Debra Messing: ‘I’m Ready to Laugh Again’

Debra Messing is ready for a fresh start.

The Emmy-winning actress has just signed on to star in a new CBS sitcom pilot and recently completed a cross-country move.

After NBC announced this month that Messing's musical drama "Smash" is moving to Saturday nights — a terrible sign for the future of the low-rated show — Messing agreed to take the lead in the untiled project. (She quickly shot down reports that she was leaving "Smash," but admitted to fans via Twitter that the timeslot move "doesn't bode well.")

During a chat with omg!, the 44-year-old elaborated on what led her to accept the role of Shira, a married mom who struggles to have it all.

"It's a rare thing when I read something and it feels sort of fresh and new to me, and a lot of it just has to do with the timing of when I get a script, but I read this one, and it made me laugh out loud," Messing explained. "I thought, 'You know what? I'm ready to laugh again. And also, I'd be working with two producers from 'Sex and the City' who wore producers on 'Smash,' so reuniting with them — the idea of that — was really exciting to me. It's also based on a show that is successful and running right now in Israel, and its the same company that brought 'Homeland' and 'In Treatment' over to the U.S. from Israel, so they've got a great pedigree."

As far as "Smash" goes, Messing insisted that the decision of whether or not the show will have a third season has yet to be determined. Whatever happens, Messing had nothing but good things to say about the experience.

"I learned a long time ago that I can't control [whether something's a hit], and because I can't control any of it, I really try not to worry about it," she said. "My job is to show up and give it everything I have, and that's what I've done with 'Smash.' I've enjoyed every minute of it, and I'm so proud to have been able to bring singing and dancing and the fantasy of Broadway to people's living rooms all over the country."

In her personal life, Messing has continued to work on a fresh start as well. Following her 2011 split with her husband of 10 years and father of her 8-year-old son Roman, producer and actor Daniel Zelman, Messing relocated from Los Angeles to New York City — where "Smash" filmed — a move she's still finalizing after selling her Bel Air home for $11.4 million earlier this year. (She reportedly began dating her "Smash" co-star Will Chase around the same time that she and Zelman went public with the break up news.)

"I didn't know if I would be turning around and be going to Los Angeles any time soon, and when I realized that I was really planning on staying in New York, it became obvious that it was time to sell the house and so that means going through clothes and papers and packing up," Messing shared. "It's a big job."

Dealing with her allergies also was a big job for the actress … until she found Zyrtec, which she was promoting during the Macy's Flower Show in NYC earlier this week.

"During allergy season, I just take one in the morning and I know that I can go about my day and do the things that are really important to me, whether it's being a global ambassador for [the non-profit] YouthAIDS, traveling to Washington, D.C., or Africa for that, or going across the street to the park with my son and spending the day outside playing soccer. It's really beens something that has freed me in a great way."

Good thing, because Messing has big plans for the future.

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