Lori Loughlin and Eriq LaSalle Return to Acting in ‘On Call’ Series: “I’ve Never Been Seen Like This”

On Call marks both an onscreen reunion and a return to acting for stars Lori Loughlin and Eriq LaSalle. The actors first worked together on the 1993 TV movie Empty Cradle at the peak of Louhglin’s career-defining role as Rebecca Donaldson Katsopolis on family sitcom Full House and the precipice of LaSalle’s as Dr. Peter Benton on E.R.

Since then, LaSalle has focused his attention behind the camera, directing and producing a series of procedural and legal dramas, making him a natural fit for Prime Video‘s On Call. The Elliot Wolf and Tim Walsh-created series about the Long Beach Police Department stars Troian Bellisario as 12-year veteran officer Traci Harmon and Brandon Larracuente as rookie Alex Diaz. LaSalle is an executive producer of the eight-episode series of which he also directed multiple episodes and stars in as 21-year veteran Sergeant Lasman.

“[On Call] has elements of other shows but, collectively, I don’t know what show you would compare this to,” LaSalle says of the uniqueness of the Dick Wolf drama. “The same thing that Lori went through as an actress playing a different kind of role is the same thing for me directing a different kind of [police procedural].”

Loughlin, who had a string of guest acting appearances on shows like Spin City and Psych, reprised her role as Rebecca for the Netflix sequel Fuller House, in which she had a recurring role from 2016-2018. Just one year later, Loughlin found herself engulfed in what’s been dubbed the Varsity Blues Scandal, where she and husband Mossimo Giannulli were sentenced to prison for bribing college officials to get their daughters, Isabella Rose and Olivia Jade, into the University of Southern California. Loughlin served two months in prison at FCI Dublin in northern California from Oct. 30 to Dec. 28, 2020.

Four years later, following her Curb Your Enthusiasm self-parody comeback episode earlier this year, Loughlin now stars as the brusque Lieutenant Bishop in On Call, marking her return to television in a recurring role. Below, she and LaSalle talk with THR about getting their bearings on set and not being pigeonholed by their most memorable characters.

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Eriq, you’ve been behind the scenes mostly as of late. What was it about the role of Sergeant Lasman that made you want to step in front of the camera while also directing and executive producing with On Call?

ERIQ LASALLE I started as the director and producer, and then we offered the role to Michael Beach, and we were all excited about that possibility. He happens to be my best friend, and everyone was so on board. Then his schedule got kind of crazy and by the time it rolled around, he was unable to do it. We started looking at other people and casting, and then I just kept falling more and more in love with the project. As a director, I saw the potential. I wanted the opportunity, and I’ve wanted it for a while now, to do the trifecta on this scale — be an actor, director and executive producer — I’ve done it on smaller scales. So this presented itself to be a part of something really cool and fresh and original and doing the trifecta. Tthat opportunity doesn’t come along for many artists, and it certainly doesn’t come along for many artists of color. So I felt this was the statement I wanted to make. I think I picked wisely.

Lori, this marks your big return to TV with a recurring role as well. Why this series and how did it come to you?

LORI LOUGHLIN I feel very blessed that it came to me. I got a phone call out of the blue, honestly, offering me the role and Eriq was very instrumental in that happening. I read the script. It’s a great script. The pilot episode was just phenomenal. Bishop is a really different character from anything I’ve ever played. In fact, I almost wanted to call back and say, “Are you sure you want to offer it to me?”

So I jumped at the chance to do it and then got to work the first day and definitely had some butterflies, and was apprehensive in trying to find the character. You do all the homework, but then you get there and you’re like, “Okay, this is very different.” I’m sort of on unstable ground, but thankfully had Eriq there as our director. What he said to me was, “I’m gonna push you and I won’t let you fail, but we’re going to take you in a different direction than you’ve ever been.” And and he did push me, and I trusted him.

He said, “You’re unapologetic in your performance. I want you to really lean into your strength. You’re a strong leader and you’re no-nonsense; own that power.” I would test it out and he’d say, “You’re on the right track. We’re going to go a little further.” He just kept pushing me and pushing me, and giving me the confidence. Once I got comfortable, then it really all came together for me.

The first day I showed up, my hair had highlights and they said to me, “Listen, we’re going to make your hair dark, we’re going to take the makeup off of you, we’re going to go raw,” and I was really excited about that. I’ve never been seen like this before. As an artist, it’s always exciting to have an opportunity to play something that’s really different from what you’ve ever done before.

