For me, the best part about the TCA tour isn’t learning about the new shows; it’s being reminded about existing shows that I just haven’t had the time or opportunity to check out. In the case of “Head Case,” I swear I thought I’d watched the first episode and hadn’t been very impressed, but when they showed us a clip reel from Season 1 before the panel for the upcoming second season, it was pretty damned funny. Maybe the series found its feet really quickly…? Well, whatever the case, I’m clearly going to need to re-investigate the show.

“Head Case” is yet another comedy that’s completely unscripted – seriously, there are so many on the air these days that I’m wondering if we’ll ever have another writer’s strike – but Alexandra Wentworth is damned proud of that fact. “We call upon talent and they show up on our set, they have no idea what they’re going to be saying or doing, we have no idea what we’re going to be doing with them, and it’s a process that seems to work really well for us,” she said.

The show revolves around Wentworth’s character, Dr. Elizabeth Goode, a Los Angeles psychiatrist who treats celebrities; the premise lends itself to guest stars, of course, and “Head Case” takes full advantage of the opportunity at every turn. Season 1 featured appearances by…wait, let me take a deep breath first…Jason Priestley, Ione Skye, Andy Dick, Shelby Lynne, Traci Lords, Tom Sizemore, Ralph Macchio, Liz Phair, Dana Ashbrook, Jonathan Silverman, Sean Hayes, and Alanis Morissette. Season 2, meanwhile, will offer up the following guest stars: Jeff Goldblum, Richard Kind, Lea Thompson, Nicole Sullivan, Ahmet Zappa, David Allan Grier, Stephen Root, Christopher Lloyd, Monica Potter, Trudie Styler, Cindy Margolis, and…Jerry Seinfeld?!?

“I have to tell you something: Jerry Seinfeld is dirty in our show,” said Wenworth. “And he’s not dirty in his standup, and he wasn’t dirty on…what’s that show he did? But he was really…he just let loose. It wasn’t so much that we got him to do it. I think that Jerry was just really excited about sort of being in this unscripted environment because even his standup is very written. He, like, goes to the office. He’s a real kind of businessman, even about his standup. So, you know, here he is, he comes to the set, and it’s just, ‘Say and do whatever you want.’ And I think he felt really liberated. And I mean, when I say ‘dirty,’ I mean, you know, a little risque for Jerry Seinfeld, not Andrew Dice Clay.

“There’s something about when these celebrities come in and do this, and I don’t know if it’s because it’s therapy, but it’s unscripted, and they just let it all out, and we use it to our advantage,” continued Wentworth. “But for us, everyone on the stage and everyone that’s been involved in this, it’s really a labor of love. Starz has been amazing about letting us kind of do our thing. And they don’t get involved. And, you know, the outcome is something we’re all really proud of.”

It’s also something that the comedy community is sitting up and taking notice of; Wentworth says that she’s hearing from comedians left and right who are interested in appearing on “Head Case.”

“We’ve had people come in, people know what the show is, and they’re more comfortable,” she said. “Chris Rock and people are now saying, ‘I want to do your show. It’s funny.’ As opposed to at the beginning when they were like, ‘What? It’s ‘Dr. Drew’?’ ‘No, it’s not. It’s funny.’ ‘It’s ‘In
Treatment’?’ ‘No, no, it’s…’ It was really, really hard for us to convince people.”

Now, however, it’s clear that they’re not wanting for guest stars, but still on the guest wish list are a pair of unlikely names: Marilyn Manson and Salman Rushdie.

“(Manson) was on tour,” said Wentworth, “but he, to me, was the one that was in my head when I thought, ‘How do you go from being a suburban kid to that?’ Like, who is his shrink? Who is saying, ‘No, no, make half of your face white and…’? Who is talking to this person?”

The second season of “Head Case” premieres on Starz in March 2009.