Lost at CBS

A press tour perennial: anytime an actor who had a recurring role on a popular series joins the cast of a new show, they're asked whether they'll have a chance to appear from time to time on their old show. Inevitably, the answer is, "I'm so happy to be here on my new show, but if an opportunity to visit my old pals presents itself, I'd like to take it." Even more inevitably, such a reunion doesn't happen until/unless the new show gets canceled -- especially if they're on different networks.

Today's contestant in this age-old game: Nestor Carbonell, who played Richard, a seemingly-immortal member of The Others on "Lost" last season, and is now a regular on "Cane," CBS' Cuban-flavored "Godfather" homage, with him as the Sonny Corleone figure in a family of rum and sugar magnates.
So, I asked, would he be able to go back to "Lost," even just to solve the mystery of Richard's well-preserved face? And would his "Cane" character age?

"You'd probably know the answer to that second one better than I would," Carbonell laughed.

As for the first, he gave the stock answer to the question, but "Cane" producer Jonathan Prince acknowledged that it's good PR for the show to have its actors appearing in other popular media, whether it's a small role in a "Batman" film or hopping back to "Lost" for a quick guest spot. The ultimate decision, though, would be up to the network.

I tracked down the ultimate decider on that, CBS entertainment president Nina Tassler, and asked her whether she'd let Carbonell do a guest spot if the "Lost" producers asked.

"Probably not," she said, arguing that they're trying to establish a new show and a new character, and she felt it would confuse the audience to see Carbonell playing roles on two different series at once.

Left unanswered (and, admittedly, unasked): would Tassler consider it so confusing if "Lost" was also a CBS show?

Alan Sepinwall can be reached at asepinwall@starledger.com