Sarah Wayne Callies has done enough fighting for a lifetime — or at least, for a television-acting career. The star of NBC’s upcoming tearjerker “Council of Dads” told reporters on Saturday why she was so dead-set on finding the opposite of another “Walking Dead.”
“I hit a little bit of an ‘I will fight no more, forever” moment,” Callies said of her recent gigs, which also include “Prison Break” and “Colony,” while sitting on a panel to promote “Council of Dads” at the Television Critics Association press tour. “I felt like I had put a lot of violence into the world.”
Of course, she’s not the only one. By this point, we have no shortage of violence on TV — a fact reflected by Callies’ own viewing habits, as well as her auditioning choices.
There was a moment where Callies — who played Lori Grimes, Rick Grimes’ (Andrew Lincoln) wife, on “The Walking Dead,” until the character was killed off the AMC series during its third season in 2012 — “couldn’t consume any television that wasn’t stand-up comedy,” she said.
“I wanted something that made me feel like this. That made me feel like we’re going to be OK,” Callies said. “We can do this with each other. We’re going to get through it. We might cry a little, but we got this.”
Here’s the description for that series, “Council of Dads”:
Family takes on a different meaning in this transformative and inspirational new drama when Scott Perry, a loving father of five, has his entire life’s plan thrown into upheaval by an unexpected health scare. He calls on a few of his most trusted friends to step in as back-up dads to help guide and support his growing family – just in case he ever can’t be there to do it himself. There’s Anthony, Scott’s oldest and most loyal friend; Larry, his tough-love AA sponsee; and Oliver, his dedicated doctor and wife’s dearest friend. Together, they discover that there’s more to being a father than anyone could do alone – and more to being a family than they ever thought possible.
“Council of Dads” debuts Tuesday, March 10 at 10/9c on NBC, immediately following “This Is Us.” We recommend stopping by your local warehouse store for a giant box of tissues for those shared nights.