LASALLE Sometimes artists say they want to do different stuff, but when the rubber meets the road and the work really begins, they want to do it on their own terms. I think if anyone had any doubts about Lori playing the role on our crew, or at the executive level, they were immediately erased with that commitment. We got word right away. She was like, “yep, I’m on my way tomorrow to dye my hair, no makeup.” So she’s not bringing attitude, not bringing diva. It’s great when an artist shows up and says, “hey, I’m here for the work and if this is what’s going to be best for the work, then I’m in.”

Eriq, you’ve worked on Chicago P.D., Law & Order, Without a Trace and Lori, you recently returned to Blue Bloods to reprise your character Grace Edwards. For both of you, having been on other police procedurals, what sets On Call apart?

LOUGHLIN First of all, it’s not an hour show. Each episode is 30 minutes. But, visually, what these guys did is very unique. It’s very cinematic. It really makes you feel like an audience member is a character in the show. The way they use all the different body cameras, dash cams, drones, cell phone footage, it’s just incredible.

This is a contemporary show, but it feels like its own world in that it doesn’t bring in real-world socio-political issues. Is that intentional?

LASALLE Yes, it’s intentional. Listen, we don’t have an agenda. This is not pro-cop or anti-cop. We’re here to tell an intense, compelling story about flawed characters who sometimes become heroes, who sometimes are right and sometimes are wrong. Now, just the every day of living, you’re going to encounter certain things, and fine, that’s life. We encounter it, but we’re not doubling down. We’re not trying to make this progressive statement or conservative statement. That’s for the audience. You interpret that the way you want to. You interpret our characters the way you want to. If you like us, you like us. Some you will like, some you won’t. Some you will agree with, some you won’t. That’s life. That’s who you work with, that’s who you live with. So we come from that [perspective] and, as a result, it gives us a very gritty, realistic tone and feel.

Officers Harmon (Troian Bellisario) and Diaz (Brandon Larracuente) are the main characters in the series. Can you talk about working with these newer actors as the show leads.

LASALLE The truth is that I felt a little rusty as an actor. I haven’t been exercising those muscles as much because I do a lot of directing. So I started leaning on the actors. One time, truth be told, Troian carried me. My first couple of takes, at the same time I’m directing, so I can’t even [focus as much on acting], instead of working so hard, I just learned to look at her, listen to her, hear her and follow her. With Brandon, I had to be that mentor character to him and by that time I was feeling better. But the cool thing is that when I’m directing, I can trust the actors. We’ve set each other up to win. I don’t have to step outside the acting to watch them as a director. I can watch them as an actor and as a character. There’s a really cool scene where we have to galvanize everyone, and I set them up and she knocks them down. It’s just this unspoken thing and I think life imitated art in that moment and art imitated life.

LOUGHLIN I feel the same way about Troian, just staying with her, looking her in the eyes. I think Troian and Brandon together have really good chemistry; they are the core and heart and soul of the show, and it’s that relationship and dynamic that carries the show.

Each of you has these iconic characters you’re known for — Dr. Peter Benton on E.R., Rebecca Donaldson on Full House and Fuller House — has it been difficult on your acting journeys to get people to see you outside of those roles?

LOUGHLIN It’s the blessing and the curse, right? As an actor, especially when we were coming up, to get on a television series and shoot in town was like a dream come true. And then you get it and you play that role ,and you play it to the best of your ability and your show’s a hit and you’re making money and it’s all great. And then the next step is, “Oh, well, you’re just that character,” and you’re like, “No, wait a minute, I’m not.” But I have to say, for me, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Here I am at a much later time in my career, but I feel like, oh, finally. I’m given an opportunity to play something that is very different from all the other roles I’ve played.

LASALLE As a director, I’m attracted to bringing actors roles they wouldn’t normally play, because as an actor, I know what that does for me. I know when people want to pigeonhole me. When I got into directing, people were skeptical. And then all of a sudden, it was like, “Oh, he’s a good director.” Now you start getting into being an executive producer. Another thing that I do is I write novels, so then it’s like, “Oh, now he’s an author.” So you just keep fighting that battle. You have to keep redefining yourself and proving yourself over and over. When you have these different disciplines and you’re a multi-hyphenate, trust me, you still have to keep doing that. I know the excitement that an actor gets when someone offers them something they’re not used to doing and that also usually ensures you’re going to get so much out of that actor. They’re just happy to come to the party. They’re happy to be recognized as something beyond this very narrow scope. They show up and have something to prove. I love being in business with people who have something to prove because I feel for most of my career, and even still now, doing all of these things, I’m proving myself still.

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On Call, Wolf Entertainment’s first scripted streaming series, releases all eight half-hour episodes Jan. 9, 2025.