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TV review: Raunchy ‘Legit’ has HUGE … heart

Vivian Zink/NBC

Known for his Emmy-winning role as Jack McFarland in NBC's "Will & Grace," Hayes (right) is also a musician, theater actor and producer whose Hazy Mills Productions brought "Hot in Cleveland" and "Grimm" to TV. Raised in Glen Ellyn, Ill., Hayes attended Illinois State University and worked on Chicago stages before moving to Los Angeles. he is now starring in the NBC sitcom "Sean Saves the World" alongside two other Chicago-area natives, Thomas Lennon (left in photo) and Echo Kellum. "Sean Saves the World" has been canceled.

Evans Vestal Ward/USA Network

Chicago native and Second City alum Brad Morris (left) stars as Bruce Caruso in "Playing House," USA's new comedy premiering April 29. Morris, who writes for TBS' "Cougar Town," trained at iO and The Annoyance and is a founding member of Reckoning and Stubs. He helped write and performed in The Second City Mainstage revues "No Country For Old White Men" and "Between Barack and a Hard Place," among others. Also pictured: Lennon Parham as Maggie Caruso

NBC

Danny Pudi (right) grew up on both the North and South Sides of Chicago and did improv in the city before venturing to L.A. and landing his gig as Abed on NBC's "Community." READ Danny Pudi still surprised by "Community."

Art Streiber/NBC

Chicago-born Justina Machado attended Lane Tech and performed with the Latino Chicago Theater Company before moving to New York City. The "Six Feet Under" alum will play Lisette Hernandez in the fall sitcom "Welcome to the Family," which premieres at 7:30 p.m. CT Oct. 3 on NBC. She's also lening her voice to the character Rosa Sanchez in the Fox midseason animated series "Murder Police." "Welcome to the Family" has been canceled.

ABC

The Chicago native plays Dr. Jackson Avery in the ABC series.

ABC

No longer on air. The Chicago native stars in ABC's mid-season comedy "GCB," which could mean "Good Christian Belles" or "Good Christian Bitches." Nichols continues to give back to her hometown, having established a Criminon program for juveniles here.

NBC

Chicago native Luka Jones (left) joins the cast of NBC's "Up All Night" for its second season playing as Scott, Reagan's (Christina Applegate, rigtht) younger, recently divorced brother. Jones grew up in the Chicago and Denver metro areas and trained at Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, among other places. "Up All Night" returns Sept. 20 on NBC.

NBC

Chicago native Jim O'Heir plays Jerry Gergich in NBC's "Parks and Recreation." A graduate of the Thornton Fractional South High School in Lansing, O'Heir was a Chicago theater mainstay in the 1980s and '90s, appearing in productions the theater group White Noise on many stages.

ABC

Jami Gertz was born in Chicago, grew up in Glenview and graduated from Maine East High School in Park Ridge. She stars in the ABC sitcom "The Neighbors" as Debbie Weaver, the wife of Marty Weaver (Lenny Venito, left). Read my Jami Gertz interview here. "The Neighbors" has been canceled.

NBC

TV veteran Suzy Nakamura was born and raised in Chicago, where she also appeared in theatrical and Second City comedy productions. In NBC's "Go On," she plays Yolanda, one of the members of a therapy group attended by Matthew Perry's character. The show gets a special post-Olympics premiere on Aug. 8.

USA Network

Born in Evanston, Daniel Sunjata (right) grew up in Chicago and graduated from Mount Carmel High School, where he played linebacker for two state championship football teams. The former "Rescue Me" star plays Paul Briggs in USA Network's new crime drama "Graceland." Aaron Tveit (left) also stars. Interview: Daniel Sunjata finds new challenges in 'Graceland.'

ABC

Another veteran of Chicago's improv theater scene, Ian Gomez plays Andy on "Cougar Town," which moves to TBS for its next season. The New York native was a member of the ImprovOlympic improvisation troupe and Second City in Chicago. He met his wife, Second City alum Nia Vardalos, in Chicago.

CBS

Recent Emmy winner McCarthy was born and raised in Plainfield, Ill. She used to sneak into Chicago to go dancing, she told me last year.

CBS

Chicago native Aidan Quinn (left, with Jonny Lee Miller) plays Captain Toby Gregson in "Elementary," which premieres at 9 p.m. Sept. 27 on CBS. He was raised in Chicago, Rockford and in Ireland (Dublin and Birr, County Offaly). Quinn got his start in acting in Chicago theater at age 19. He trained at the Piven Theatre Workshop.

