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    • Wendi McLendon-Covey talks new NBC sitcom ‘St. Dennis Medical’
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    Wendi McLendon-Covey talks new NBC sitcom ‘St. Dennis Medical’

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    Wendi McLendon-Covey knew she didn’t want to play another overbearing mother for her first role after 10 seasons of ABC’s family sitcom “The Goldbergs.” Instead, she takes on Joyce, the uptight hospital administrator from NBC’s mockumentary-style sitcom “St. Denis Medical” (premieres Tuesday, 8 EST/PST).

    Joyce “likes cute things, but she doesn’t have time for pets,” McLendon-Covey, 55, explained to USA TODAY. ‘That’s why she never had children. That’s why all her plants are fake. She’s always tense.’

    Joyce continually tries to push St. Denis, an underfunded hospital in fictional Merrick, Oregon, “uphill.” McLendon-Covey believes Joyce is ambitious in her fundraising for the hospital, but also “so annoying.”

    While Joyce may be “completely the opposite” of Beverly Goldberg, according to McLendon-Covey, the actress is no stranger to workplace comedy. She played Concierge Marie, a character who interacted with Michael Scott, in a 2008 episode of NBC’s “The Office.”

    “Fans of ‘The Office’ are rabid fans, and they know that show better than the actors or the creators,” she says. For a single guest role, she hears more about the character than she expected. “They’ve watched it so many times that they’ll correct you if you’re wrong, you know? I love that you can’t confuse a fan’s eyes anymore.”

    McLendon-Covey “St. Denis” castmates include David Alan Grier (who plays a doctor) and Allison Tolman (the hospital’s head nurse). She jokes that the hospital set looked so real that she was afraid to touch the props. Medical consultants were called in to assist with certain scenes. Former doctors also appear as background actors.

    The critic’s opinion: NBC’s hospital sitcom ‘St. Denis Medical’ can cure you of laughter: review

    Producers Justin Spitzer and Eric Ledgin have two cult comedies to their credit in NBC’s ‘Superstore’ and ‘American Auto’.

    McLendon-Covey is excited about the experience. “If your (executive) producers love their families, you can go home at night,” she deadpans. ‘The opening hours are better. Everyone can see their family.

    “I know everyone comes here and says, ‘Oh my God, we’re getting paid to have fun.’ But I think it shows from the end product that we are really having the time of our lives.”

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