Ray Liotta is checking into “ER” this season for an episode that will be filmed in real time.
Liotta will play an alcoholic who comes to the show’s County General Hospital hallucinating and suffering from withdrawal symptoms. The episode, the first real-time “ER” effort since a live broadcast in 1997, is scheduled to air during November sweeps.
“He is a guy who, in some ways, has been very self-destructive in terms of criminal behavior and his health,” writer and executive producer David Zabel tells The Hollywood Reporter about Liotta’s character. “The episode is 44 continuous minutes of his treatment and interactions with the staff in the ER and how those 44 minutes determine whether he’s going to live or die.”
The guest spot will be Liotta’s first TV work since the HBO movie “Point of Origin” in 2002. The “Goodfellas” and “Narc” star will next be seen in the feature “The Last Shot,” due for release later this month.
“ER” did a live episode for its season premiere in 1997.
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Edited by Cara DiPasquale (cdipasquale@tribune.com) and Kris Karnopp (kkarnopp@tribune.com)
