Catch Up With the Cast of ‘What About Brian’ 15 Years Later
Never mind the question What About Brian? What about the cast of What About Brian? The ABC comedy-drama started its brief run 15 years ago, premiering on April 16, 2006. And in the years since the show’s cancellation, its stars have all stayed busy.
Created by City of Angels writer Dana Stevens — and executive-produced by Lost collaborators J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk — What About Brian told the tale of a 30-something guy (Barry Watson) who’s the last singleton in his tight-knit circle. Brian’s sister Nicole (Rosanna Arquette) just tied the knot with Angelo (Raoul Bova), his best friend Adam (Matthew Davis) is engaged to Marjorie (Sarah Lancaster), his colleague Dave (Rick Gomez) is married to Deena (Amanda Detmer), and his pal Jimmy (Jason George) is in a relationship with Ivy (Amanda Foreman).
What About Brian lasted for two seasons and 24 episodes before getting the axe from ABC in 2007. Nevertheless, fans are still reminiscing about the show on Twitter and YouTube, a decade-and-a-half later. So in the spirit of that nostalgia, we’ve rounded up career updates for the nine of the show’s stars…
Barry Watson (Brian Davis)
Watson, who was already famous for his role on 7th Heaven before he led the cast of Brian, went on to star as Christina Applegate’s onscreen ex in the ABC sitcom Samantha Who? More recently, the actor—seen here with wife Natasha Gregson Wagner — recurred in the TV shows Hart of Dixie and Masters of Sex, played Lachlan Murdoch in The Loudest Voice, and appeared in the film A Dog’s Way Home.
Rosanna Arquette (Nicole Varzi)
Arquette hasn’t had a regular TV gig since Brian, but she did star in the short-lived YouTube Originals comedy Sideswiped in 2018, playing the recently widowed mom Mary. She also recurred in the TV shows Ray Donovan and Ratched, and appeared in the movies Draft Day and Holy Lands.
Matthew Davis (Adam Hillman)
The Vampire Diaries fans know Davis as the vampire hunter-turned-vampire Alaric Saltzman. After TVD ended, the actor reprised the part in the show’s spinoffs, guest-starring on The Originals and joining Legacies as a full-time cast member. He also starred on the 13-episode CW mystery Cult and recurred on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Damages.
Sarah Lancaster (Majorie Seaver)
Rick Gomez (Dave Greco)
After Brian, Gomez starred in the TV shows Cupid and The Crossing and recurred on Justified. He was cast as Detective Craig Pettibone in ABC’s planned NYPD Blue reboot, but the network put the project on the back burner in 2019, as Deadline reported at the time.
Amanda Detmer (Deena Greco)
Detmer later starred in the short-lived ABC sitcom Man Up! and recurred on the TV shows Private Practice, Necessary Roughness, and Second Chance. And between 2018 and 2020, she played the ill-fated Tracy on the Fox musical drama Empire.
Jason George (Jimmy)
Shondaland fans are well acquainted with this actor by now! George joined Grey’s Anatomy in the ABC medical drama’s sixth season, playing anesthesiologist Ben Warren. He became a full-time cast member for Seasons 12 through 14, then jumped ship to spinoff series Station 19 as Ben switched careers and became a firefighter. Along the way, George has also starred in the shows Off the Map and Mistresses.
Amanda Foreman (Ivy)
You may recognize Foreman from her recurring roles on Private Practice, Parenthood, and Awkward. She also frequently collaborates with her old Felicity and Alias boss J.J. Abrams, appearing in his films Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, and Super 8 and voicing characters in his two Star Wars movies.
Jon Hamm (Richard Povich)
And for an honorable mention, this actor appeared in six episodes of What About Brian — playing a single dad and a love interest for Deena — just before starting his Emmy-winning performance as Don Draper in Mad Men. These days, Hamm is voicing Tony Stark aka Iron Man in the Hulu series M.O.D.O.K. and getting ready for another big-screen turn in Top Gun: Maverick.
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