PASADENA, Calif. -- Nikki Cox, who never demonstrated a great deal in the way of talent in the five years she starred in the WB sitcom "Unhappily Ever After," has not one but two sitcoms in her future.
First up came the announcement that she and producer Bruce Helford ("Drew Carey," "Norm") are developing a show for her to star in on the WB beginning in the fall of 2000. And in the meantime, she'll spend the next year co-starring on "Norm.""I'm young. I'm vital. I have it in me," Cox said. "I figured -- why not? It's a good opportunity and a nice change from what I did. It'll be kind of a nice crossover into what the new thing is, and I'm just flattered to be working in the company of these guys."
Cox actually appeared in the "Norm" pilot, playing a rather hard-bitten young prostitute, but was replaced by Amy Wilson, who played a similar role. Well, now Wilson is out and Cox is back in.
"Amy was a lovely actress but still wasn't quite what we wanted to achieve in the show," Helford said. (Of course, producers always say that sort of thing when recasting takes place.) "And then we thought, 'You know something? We may have made a mistake here.'
"And when Nikki said that she would be interested in doing the show, we thought, 'You know something? She would be the best person.' Her chemistry with Norm and Laurie (Metcalf) was great and we thought, 'Let's bring her back into the show.' "
She'll take over the role of Taylor, previously played by Wilson. It's just one of those TV things.
"When I was a kid, I remember all of a sudden Darrin (on 'Bewitched') looked different,' " Macdonald said, referring to the recasting that took place when Dick Sargent replaced Dick York. "So the first thing I thought was, 'What the (expletive) is Endora up to this time?' Then I learned to accept it."
None of those involved thinks it's going to be weird to have Cox as a regular member of the cast for a year and then have her disappear. Helford even thinks it might work to the show's advantage.
"Like real life, people come in and out of people's lives," he said. "I mean, one of the things about sitcoms is sometimes you find characters that have a great place in your work, but they don't go on forever for the life of the show."
"Two words -- Rhoda Morgenstern," Macdonald interjected (referring, of course, to the best friend on "Mary Tyler Moore" who moved on to her own show, leaving Mary behind).
ANOTHER SHOW: As for "Norm" star Norm Macdonald, he's going to be starring in a second show himself. Although "hosting" might be a more accurate way to put it.
Macdonald will headline an American adaptation of the British show "Have I Got News for You," which brings together comedians to talk about politics and current events. It's sort of a flux-game show, somewhat along the lines of "Whose Line Is It Anyway?"
What exactly all of this will entail even Macdonald doesn't seem to quite know for certain.
"This dude phoned me up and he said that he wanted me to host this game show," said Macdonald, who really talks like that. "So I said, 'Oh, yeah, how would that work?' And then he's like, 'Well, all you have to do is come in on Sunday, right, and tape like three every Sunday.' So I said, 'That sounds excellent.'
"So then I said to the guy, 'How much would a fella make doing that?' "
Plenty, apparently. And, according to Macdonald, it shouldn't be particularly hard work.
"Apparently, it's just chimp work," he said. "You show up. It's not going to take away from the sitcom at all. . . . I know very little about it except that every couple of Sundays, I show up to this studio."
Macdonald has seen the British version of the show, which he finds "hysterical." But there will be a few changes when the show is translated to American TV.
"The British comics are super smart, and they know everything about the news," he said. "So this won't be like that because we'll have, like, American comics. But we will try to make fun of the news."
(Macdonald, by the way, is Canadian.)
PARENTAL GUIDELINES: Besides the addition of Cox to the cast, there will be some other changes on "Norm" this season. For one thing, Artie Lange ("MAD TV") is joining the cast as Norm's half-brother. For another, each episode will feature a celebrity cameo appearance in the opening scene.
But that won't come until after Macdonald makes a "brief" appearance to explain why the show has received whatever parental warning rating it has received. Whether it's an actual service or simply a comedy device . . . well, here's guessing it has more to do with the latter.
"This is sort of like in place of the ratings because I don't know what the ratings even mean," Macdonald said. "I don't think a lot of people know what the ratings mean. Who knows what those (expletive) things mean?"
But he promises to provide basic explanations of what's in the episode.
"Anyway, we're just going to say, 'Hey, it's dirty. It's dirty, dirty sex,' " Macdonald said. "So if there's any children, you don't want them to see dirty sex. It's like that so then everyone will understand."
Gee, uh, thanks. How specific will these warnings get?
"Well, we might say, "You might want to avert your eyes at (7):48,' " Macdonald said.
HE'S NO ACTOR: Anyone who's ever seen Macdonald act knows that, well, he really can't. But at least he's aware of his shortcomings.
"I'm not much of an actor. . . . My acting technique is more like I read things out loud, Macdonald said, "and, a couple of times, I'll make a face."