast the actor in ER. Moonves is now president of CBS Television.

It's a two-year development deal where Clooney, through his Maysville Pictures company, has agreed to be executive producer of a series and two television movies.

Clooney has made no commitment to star in any of the projects, but Moonves is expected to try and convince him to stay in front of the camera instead of just behind it.

"I can't think of anyone I'd rather be in business with than George Clooney," Moonves said. "I admire him as a person, appreciate his talents as an actor and enormously respect his creative instincts."