A lot of buzz has been generated by Knight Rider, mostly for its lackluster performance on primetime television.  The NBC show, which is a remake of the 1980's cult classic, promised to bring spunk to the old Knight Rider, which starred David Hasselhoff.  This year's Knight Rider stars Justin Bruening as Mike Traceur, the son of Michael Knight and Jennifer Traceur from the original series.  Other cast members include former Young and the Restless star Deanna Russo as Sarah Graiman, Bruce Davison as Charles Graiman, Sydney Tammiia Poitier as Carrie Rivai and Val Kilmer as the voice of KITT.

So far, Knight Rider has attracted the male demographic when it comes to viewership, and NBC has no problem with that. In fact, the show was recently given a full season order after averaging a 2.4 rating and garnering 7.4 viewers overall.

Knight Rider not only features 29-year-old All My Children alum Justin Bruening, but former Playboy model Deanna Russo as well. While some might see Russo's character, Sarah as just a pretty face, the actress says otherwise.

"My character is known for her kicks and excellent marksmanship.  If the attacker is far away, I'll shoot him down, and if he's close, I'll kick him to the ground," Russo says of Sarah in an interview with Maxim.

Moreover, she says that the role required her to learn a few self-defense tricks, revealing, “she's not just the good-looking girl in the corner who cries and doesn't know how to defend herself.  I'm gonna pick a fight with the boys.  I've been learning a mix of everything from karate to kick boxing to doble olisi.”

Russo also points out that despite being an independent woman, Sarah “definitely got mechanic tendencies and I think she's just trying to prove herself as one of the boys.  So she's been trained to fight but, you know, winds up getting in trouble and has to be saved a couple times.”

Catch Deanna Russo as Sarah Graiman on Knight Rider as it returns to television on November 5 at 8pm.


-Valerie Anne del Castillo, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: Variety, Fashion, Movie Jungle
(Photo courtesy of NBC)