TVGuide.com: In case people missed last week's premiere, how would you describe Windfall? Sarah Wynter: It is about a group of 20 friends, a mixture of married couples and single people, who get together every week and have a potluck dinner at someone's house. Sometimes there are stragglers, or people will bring people from out of town, but it is an informal get-together where someone takes a coffee can filled with one-dollar bills that everyone puts in, then goes to the store and buys lottery tickets. They win almost $400 million and, of course, all their lives change. It is more or less a cautionary tale of "Be careful what you wish for" and "What would you do if all your dreams came true?" It is not a sitcom — it is dark, to disturbing levels.
TVGuide.com: Your character, Beth, is married to a guy who seems to be still involved with his ex. Wynter: Well, they certainly are exploring that. It is quite a complex little triangle — or square, if you include both married couples — because they were college sweethearts, so it is almost like, "Who is the one who was cheated on?" Even though I am the one Cameron ended up marrying, he still kind of holds a torch for Nina. It gets very gray as to who is cheating on whom, but it is definitely wrong no matter which way you look at it. There are endless possibilities for great story lines. I joke that it is a cross between Dynasty and thirtysomething. It is not really like either show, but we have those over-the-top moments — like the pizza- delivery girl leaving the trailer park in a helicopter — but it is those moments that give you goosebumps and make you think, "That is what I would do. Good people like that should win a lot of money." But then you read in the paper every day about lottery winners who lose it all and get death threats.... Our show explores paternity suits and divorce and greed. It is a bit like someone who is really drunk. Someone with a lot of money can show their true colors.
TVGuide.com: Sounds juicy! Wynter: It is incredibly juicy, one of those guilty pleasures. It is the kind of show I would relish watching, especially with so many reruns on [during the summer].
TVGuide.com: I know it's an ensemble, but your little love quadrangle really seems to be at the forefront.Wynter: I think the main focus is [that], but it will go off on tangents. It is a rich tapestry with many different threads woven in, and this one central, connecting thing — this huge amount of money. My character had a lot of things happen to her and because of her, which I like. She is certainly not a victim. Just because she doesn't scream and shout and become hysterical doesn't make her not powerful. She has a quiet power. She's not all flashy and "If you are cheating on me, I'm going to divorce you, sucker." She looks at the bigger picture, which makes her smart.
TVGuide.com: She's a florist as well. Wynter: Yeah, but that certainly doesn't define my character. I don't think I had another scene in the florist shop [since the premiere].
TVGuide.com: Well that sort of answers my next question. A lot of people dream of quitting their jobs when they win the lottery. Does Beth quit? Wynter: It isn't really addressed, but it is assumed that she doesn't work at the florist any more. She doesn't sit around on her yacht, either. What I like about Beth is that she still drives her Saab that is probably 15 years old. She isn't one of the ones who goes out and buys a Mercedes or a McMansion. But she certainly treats herself. In the second episode [airing tonight], she and Nina do something really fun together. They go on this fantastic trip and spend a lot of money.
TVGuide.com: Would you be a little frivolous if you won all this money? Wynter: Oh, yeah. I'd go to an art gallery and buy art I can only look at in books, and buy clothes. Of course I would love to do noble things with it, and I would, but the first 24 hours would be just a whirlwind of, "Look at that, I love that, I'll buy that."
TVGuide.com: Can you tell me about some of your other upcoming projects? Wynter: I did a movie called Shooting Livien, which just came out on DVD. We were invited to the South by Southwest Film Festival [for that], but I had just started Windfall and I couldn't go. Ally Sheedy is in it, and Jason Behr (The Grudge) and Dominic Monaghan (Lost).... Three Dollars came out in Australia — I'm not sure if it has distribution here yet — and it is a beautiful movie with Frances O'Connor and David Wenham. It was my first Australian movie, so I was really excited to go back and do that... and finally do an Australian accent. I never get to do my own accent, which is a hybrid of American and Australian now. In fact they had to ask me, "Can you sound a little bit more Australian here?" That had me laughing because everybody in America always says that I sound very Australian, and they thought I sounded very American. Ah, the irony.
TVGuide.com: We got our first big glimpse of you on 24. Do you keep up with the show? Wynter: I try to watch the DVDs so I can see it commercial-free, plus then I can do a marathon. It is such a great show, and it was such a fantastic experience for me to be on it. I loved it, I absolutely loved it. I feel like I am part of something that is quite groundbreaking. Because they repeat it all the time, and because people do watch the DVDs, I get recognized from that show daily. People know my full character name —"Are you Kate Warner from 24?" They know the names, they ask about specific scenes.... It almost has a Trekkie-like following. They are very serious fans.
