show and the only pre-Matt and Danny writer to remain after Ricky and Ron's departure. Lucy and Darius are supposed to get their first sketch on the air in "B-12". The sketch is about a bungling hostage taker, but it is cancelled when a real-life hostage-taker kills his entire family and then himself just after that evening's show starts. During the course of the show, Lucy begins dating Tom Jeter. Darius Hawthorne (Columbus Short) is Matt's assistant writer. Matt and Simon hire Darius after seeing his stand-up act in "The Wrap Party". During "The Harriet Dinner" he argues with Simon because Darius passed a sketch pitched by Simon to Lucy. Andy Mackinaw (Mark McKinney) is introduced in "B-12" after Ricky and Ron's departure when Matt needs an extra writer's help. Andy is a former writer whose tenure on Studio 60 predates Matt and Danny's initial departure. Since that time, Andy's wife and daughter have died in a car accident. Andy is very serious and has only been seen smiling once. Suzanne (Merritt Wever) is a former production assistant on the show who becomes Matt's assistant in the episode "B-12". She confronts Matt about his drug use in the episode "Breaking News". Hallie Galloway (Stephanie Childers) is the vice-president of alternative programming (a.k.a. reality TV) for NBS and has developed an adversarial relationship with Jordan. She first appears in the episode "Monday". McDeere has expressed her fear that Galloway is being groomed to take her place after the rocky start to McDeere's tenure as president of the network. Mary Tate (Kari Matchett) is a lawyer from law firm Gage Whitney Pace who is hired by NBS and has a sexual interest in Matt. Between "Breaking News" and "What Kind of Day Has It Been", Mary is used as a second option to get Tom's brother out of the hostage situation. Shelly Green (Wendy Phillips) is head of publicity for NBS. Guest appearances Wes Mendell (Judd Hirsch) is the creator of Studio 60 who is fired by Jack Rudolph after going on a long on-air rant against the current state of television. Although he appears only in the pilot, Wes is referred to as a big influence on Matt and Danny. Martha O'Dell (Christine Lahti) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist working on a story for Vanity Fair about the new leadership of Studio 60. In "The West Coast Delay" and "The Long