Lloyd Bishop/NBC

Before becoming host of "Late Night," Seth Meyers was head writer for "Saturday Night Live" and Weekend Update anchor. He was born in Evanston but grew up in Manchester, N.H. He returned to Evanston for college, and graduated from Northwestern University, where his start in improv as a member of the sketch group Mee-Ow. He studied and worked at ImprovOlympic and was a cast member of Boom Chicago in Amsterdam. Meyers is shown with Amy Poehler, another actress with strong Chicago ties.

Bob D'Amico / ABC

Stana Katic stars as NYPD Det. Kate Beckett on ABC's "Castle." She was born to a Croatian mother and a Serbian father in Winona, Ontario, Canada (near Toronto), but as a youngster moved to Aurora, Ill., where her parents ran a furniture store. After graduating from West Aurora High School in 1996, she studied acting at the Goodman School of Drama in Chicago.

ABC

Morrison is from Arlington Heights.

CBS

Justin Lubin / ABC

Born Chloe Wang in Chicago, Bennet moved to Beijing as a teen to pursue a singing career. Eventually she moved Los Angeles where she worked on the Teen Nick series "The Nightlife" and last season on ABC's "Nashville." She now stars as hacker Skye in ABC's "Marvels Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..D."

NBC

Tempestt Bledsoe, best known for playing Vanessa Huxtable on "The Cosby Show," was born in Chicago. This fall she stars in the NBC comedy "Guys with Kids," which debuts at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 26.

ABC

Philipps, who plays Laurie on ABC's "Cougar Town," was born in Oak Park and lived there until she was about 5 years old. She says she visited relatives every summer through high school, and still comes back to see her grandparents. "I didn't grow up here, but both of my parents did, and their parents did--like, all of my extended family grew up here," she told me during a "Cougar Town" screening Jan. 7 at Racine Plumbing. "So I feel a real deep connection to the city, to Oak Park, to Oak Forest, Lake Geneva, Wis., and like this area. I feel like it's, you know, I get it, I get it.".

NBC

Yuriy Sardarov plays a firefighter nicknamed Otis in NBC's new drama "Chicago Fire," which premieres Oct. 19. The Highland Park native is a graduate of Glenbrook North High School and has appeared on Chicago stages, including in a 2009 production of "The History Boys" at Timeline Theatre. You can see him on the big screen this fall in Ben Affleck's film "Argo."

Jessica Brooks/NBC

Parvesh Cheena plays Dinesh in NBC's "A to Z." He was born in Elk Grove Village and grew up in Naperville. He attended Waubonsie Valley High School and the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. Pictured with: Hong Chau as Lora

Barbara Nitke/NBC

Janina Gavankar, who plays Det. Meredith Rose in NBC's "The Mysteries of Laura," was born in Joliet, attended the University of Illinois-Chicago and worked in Chicago before heading out to Hollywood. She has appeared in many TV shows, including a long stint as shifter Luna Garza in HBO's "True Blood." My "True Blood" chat with Janina Gavanakar

NBC

The Chicago native is listed as a guest star for Season 2 of NBC's "Smash," but as Broadway star Veronica Moore, she's featured prominently enough that I'm including her in our gallery. Hudson, who won an Academy Award for her role in the 2006 film "Dreamgirls," grew up on the South Side and graduated from Dunbar Vocational High School. She was a finalist in the third season of "American Idol."

NBC

Joe Minoso, who plays Joe Cruz in NBC's new drama "Chicago Fire," is a graduate of Northern Illinois University and a veteran of the Chicago theater scene. He has appeared in productions at the Goodman, Victory Gardens, Chicago Childrens, Chicago Shakespeare and American Theater Company, and has been an artistic director at Teatro Vista. He's appeared in several Chicago-filmed series, including "Boss," "The Chicago Code," "Shameless," "The Beast" and "Prison Break." He's no back in Chicago for "Chicago Fire," which premieres Oct. 19.

NBC

Chicago-based actor Christian Stolte plays a firefighter names Mouch in NBC's new drama "Chicago Fire," which premieres Oct. 19. Stolte has appeared in many series filmed in Chicago, including "Boss," "The Chicago Code," "The Playboy Club," "Prison Break" and the film "Public Enemies."

David Giesbrecht/USA Network

Born in Pittsburgh but raised in Chatham and Hyde Park, Sharif Atkins stars as FBI Agent Clinton Jones in USA's "White Collar." Atkins started acting as a member of the Company, the student-run theater group at Whitney M. Young Magnet High School. He got hooked on the craft while attending Northwestern University's National High School Institute. Years later, he graduated Northwestern University with a bachelor's degree in theater. He also has starred as Michael Gallant in NBC's "ER."

