Claudia Lonow

Back in the day, Claudia Lonow played teenage Diana Fairgate on “Knots Landing” (1979-93), but since then, she has turned writer-producer. Lonow’s new series is the CBS comedy “Accidentally on Purpose,” but the cast, headed by Jenna Elfman, is surprisingly unfamiliar with their boss’ body of work.
“I think I was in, like, ballet class and going through puberty or something,” Elfman told TV critics when asked, quickly adding, “I don’t mean it that way.”
“I’ve ordered them to watch the DVDs,” Lonow told TV critics Monday in a Q&A session for “Accidentally on Purpose.” “I don’t know how caught up they are … but believe me, we are going to have screenings every afternoon.”
Lonow calls “Knots Landing” “a very makeup-oriented show. So instead of saying ‘action,’ the directors would say, ‘Mirrors down, ladies.’ After every take, everybody had a mirror.”
Even as a teen, the campy comedy factor of “Knots Landing” amused her, she said. “There was one episode where I had to have a kidney transplant.  It was like the redemption episode for Donna Mills’ character, and she had to do  this line.  I believe it’s etched into my memory as, ‘Kid, anything I have is yours, even my kidney.’ We couldn’t get through it.”

Gail Pennington is attending the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour in Los Angeles.