Eddie Cibrian Has Another Gig

Over at EW, Ausiello reports that Eddie Cibrian has signed on for a 3-episode arc with USA Network’s The Starter Wife.  He’s going to play a detective who investigates some strange goings-on in Molly’s (Debra Messing) life.

What does this mean for Ugly Betty?  As you recall, Cibrian’s character on Betty, coach Diaz, was introduced late in season 2 as (what became) a love interest for Hilda.  We have already seen signs that Diaz’s wife will appear on the show, setting up what will most likely be a “Her or Me” showdown.

Now, Cibrian signed on for four episodes, and Ugly Betty just completed filming the fourth.  Ausiello gives a hint that Cibrian must already be done with Betty, but the writers tend to drop story lines for an episode of two, so it’s not a given that Cibrian has filmed his four eps and now is gone.  Probable, but not certain.

However, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the whole “dating a married man” thing is not going to end well for Hilda.

As an aside, it’s interesting that Cibrian seems to bounce from one female-centric show to another.  His job is basically to advance the story line of a woman on the show, and somehow find a way to take off his shirt.  Even on Third Watch, where his part was more substantive, his character was a Don Juan who ended up in bed a lot.  Poor guy.

Before I get a lot of hate mail – yes, I know Hollywood has been doing this to actresses since at least the 60’s.  Check out the casting notices – there is no shortage of listings for “Girl in Bikini”.  It’s just funny to me that now that the majority of prime-time shows are female oriented, the tables have been turned a little bit.