ER Looking To Bring Back Clooney, Marguilies And La Salle

Story lines have already been conceived to bring back George Clooney, Julianna Margulies, and even Eriq La Salle (Dr. Benton), who hastily exited the series in 2001 says TV Guide. Show runner/executive producer David Zabel says he’s “optimistic that we might be able to get them all. We have a really good story line for every [major] character from the past to show [the actors] what we want to do.” Wells is directly involved in the conversations with all past cast members.

Zabel, who wrote and directed Anthony Edwards’ flashbacks alongside new series regular Angela Bassett, believes, “It helps a lot that we’re doing a great episode with Anthony. It shows that [returns] can be done in a way that’s not just a swan-song wave to the audience, but rather compelling dramatic stories that are interesting for an actor to play.”

That strategy has already landed the returns of Laura Innes (Dr. Weaver) and Paul McCrane (Dr. Romano), who appear with Anthony in his flashbacks. Coming up: Alex Kingston will be invited to bring Dr. Corday back from England with daughter Ella in tow. And Dr. Greene’s now-grown daughter, Rachel, is expected to reappear as a first-year med student. “We have a lot of interesting ways of reuniting past characters,” teases Zabel. “Sometimes in surprising, accidental ways and sometimes in ways where they reach out to each other.”

The series will conclude with a two-hour May finale preceded by a one-hour, star-filled retrospective.