‘The Closer’ Alum Featured in New Lifetime Comedy

Longtime fans of The Closer probably remember occasional cast member James Avery, who played medical examiner Dr. Crippen on eleven episodes during the hit crime drama’s first three seasons.

Although the actor appears in all kinds of film and television projects, many remember him best as filthy rich father figure Philip Banks on Will Smith’s breakthrough 1990s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Well, now the actor is contributing his comedic talent to another sitcom: the brand-new Lifetime series Sherri, starring The View co-host and sometime 30 Rock player Sherri Shepherd.

Sherri follows the life of a single working mother of one young son who recently divorced her philandering husband (The Cosby Show‘s Malcolm-Jamal Warner) after learning about his adulterous extracurricular activities.

Avery plays Redmond, the title character’s father, and he’ll be hanging out on Sherri again tonight during the new episode “Dating Dad.” Catch it at 10pm ET on Lifetime, especially if you’re partial to TV series that feature strong female characters like The Closer‘s Brenda Leigh Johnson.

Currently on hiatus, The Closer will return with three new episodes this winter.