REALITY

Nicholas Brendon: For seven seasons Nicholas Brendon hunted demons on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Now he's cooking things up as chef Seth Richman on FOX's Kitchen Confidential. Is it a four-star life?

FROM HORROR TO STOVE TOP

In 2003, during the last season of Buffy, I joked that I should just call Darren Star [creator of Sex and the City] and tell him what we really needed on television was a male Sex and the City. And now, well, here I am working for Darren on a show that is pretty close to that. I get down on my knees every day with gratitude. I do tend to pick edgy, cool shows—or maybe they tend to pick me.

BONDING WHILE COOKING There's an instant camaraderie with all the guys on the set. These guys are already good friends of mine. But even that is kinda different for me. I went from an all-girls show, on Buffy, to an all-guys show. There is definitely a lot of male bonding going on. There's a lot of butt-grabbing in the kitchen.... It's a male thing.

CAR SERVED IN A PAPIER CRUST We toilet-papered [series star] Bradley Cooper's car one day. Then he threatened me and said he was going to TP my car. He hasn't yet.

ON THE HEAT OF BEING IN A NEW SERIES We don't know how it will be received—[nice reviews, actually, but ratings haven't been great]—but honestly? I think we have, uh, the recipe for a hit. You, knew I was gonna say that, didn't you?