TVGuide.com: Hopefully some of those smart fans will watch Windfall as well. Wynter: Yes. It is equally a smart show — it is just not all in one day. There is a lot happening, but no bombs, no terrorism.
TVGuide.com: Let's hope. Wynter: Yes. Let's hope. You never know.
TVGuide.com: How many episodes of Windfall are there? Wynter: There are 13 for now. Hopefully a lot of people will tune in and they'll pick us up for the rest of the season, which is nine more. Then we'll be on for five years and get terribly successful and people will become obsessed with it and there will be Windfall T-shirts. [Laughs]
TVGuide.com: The show started out with 20 people, so there are a lot of characters to delve into. Wynter: Yeah, and some are very shady characters. Some people we don't know very well, other people come into the mix, a lot of people are threatened.... We as actors feel that we've won the lottery in a way by getting this show. It is an interesting parallel. One of the actresses got a Mercedes because she's now making money, and one of the characters on the show gets a Mercedes because she's won all this money. Obviously we haven't won $20 million each, but we are pretty well paid!

Acknowledging that one of the producers on Treasure Hunters is none other than Imagine Television's Brian Grazer — aka the very man who gave us Tom Hanks as Da Vinci code-breaker Robert Langdon — executive producer Jane Lipsitz (Project Runway, Last Comic Standing) says, "The things that are successful about The Da Vinci Code are taking these incredibly familiar icons and [revealing] secrets and mysteries around them, and we applied that to Treasure Hunters. But this is about secrets of American history, so in that sense, it's a 'more secular' version."
The way that Treasure Hunters sets itself apart from reality kin Amazing Race is twofold. "There's a big play-at-home factor for the audience," says Lipsitz, "and there's a connective tissue that runs throughout all our episodes, as you have to figure out how all these artifacts connect to bring you to the final treasure."
Who's on the hunt? The teams are handily categorized as follows: Geniuses (who boast 10 academic degrees among the three of them); Grad Students (including the reality-TV requisite set of hottie twins); Young Professionals; Southie Boys (Boston buds who brag of, no joke, their "street smahts"); the Wild Hanlons (a cinch to win if mullets come into play); Ex-CIA; Air Force; Miss USA (pageant also-rans who debate early on whether or not to "use" the menfolk yet); and two families, the Fogals (who have God on their side, seeing as papa doth preach) and the Browns (almost embarrassingly, African-American brothers).
Noting that "casting is always a key to the success of these series," Lipsitz says Treasure Hunters "takes all kinds of smarts and intelligence — street versus book smarts, rational versus logical thinking — and we wanted to have teams that represented all of that. At first glance, Ex-CIA and Air Force would seem to be in the lead, but we also wanted people with interesting and more relatable approaches to how they solve puzzles. And while there are physical elements [to the challenges and hunting], we balance that with the intelligent side as well."
It is also Treasure Hunters' ambition to show off the historical side of America, as opposed to the almost-incomprehensible globe-trotting and tropical locales featured on other reality offerings.
"A lot of shows out there show exotic foreign places, and we feel like America hasn't been explored in that way," says Lipsitz. "So when [our teams] arrive at Mount Rushmore, we wanted that to feel huge and magnificent and meaningful and just as exotic, even though it's on American soil."
But exactly what is it that is hidden somewhere in these United States? What is the treasure — depicted in the show's opening as a chest of gold coins straight out of a prop closet — that these teams seek? Lipsitz's lips are sealed. "The treasure itself is part of the mystery," she hedges. "Like a real-life treasure hunt, you never know what you're actually going to find!"

James Denton (Desperate Housewives) on kids Sheppard, 3, and Malin, 1: "It's nice to take the focus off yourself, to have another person who is more important."
Stacy Keach (Prison Break) on kids Shannon, 18, and Karolina, 16: "Before I became a father, I never realized the importance of multitasking. Now I find myself having to be a taxi driver, a money tree and a delivery boy."
Greg Grunberg (Alias, NBC's fall series Heroes) on kids Jake, 10, Benny, 6, and Sammy, 2: "The best part of being a dad is being able to be silly and unconditional with everything through the eyes of my boys. That, and the tickles."
Eric Close (Without a Trace) on kids Katie, 7, and Ella, 5: "My favorite part of being a dad is snuggling, because eventually it's going to be, 'Dad, drop me off at the corner. I don't want my friends to see you.'"
