Kirstie Alley Calls Maksim Chmerkovskiy 'Good TV,' Teases Her 'Cheers' Reunion (Video)
The reigning "Dancing With the Stars" runner-up defends her former partner and tells THR about her new ABC pilot.
Kirstie Alley had a front row seat for Monday's portion of the Dancing With the Stars finale. And after taking in the top three next to Maksim Chmerkovskiy, she spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about her former partner's headline-making season.
"In my eyes, Maks can do no wrong," Alley tells THR. "They call him the bad boy of the ballroom for a reason. He's not Holly Golightly."
PHOTOS: 'Dancing With the Stars' Season 13: Rehearsals
While partnered with Kirstie in season 12, Maks kept a relatively low profile, but with Hope Solo on his arm, he prompted several heated altercations with the judges in the last two months.
"You know what? This is TV," Kirstie says. "And that's good TV."
And speaking of TV, the 60-year-old actress is inching closer to an official return. She starts filming the ABC pilot, The Manzinis, in two weeks with her Cheers co-star Rhea Perlman.
"It's reuniting Rhea Perlman and I," she says before getting flushed with affection for another co-star. "My husband is Michael Rispoli... dying, love, major amazing actor."
PHOTOS: 'Dancing With the Stars' Season 13: Rehearsals
A family comedy from TV scribes Marco Pennette and Dave Flebotte, The Manzinis is eying a spot on ABC's Fall 2012 lineup.
"It's about an Italian family in Brooklyn," Kirstie explains. "He's a baker, and he makes it big. He has five bakeries so they move to Connecticut. They don't fit in too well."
If her schedule accommodates, Alley will also appear in the Broadway play The Fabulous Lies of Hollywood Whores in February. She will not, however, be playing one of the title characters.
"I play the pimp," she says. "I'm in charge!"
For more from Kirstie, watch the complete interview above.
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