‘Fired Up’ ‘Nypd Blue’ Regular Sharon Lawrence Is Trying Her Hand At Comedy In Her New Series

As Sylvia Costas Sipowicz on “NYPD Blue,” actress Sharon Lawrence became identified with a grounded, compassionate and thoughtful character.

But even as she was playing Sylvia, Lawrence was showing a more flamboyant side - almost zany in the TV movie “The Shaggy Dog,” charged up to the point of scenery-chewing in a guest shot on “Caroline in the City.”

Now we’ll see if audiences will accept the flashier side of Lawrence on a weekly basis as she begins her own comedy series, “Fired Up,” which premieres Thursday at 9:30 p.m. on NBC.

Lawrence plays Gwen Leonard, expert in business promotion and inept at almost everything else. She’s the sort of person who has no idea what she’s paid, because her assistant handles her finances, and who issues instructions like “make me that sandwich I love.” To her a coffee maker is not a machine to be used but a person to be ordered about.

As the series begins, Gwen’s longtime assistant Terry Reynolds (Leah Remini) has just been fired. Naturally, Gwen is upset because this might affect her own work. But shortly after, Gwen herself is fired, sending her and Terry off into the world and, eventually, into collaboration.

The pilot episode is as much about Terry as it is about Gwen as it draws out the characters’ past and future relationship. As comedy, though, it’s not much - although that post-“Seinfeld” time slot should assure people will tune in at least once to see how they like it.

Others will wonder what this means for the relationship between Sylvia and her husband, the troubled police detective Andy Sipowicz. Lawrence’s official biography says she will continue on “Blue” while appearing on “Fired Up,” but it’s evident her focus is on “Fired Up.”

“I am still considered a member of the cast,” she said of her “Blue” situation, “but I have completed my contractual obligations … I will make appearances as I see fit - if I am available professionally and the time is well spent there.”

Lawrence apparently did not see the time as well spent of late, noting that “my role as Sylvia had evolved into a much more domestic one.”

First seen on the show as a prosecutor, Sylvia had a child with Andy near the end of last season and has mainly been seen in their home. She could no longer be brought into the detectives’ doings, where most of the “NYPD Blue” action unfolded. Kim Delaney, as detective Diane Russell, emerged as the main woman character on the show.

“Fired Up” started with an order for six episodes “and NBC liked it so much, they ordered two more,” Lawrence said. But it is coming on late in the season, and NBC will be announcing its plans for the fall just as “Fired Up” is finishing its spring run.

Lawrence is already being asked about Gwen’s wackiness. “I don’t think Gwen is crazy,” she said. “Self-centered, yes. But I think she is also smart and challenging.”

Then there’s the adjustment of working full time on a sitcom, and trying to carry the enterprise, as opposed to supporting other actors in a drama. Kelsey Grammer (“Frasier”), who is an executive producer on “Fired Up,” warned her of the difference.

“He said, if you feel like you’ve been shot out of a cannon in the first six or eight episodes, don’t worry,” Lawrence said.