Bo Bice (American Idol) on Aidan, 8 months: "It doesn't take much to be a father; it takes a lot to be a dad. You have to lead by example when it comes to fatherhood. My dad told me, 'We're here to make the next generation better,' which I didn't really understand until Aidan was born."
Terry Crews (Everybody Hates Chris) on kids Naomi, 19, Azriel, 15, Tera, 7, Wynfrey, 3, and Isaiah, 11 months: "Fatherhood has definitely made me a different person. I have become more sensitive and compassionate. When your little girl says, 'I love you, Daddy,' it just breaks down walls you never knew you had."
Jimmy Kimmel (Jimmy Kimmel Live) on kids Katie, 14, and Kevin, 12:"I learn things from my kids constantly. Most of their knowledge comes from Snapple caps, but they keep me in touch with important things like High School Musical and MySpace."
Billy Ray Cyrus (Hannah Montana) on kids Christopher, 14, Miley, 13, Braison, 12, Noah, 6, and stepchildren Brandi, 19, and Trace, 17:"I try to be my kids' best friend. Let them know I'm there for them no matter what they're going through."
Harold Perrineau (Lost) on daughter Aurora, 11: "Being a dad has made me more aware of myself. I can see all of my virtues and flaws. They become glaringly clear when my daughter communicates with me in the same ways that I communicate with her. I can really tell where and when I went wrong."
David Krumholtz (Numbers) on his dad, Michael: "I'm very close to my father. All of my friends sort of marvel at him because he's so incredibly sweet. He leaves me these messages and I play them for my friends: 'My son, how I love you. I miss you, son. You're the greatest. My sonny boy. I love you very much. Call me. I miss you. Mwah-mwah-mwah. Bye-bye.' "
Additional reporting by Ileane Rudolph

TVGuide.com: Tell us what happens in this week's new episode.Lauren Conrad: Well, Heidi starts her job in New York, and she hates it, which is really funny, because she's stuffing envelopes and doing all these "assistant" things, and that's not what she had in mind. And they don't want her working at the clubs or anything, so... me, I delivered a dress to New York, and went back home. I literally hand the dress off, and the woman is like, "All right, cool." Like, "Thanks for running this to New York for me." At the very end I get a message on the machine from Jason, whom I hadn't heard from in a while.
TV Guide: With issues such as taking the NYC job versus staying in school, are you torn between advising Heidi as a best friend and doing something else that might offer more drama for the show?Lauren: You know what, especially with this school? You can always go back. Like, I can take a year off and go back and it's not a big deal at all. That's how that program is set up. So it's not a huge deal that she didn't go. I was bummed because she had moved out here [to Los Angeles] to [attend the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising] with me and didn't even give it a chance, but....
TV Guide: But by and large, do you ever find yourself playing to the cameras? Lauren: No, I don't like it when people do that. It's almost insulting when you fake it because people can tell, and you're making them think you think they can't tell.
TV Guide: Why'd you hang up on Heidi last week if you're supposed to be best friends?Lauren: I actually didn't hang up on her; our phones disconnected, and then my phone rang when I tried to call her back. I did not hang up on her. I would never hang up on Heidi.
TV Guide: What did she think when she saw you guys singing "Beauty School Dropout"?Lauren: I've sung that to her face! I sang that for, like, a month, as a joke! [Laughs]
TV Guide: You mentioned getting a message from Jason. Is there some romantic drama to come?Lauren: Yeah, it's us getting back together, and then the beginning [of the reunion], and how it ends up... all that fun stuff. [Sheepishly] But I don't know what they're going to show. I do know he comes to my office [at Teen Vogue] to surprise me with flowers.
TV Guide: How much say do you have in the final product?Lauren: None. They film for nine months, about four days a week, and then edit all that footage into 10 episodes. I have absolutely no idea what they're going to use or not use. What I do on camera is my own responsibility. But I knew what I was signing up for.
TV Guide: Do your friends get paid when they visit you and appear in an episode?Lauren: Three of my best friends are actually never seen on camera. They're really supportive; they're just not interested in being on TV. It's an understanding we have. Like, if we were filming Laguna and we were having a party and the cameras would leave at 11 o'clock, they would come after. Or they would just hang out in the area where there were no cameras.
