PASADENA, Calif. — Yes, Sharif Atkins is the newest regular on NBC's hit medical drama "ER." Yes, he's African-American. And, yes, he became a regular on the show just about the time Eriq LaSalle (another African-American) left.
But, no, Atkins' character, third-year medical student Michael Gallant, is not a replacement for LaSalle's character, Dr. Peter Benton. So say the show's producers as well as Atkins himself.
"I got it from friends and family — 'Oh, you're the new Dr. Benton,' " Atkins said. "It's just, my skin color is what it is and that's fine. Hopefully, through the writing of the character and through the storytelling, I'll be a character as opposed to another African-American."
Actually, as a medical student assigned to Dr. John Carter (Noah Wyle), Gallant is more like Carter was when "ER" began — the somewhat overwhelmed neophyte. But Gallant isn't Carter, either.
"I directed Sharif's first show . . . and we thought a lot about how the character was different than Carter, than Benton, because it's natural that people would make those comparisons," said Laura Innes, who stars as Dr. Kerry Weaver. As for Atkins, he insists he's not feeling pressure as the new guy on TV's top-rated drama.
"It's no more pressure than I put on myself," he said. "I'm just worrying about acting. So in terms of living up to anyone's expectations in terms of the character or in terms of replacing Dr. Benton."
BENTON COMING BACK? Wait a minute — it looks like LaSalle might not be gone.
It seems the actor, who supposedly departed the NBC drama "ER" for good late last year, will be returning to the show. Whether he's happy about it or not, no one is saying.
"ER" executive producer John Wells told TV critics that LaSalle's was given an early sendoff so the show's writers could establish new characters in advance of the impending departure of Anthony Edwards, who plays Dr. Mark Greene. But LaSalle's contract runs through the end of this season, and it seems he's being written into an undetermined number of upcoming episodes.
(And the character's return doesn't require any manipulation of the "ER" reality — he left the hospital, but he didn't leave the Chicago area. He took a job at a private, suburban medical facility.)
What, exactly, the writers will have LaSalle and Benton doing . . . well, we'll just have to tune in to find out.
WYLE HANGS IN: When Edwards departs "ER," Noah Wyle will be the only actor on the show who's been there since the beginning. And he says he's in no hurry to move.
"It worked out that way that other people had other opportunities and other interests to go pursue, and I still feel like there's a lot to say and do with this character," Wyle said. "In some ways, his onion has been peeled quite a bit and in other areas it hasn't."
The actor, who has already signed on for next season, said he's particularly enjoyed the storyline that introduced his parents this season.
"This season has been really wonderful for me, getting to work with Mary McDonnell and Michael Gross, and we finally get to see sort of what John Carter's upbringing was," Wyle said. "So the writing and the actors that are coming on the show still give me plenty of reasons to come to want to come to work every day."
And he's confident that "ER" can keep going strong no matter how the cast changes.
"I think if our show has proven anything, it's that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts," Wyle said. "We've had very, very key actors come on the show and leave the show and the show has maintained its level of popularity and level of storytelling just fine."
E-MAIL: pierce@desnews.com