Resurrected 'Unforgettable' makes the move to A&E

If ever a series came by its name accurately, “Unforgettable” surely is one of them, in multiple ways.

The mystery's star, Poppy Montgomery, has every right to call it “the show that won't die.” After CBS canceled it following its first season, the network reversed itself and ordered two more rounds. When it appeared to be done after that, A&E Network stepped up and revived it for a Season 4 that begins with two episodes Friday, Nov. 27. Montgomery — now an executive producer of the show as well — has high hopes for her latest return as Carrie Wells, the New York police detective who puts her heightened sense of recall to work on cases.

“Unforgettable” newcomers can get on board quickly, thanks to a clever newspaper-story device that references the Season 3 finale “without drawing it out in an incredibly long-winded way,” Montgomery says. “It's also a very iconic New York scene, walking along the water.” And returning viewers, along with Carrie's partner and ex-beau Al Burns (Dylan Walsh), have to deal with something new: the husband no one knew she had, played by Skeet Ulrich.

In moving from broadcast television to basic cable, Montgomery notes the loosened boundaries, particularly with language: “I feel like a 7-year-old with this freedom ... but it's become such an international market, we also have a huge fan base there that we don't want to alienate. That's important, but we do get to have a little wink with it. I've never been able to swear on television, so I was like a kid in a candy store.”

New to the cast are Kathy Najimy as the detectives' boss and Alani “La La” Anthony and E.J. Bonilla as their colleagues. “Without a Trace” alum Montgomery, who has given birth to two children over the course of “Unforgettable,” was in a rare position when the possibility of a fourth season arose.

“When they came to me and said, ‘We may go to A&E,' I was no longer under contract — so I had the ability at that point to decide if I wanted to continue with it. A&E was an exciting prospect, being cable, and they do crime dramas so well. And the idea that the show would come back twice after being canceled? I had to see if it could actually happen.

“Listen, I've been on television for 20 years, and I'm baffled by this show,” Montgomery muses. “Its (endurance is) owed to the fans and also to our international audience, and A&E taking a chance on us is great. And I'm happy to be on cable. It's a different world. There's a lot more freedom to explore, yet we get to maintain the integrity of the show. It's kind of a great marriage.”

A producer of the past two seasons of “Unforgettable,” Montgomery is glad to be an executive producer now, a title she also had on the Neve Campbell-starring 2013 Lifetime movie “An Amish Murder.”

“I'm interested in that piece of it, the actual running and development of a show, how it takes form,” maintains Montgomery. “And it's really not a vanity title for me. I'm extremely involved in the show, in every way.”