McPherson on Brooke Smith's firing

TCA – Things get testy post-panel as critics press ABC's entertainment president Steve McPherson about actress Brooke Smith’s firing from "Grey’s Anatomy."

Asked if he’s concerned about actors departing "Grey’s" in general and McPherson says it’s "an absurd question," and he spars with a critic about how many episodes departing actress Melissa George had appeared in this season. When pressed about Smith’s firing, McPherson says, "the character was not working for us and the relationship was not working for us," and he says Smith’s post-firing take on the situation "was just an actress [talking] in a manner that was useful to her."

McPherson defends the "Grey’s" storyline where Katherine Heigl’s character has a romance with the ghost of her departed lover.

"It’s not a ghost, as you will learn," he says. "When you get to the end of season and see everything she had in mind ... I really like the story line when we heard the show season laid out."

McPherson also emphasizes that the creative quality of "Private Practice" is improving.

"This season ‘Practice' really found the show," he says. "We got back to the Addison we knew."