Geena Davis TV Premiere

Oct. 6, 2000 -- Does the sitcom make the star or does the star make the sitcom?

Bill Cosby and Mary Tyler Moore have some classic shows that bear their name, but if you think hard enough you’ll recall they also have some bombs attached to their names.

Geena Davis is the latest household name to try her luck with a star driven series, The Geena Davis Show, which debuts on ABC.

This is one series that takes its celebrities seriously. The cast includes Mimi Rogers and Peter Horton, with Oscar winner Davis playing a New York hot shot who makes a career out of matching up big names with causes.

Davis admits she didn’t expect her own name to get matched up with a TV series, as this is her first sitcom role since Sara 15 years ago.

“I had not been actively seeking out television, I’ve been really enjoying my film career, although I’ve never been a snob about television,” said Davis. She returned to films in the mid-1980s after appearing on the short-lived Sara. The comedy was set in a legal office and also starred Alfre Woodard and Bronson Pinchot.

Davis decided to give TV another chance after reading the script for what has become her self-titled series. She describes it as love at first sight. “It first made me think, ‘ya know, this is really good, I should consider some day going back to TV,’ and by the next morning I was thinking, ‘oh, I wonder if I should do this actual one,’” said Davis.

Goodbye Manhattan, Hello SUV The plot revolves around Davis’ hectic Manhattan job, and her fiancé’s suburban lifestyle. She quickly takes the plunge, ditching the city for life on the outskirts.

As a fish-out-of-water, Davis’ character wishes playing the tooth fairy was as simple as the glamourous world of PR. When her younger daughter loses a tooth, she crams a $100 bill under her pillow.

“I really can identify with it because I wouldn’t have the first idea how to handle any of that, either” said Davis.

Davis says it is precisely these opposing elements of the show that convinced her the series had great potential. As the series developed, producers added two coworkers — played by Kim Coles and Harlan Williams — to give Davis more of a business life.

“I thought it can happen that you might have to play a character on TV for a number of years if you’re lucky enough to have it be successful, and I wanted to make sure it was something that there was lots of areas to explore.”

Love and PoliticsDavis would not need the help of a professional, like her new sitcom character, to find a suitable charitable cause. Her cause of the moment is a political one. Davis said she is “very much in the Gore camp,” and planned on watching all the debates.

She jokes she will keep this support a bit quieter than some other performers, like Lenny Kravitz and Sheryl Crow who gave a concert in support of the Democratic ticket at New York’s Radio City Music Hall.

“I’d give Gore a concert, but I don’t know if it would do him any good. But I could,” said Davis.

As for her personal life, Davis is happily dating a new unnamed man, who is not in show business. “He’s a civilian, but I’m very happy.”

The series faces tough competition with more than two dozen new shows making their debut this fall. If it fails, Davis will have more time to devote to her other career — as an athlete. She ranks 13th in the country in archery and nearly made it to the Olympics. She says she may try again for the Games in Athens, and enjoys the competition.

“It’s a thrill, you get addicted to hitting the bulls eye and it’s so elusive that you can’t help trying!”

ABC Radio’s Bill Diehl and ABCNews.com’s Nancy Chandross contributed to this report.