TV Guide: You're probably the first intern in publishing history to end up on her magazine's cover.Lauren: That was exciting. I've worked cover shoots for [Teen Vogue], and then to actually be at one.... I felt like I should be steaming clothes and stuff! [Laughs]
TV Guide: Is the magazine's West Coast editor as much of a witch as she comes off to be?Lauren: No... she seems that way, but she's a really nice person. She is a bit intimidating, though!
TV Guide: What was the big deal with those cushions at the Roosevelt [party in Episode 1]? Who were they reserving them for?!Lauren: I don't know! A lot of people had their own table, like Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan and all that, so I still don't know who those were reserved for. [Keeping them saved] is what I was told to do, so I just did it. I didn't ask.
TV Guide: Why did your friends show up even though you told them not to?Lauren: They probably would have gone to that even if there weren't cameras, because a lot of our friends went to that event. I mean, there were Laguna people there, too, which was kind of weird. Stephen and Dieter went together, and I think Talan was there....
TV Guide: What would have happened if Teen Vogue didn't hire you, or if they fired you?Lauren: I would have had to find another job. They made it very clear that if I messed up and if I did something wrong, I would get fired, so there was pressure on me all the time. And there wasn't a guarantee that I was going to get hired, either. They waited a week to call me back, and they didn't show half of the stuff they told me — "You're too young, you have no experience, you wear sandals...." I was looking at other internships at other magazines [just in case]. I think [The Hills' producers] would have enjoyed it if I got fired. It would have made for a better story line!
TV Guide: What's been your favorite thing about attaining the level of celebrity you have?Lauren: Probably the free stuff. [Smiles] Like, when awards shows come up, they'll rent out hotel rooms and you walk through and get all the free stuff. That's really cool.
TV Guide: What's it like knowing that people all over the Internet are dissecting your life?Lauren: They like to dissect my face, I know that! I've read about everything that's wrong with me! They're not usually nice, so I stay away from [message boards].
TV Guide: What's the wildest rumor you've ever heard about your rivalry with Kristin Cavallari? Ever see ridiculous stuff published?Lauren: [Shrugs] She, like, lies in interviews, but other than that.... [Laughs] We just don't like each other.
TV Guide: Do you think she herself started the Dukes of Hazzard/Daisy recast rumor?Lauren: I don't know, but probably!
TV Guide: What TV do you like?Lauren: I don't watch very much TV. If anything, we get DVDs to watch. We really like Family Guy and The Simpsons, and we just got Grey's Anatomy. I'm not a big TV person.
TV Guide: Are you a party person?Lauren: No, I'm not. Really! [Laughs] If we have time off, we like to go out to lunch, or go shopping.
TV Guide: If you're an intern and full-time student, how can shopping be a hobby? Do you get a stipend from your parents or from the show?Lauren: No, I haven't gotten money from my parents in, like, two years. For a while, we did appearances where you sign autographs for a couple of hours and that pays really well. I saved up from doing stuff like that.
TV Guide: Do you have an interest in doing scripted television at some point?Lauren: [Shakes head] I can't act.
TV Guide: That doesn't stop a lot of people.Lauren: [Laughs] Yeah, but I'm really bad. I don't have a passion for it and I don't enjoy it, so I wouldn't do it.
TV Guide: Do you anticipate any "withdrawal" when the day comes that your life isn't chronicled by cameras?Lauren: No, because in between seasons it totally ends, and I totally enjoy that. I won't be upset when it's completely gone!

TV Guide: Is Babes in Arms your favorite of the 10 movies you made with Judy Garland? Mickey Rooney: I enjoyed doing all those musicals with Judy. We enjoyed working with each other, and the music by [Richard] Rodgers and [Lorenz] Hart was great. How can you miss with that?
TV Guide: What was it like working with Spencer Tracy in Boys Town? Rooney: There was only one Spencer Tracy. We made [that film] in two weeks: one in the studio and one in Nebraska. And to this day, I'm the honorary mayor of Boys Town.
TV Guide: National Velvet was the last movie you did before you went into the Army, right? Rooney: Yes, I was in the Army for three years. I was in a Jeep show and we played the front lines. I received a Bronze Star, which I wear today with reverence.
TV Guide: What do you think of today's movies? Rooney: There are good pictures today, but movies have changed a bit. I think musicals should come back, but they don't know how to do them. I just finished a movie with Ben Stiller and Robin Williams called Night at the Museum. I enjoyed that.
TV Guide: Have any movies inspired you?Rooney: No, the Lord inspired me.
TV Guide: Do you ever plan on retiring?Rooney: No, we don't retire. We inspire.