Lauren Holly talks new series 'Motive'

A new spin on the crime procedural makes its debut (to US audiences at least) tonight on ABC. The Hollywood Reporter spoke with "Motive" star Lauren Holly about what viewers can expect from the new series.

Instead of sticking to the traditional crime series tropes with detectives attempting to uncover the mystery of the perpetrator, the investigators on the Canadian import instead focus on the reason behind the crime. "It's just a simple change that makes it completely different," Holly explained. "It's almost amazing that it's not done all the time, but I'd like to think that it's almost a little old school. It reminds me of a show like Columbo."

The former "NCIS" actress serves as medical examiner for the show's team of investigators, which includes Kristen Lehman ("The Killing"), Louis Ferreira ("Stargate Universe"), Roger Cross ("Arrow") and Brendan Penny ("Whistler"). Holly's Dr. Betty Rogers is the natural flirt of the group, forging a particular repoire with Ferreira's Detective Oscar Vega. "She loves being the confident sexual being that she is around him," said Holly. "It's a personal favorite of mine to see when we're [she and Ferreira] in a scene together if I can make him [Ferreira] blush."

While the series will no doubt check off the typical crime procedural tropes with deaths by poisoning to hit-and-run, Holly said that she feels brings viewers back is the rich and varied characters that populate the series. "The loyal viewers are rewarded by learning more and more about each of the characters," she says, "and what's going on at home or outside of the work or things that are going on that inform who the characters are."

Don't miss the preview of "Motive" tonight after "Dancing With The Stars" on ABC!