Vivian Zink / NBC

Chicago native Thomas Lennon attended Oak Park River Forest High School in Oak Park. The comic actor plays Max, the horrible boss of fellow Chicago-area native Sean Hayes's character in NBC's "Sean Saves the World." His past TV credits include "The State" and playing Lt. Jim Dangle in "Reno 911!" Update: "Sean Saves the World" has been canceled.

Eric McCandless / ABC

Jeff Garlin of "The Goldbergs" Comic Jeff Garlin is from Chicago, where he started performing at Second City. The "Curb Your Enthusiasm" regular will star as Murray Goldberg, the hot-tempered family man in the 1970s set sitcom "The Goldbergs," which premieres at 8 p.m. CT Sept. 24 on NBC.

CBS

Currently starring as Det. Marcus Bell in CBS' "Elementary," Jon Michael Hill was born in Waukegan and is a graduate of the University of Illinois. He was nominated for a 2009 Joseph Jefferson Award for supporting actor for his role in "The Tempest" at Steppenwolf Theatre.

NBC

Offerman is from Joliet. He and his wife, Megan Mullally (in photo), worked in Chicago theaters.

ABC

Although Jeremy Sisto was born in California, he was raised in Chicago and attended the Francis W. Parker School. He acted in productions at Goodman Theatre as a child, and appeared in the film "Grand Canyon" while in high school. He currently plays He currently plays George Altman in the ABC sitcom "Suburgatory."

NBC

Giuntoli isn't from Chicago, but he told me at Comic-Con that he spent some time "searching for himself" while living with his sister in Lincoln Park.

NBC

Chicago native Peter Jacobson is the son of local news anchor Walter Jacobson. He most recently starred in Fox's "House" as Dr. Chris Taub. He'll next be seen as Lee Drexler in Showtime's 2013 drama "Ray Donovan," about a professional fixer for L.A.'s wealthy. Liev Schreiber plays the title role.

Eric Liebowitz/NBC

Katie Finneran (center) was born in Chicago but grew up in Miami. The multiple Tony winner stars in NBC's "The Michael J. Fox Show" as Leigh Henry, sister of Fox's character, Mike Henry. Her past TV credits include "I Hate My Teenage Daughter," "Wonderfalls" and "The Inside." Update: "The Michael J. Fox Show" has been canceled.

Patrick Ecclesine/NBC

Harry Lennix was born in raised in Chicago, where he attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary South and Northwestern University. Before going into acting, he taught in the Chicago Public Schools. Lennix will star as FBI Assistant Director Harold Cooper in NBC's "The Blacklist," which premieres at 9 p.m. CT Sept. 23 on NBC. Read my interview with Harry Lennix.

USA

Christine Ebersole was born in Chicago, graduated from New Trier Township High School West in Northfield, Ill., and attended MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Ill. The Tony winner currently plays Carol Walsh in TBS's new "Sullivan & Son" (left), and still appears as Ms. Newberg in USA's "Royal Pains" (right).

Tony Rivetti / ABC

Maine South High School student Sean Giambrone splits his time between Park Ridge, where his family lives, and Los Angeles, where he works. Giambrone plays Adam Goldberg in the ABC sitcom "The Goldbergs," which stars Morton Grove native Jeff Garlin as Giambrone's father. Giambrone also is the voice of Jeff, a sidekick on Cartoon Network's "Clarence."

NBC

No longer on air. Griffin, who plays Det. Augie Blando on NBC's "Prime Suspect," grew up inside the DePaul University campus in a community of brownstones called the Seminary. Read my interview with Griffin here

Chris Haston/NBC

Echo Kellum stars as Hunter in NBC's "Sean Saves the World." He grew up on the South Side, and after working in theater and commercials in Chicago he moved to L.A. in 2009 where he trained and played in the city's improv comedy scene, including Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, iO West and The Groundlings. Last season he played Tommy in Fox's sitcom "Ben and Kate." Update: "Sean Saves the World" has been canceled.

Paul Drinkwater/NBC

Chicago native LaRoyce Hawkins stars as Officer Kevin Atwater on NBCs "Chicago P.D." The stand-up comic, spoken-word artist and musician has appeared on stage at the Goodman Theater, the Athaneum Theater and at Illinois State University, where he earned a BFA. He's appeared on MTV's "Underemployed," ABC's "Detroit 187" and TBS's "Tyler Perry's House of Payne."

CBS

Born and raised in Chicago, Kite graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign while also studying at Second City.

NBC

Best known for his role as Steve Brady in "Sex and the City," David Eigenberg stars as firefighter Christopher Herrmann in NBC's "Chicago Fire," which premieres Oct. 10. Eigenberg's family moved from New York to Chicago when he was four years old, and they lived in the city Evanston, Northbrook and Aurora before settling in Naperville. He played football at Naperville Central High School, from which he graduated in 1982. In 1983, he was cast in Dennis Rosa's musical "One Shining Moment" at the Drury Lane Theatre at Water Tower Place. It starred Megan Mullally, Kevin Anderson and Allan Ruck and the experience led him to enroll in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York.

