NEW YORK – Is Jennifer Finnigan (search) as laid-back as Marni, the happy-go-lucky New Yorker she plays on "Committed" (search)? Not quite, says Finnigan, copping to a neurotic streak more closely in synch with Marni's phobic boyfriend, Nate, on the new NBC comedy.
In fact, until "Committed" came along, Finnigan had resisted auditioning for sitcoms, in part "out of fear that I just couldn't be funny and couldn't do it."
"I knew I could do drama," declared the 25-year-old actress, formerly a regular on "The Bold and the Beautiful" (search) (she won three Daytime Emmys for outstanding younger actress in a drama series) and the prime-time whodunit "Crossing Jordan" (search).
"But comedy is really difficult," she told The Associated Press Wednesday. "It's scary and it's challenging and you put yourself on the line. That's the reason I decided to try it."
"In a Marni way," she explained, "I constantly try to be as fearless as I can — because I'm so neurotic. I constantly want to either forget my fears, or challenge my fears. I'm afraid of heights, so I bungee jump. Same with this comedy thing."
Now was she fearful about the ratings for "Committed"?
"Very," said Finnigan. "Very." She laughed. "Very."
But she needn't have worried. Early Nielsen numbers found the show, which debuted Tuesday night, logging a 22 percent gain over NBC's audience for the same night and time period a year ago. Another episode of "Committed," in which she co-stars with Josh Cooke, was to air Thursday at 8:30 p.m. EST.
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