"Both of them have a comedic point of view as well as secrets," he said of the new characters, who are "going to be around for a while."

DELANY AND FILLION were both in "Pasadena." As a matter of fact, their characters had an affair in that short-lived, prime-time soap.

"Which I did not know when I cast them," Cherry said. "I became aware of Nathan Fillion through 'Serenity,' which was written by Joss Whedon. I worked with Joss' dad, Tom Whedon, on 'Golden Girls' and so I've always watched Joss' career just because I knew his dad so well."

But when casting directors suggested Fillion for the role of Adam, "I didn't know who he was," Cherry said. "I just remembered there was that really cute guy on 'Serenity.' So they introduced us and we got to hang out and he's, like, one of the nicest guys in the world. So I said, 'Come play with us."'

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E-mail: pierce@desnews.com