PBS

Evanston native Jeremy Piven is part of the family that created the Piven Theater. The Emmy-winning actor starred as agent Ari Gold in "Entourage," and currently plays retail magnate Harry Gordon Selfridge in the PBS drama "Mr. Selfridge.""

CBS

Tunney grew up on Chicago's South Side and studied at the Chicago Academy for the Arts.

CBS

O'Donnell was born and raised in Winnetka and went to high school at Loyola Academy in Wilmette.

ABC

The Skokie native and 2004 graduate of Buffalo Grove High School stars as spooky alien spokesperson Karen on Karen on TNT's "Falling Skies" (upper right). She'll appear in this fall's ABC drama "Last Resort" as military wife Christine Kendal (left), and she played Cinderella/Ashley Boyd in ABC's "Once Upon a Time" (lower right). She worked in Chicago theater as a child before landing TV roles. Check out more TV two-timers.

NBC

Graham acted on Chicago stages before moving on to New York.

ABC Family

Rose Abdoo (3rd from left, behind Sutton Foster, and inset image) stars as Sam, owner of the Sparkles boutique, in ABC Family's "Bunheads." The Chicago native began her career in her hometown, appearing in various improv theater productions including at Improv Institute and The Second City. The Joseph Jefferson Award winner has appeared in numerous films and as well as "Gilmore Girls" and "That's So Raven" on TV.

NBC

Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, currently playing Kelly Burkhardt in NBC's "Grimm," was born in Lombard, grew up in Oak Park and attended the University of Illinois.

NBC

No longer on air. McPartlin (right, with Zachary Levi) was born in Chicago, grew up in Glen Ellyn, attended Glenbard South High School and graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

ABC

Jeff Perry, a Highland Park native, stars as Cyrus Beene ABC's political drama "Scandal." In the early 1970s, Perry and his classmates Gary Sinise and Terry Kinney began staging plays in a church basement in Highland Park. A year later they co-founded the now world-famous Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago.

ABC Family

D.W. Moffett, who currently appears in ABC Family's "Switched at Birth" and a recurring role in TV Land's "Happily Divorced," was born in Highland Park and raised in Wilmette. After college, he returned to Chicago to work as an investment banker. He began studying at St. Nicholas Theater Company, which was founded by David Mamet and William H. Macy. Moffett then started his own theater company in Chicago, Remains Theater, and embarked on a successful career on Chicago stages.

NBC

Born in Springfield and raised in Oak Park, Cicely Strong attended attended Oak Park and River Forest High School and the Chicago Academy for the Arts. After college, Strong returned to Chicago and began performing at both iO Chicago and Second City's touring group before heading to "Saturday Night Live" in 2012. When "SNL" returns Sept. 28, Strong will join Seth Meyers on "Weekend Update," but not as The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation With at a Party as shown in the photo above. She will be his co-anchor.

Bob D'Amico / ABC

Jaime Ray Newman plays Sam in the Chicago-shot ABC drama "mind Games." While attending college at Northwestern, she lived at Ridge and Davis in Evanston and performed at the Green Mill Jazz Club. She's originally from Michigan. Update: "Mind Games" has been canceled.

Matt Dinerstein/USA Network

Kevin Bigley plays rookie EMT Brian Czyk on USA's "Sirens." The Yuba City, Calif., native studied acting at DePaul University in Chicago and after graduation stayed in the city toe star in "Killer Joe" at Profiles Theatre, "A Separate Piece" at Steppenwolf Theater and other roles. He also filmed a guest spot in "Chicago Code" and the pilot "Firsts" in Chicago before moving to Los Angeles in 2010. Pictured: Michael Mosley (from left), Bigley and Kevin Daniels

NBC

After graduating from Boston College in 1992, Amy Poehler moved to Chicago, where she studied improv at Second City and ImprovOlympic. During her time in Chicago, Poehler became part of the original improv team called the Upright Citizens Brigade, which performed sketch and improv around Chicago before moving to New York in 1996. She now plays Leslie Knope in NBC's "Parks & Recreation."

Randy Holmes / ABC

Chicago native Koldyke rebounds from the dismal 2012 ABC comedy "Work It" to costar in the upcoming sitcom "Back in the Game" opposite Maggie Lawson and James Caan. Koldyke wasn't always an actor; he used to teach English at Providence-St. Mel High School and coach football at DuSable High School. Update: "Back in the Game" has been canceled.