HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Add Barbara Hershey to the list of new faces checking into "Chicago Hope" next season.
Hershey joins actresses Lauren Holly and Carla Gugino as newcomers recruited by creator David E. Kelley to breathe new life into the much-praised CBS medical drama.
Last season's "Chicago Hope" finale paved the way for a major overhaul of the ensemble cast, as characters played by Christine Lahti, last year's drama actress Emmy winner, Eric Stoltz, Peter Berg and Vondie Curtis-Hall were unexpectedly fired from the hospital staff.
There are no details yet from Kelley and producer 20th Century Fox TV about Hershey's role in the show, which is heading into its sixth season this fall.
Mandy Patinkin, who left "Hope" after the first season, also will reprise his role as the tempestuous surgeon Jeffrey Geiger on a recurring basis next season. Patinkin's character resurfaced at the hospital late last season, just in time to deliver the pinkslips.
Hershey earned a supporting actress Oscar nod for her role in 1996's "The Portrait of a Lady." On the small screen, she garnered an Emmy and a Golden Globe statuette for her leading role as a suburban ax murder in the 1990 CBS TV movie "A Killing in a Small Town."