Scott Porter talks Hart of Dixie (Monday, 9/8c, CW)

Scott Porter did a bunch of interviews for Hart of Dixie in recent days. The show premieres tomorrow (Monday) at 9 pm on the CW, after Gossip Girl.

You can listen to the first interview on the Hot Clicks podcast on CNN's Sports Illustrated site. (Warmly recommended to Friday Night Lights fans.)

Here is a snippet from an interview with TV Fanatic:

With a background in musical comedy, Porter also said he was looking for a "lighter" script.

"I wanted to show Hollywood I can do something in that realm," he said. "You tend to get defined by your latest project, so this offered that chance, along with the chance to show I can be a leading man."

So Porter met with producers Josh Schwartz and Leila Gerstein and they "just sold me on this town, this wonderful town. I looked at the great cast and saw a show that knows what it is."

And what is it? Porter describes the fictional Bluebell, Alabama as a place that "takes you back to a time when things were simpler. Life wasn't always about violence and sex... there are pockets of America you just want to spend time in and we think this is one of them."

There is a longer one at the Orlando Sentinel, with tons of info on his character and what to expect from the first season. Snippet below, hit the link for the rest.

“George interested me because he could easily be an aw-shucks good guy,” Porter says. “There’s a little bit of a sarcastic nature, a cockiness to him that comes from being an ultra-competitive guy. We’re shooting the seventh episode now. He’s a lot of fun to play.”

George is engaged to the secretive Lemon Breeland (Jaime King), yet viewers will quickly see that George and Zoe have more chemistry.

“Zoe and George are both driven,” Porter says. “They are very curious about each other. They both know this is ultimately something that can’t work. He’s engaged, and she’s not going to stick around. We have to be careful that people see why George and Lemon are good together.”

The show won’t rush the romantic relationships. “We are taking our time as the South tends to do,” Porter says. “It’s a throwback show. I have great memories of shows that didn’t need to be over the top and so plot-driven. You look back at ‘Gilligan’s Island.’ It’s that type of show. You’ll fall in love with these characters. You’ll love where they are.”

And here is a new cast featurette: