Seinfeld‘s Jason Alexander is about to have himself a religious experience in Lanford, Ill.
ABC announced Tuesday that the eight-time Emmy nominee is set to guest-star on Season 4 of The Conners (premiering Wednesday, Sept. 22, at 9/8c). He will appear in two episodes as Pastor Phil, “an unconventional cleric with a rebel past,” according to the official breakdown. “He uses humor and unflinching honesty to spread the good word.”
Pastor Phil will serve as a speaker at Becky’s Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. Darlene will accompany her older sister to AA “looking for spiritual guidance from the speaker of the night.”
The pastor will presumably consult Darlene on her recent breakup with Ben. In the Season 3 finale, Ben rejected Darlene’s marriage proposal and subsequently dumped her, fed up with her always putting their relationship second… or third… or fourth in her list of priorities.
“Ben had done a great job, each time [Darlene let him down], of swallowing it and going, ‘OK, I understand,’ and building small resentments. But the body keeps score,” executive producer Bruce Helford told TVLine in May. “When she put [their relationship] to a test by saying, ‘Marry me,’ I think his decision was made in that moment. He did not expect [to break up with her], and he was forced to be completely honest about what was going on in his head… We felt that was the right decision for [Ben] to come to.”
As for whether their breakup will be permanent, Helford would only say this: “[Jay Ferguson is] a regular on the show. He’s going to be there. We love Ben, we love Jay, we love that character.”
Alexander’s casting is the first significant intel on The Conners‘ fourth season — but we know to expect wedding bells for Dan and Louise, who recently got engaged. The Season 3 closer also saw the return of DJ’s wife Geena, who made the decision to retire from the Army; and Jackie’s boyfriend Neville decide to invest in The Lunch Box, to convert it into a Chicago Bears-themed sports bar.
In addition to his iconic role as Seinfeld‘s George Costanza, Alexander’s TV credits include Young Sheldon, The Orville, Hit the Road and Bob Patterson.
