Emily Owens, M.D. Set Visit: Justin Hartley Teases New Dramatic Comedy

Justin Hartley has traded in the green leather for much more comfortable scrubs in his new role as Will on Emily Owens, M.D, which premieres tonight on The CW.

TV Fanatic recently visited the Emily Owens, M.D set in Vancouver (trip provided by Warner Bros. TV) to interview the show's cast. We spoke with Hartley in the faux operating room, filled with real medical equipment.

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The actor was drawn to the project due to the mixed nature of it. 

"You have the procedural element, and you also have, like, sort of quote unquote the soapy element," he says, adding:

"We have the best of both worlds. We have the comedy. We have the drama, intense drama. Heartbreak. Heartache. And then we have comedy, light-hearted comedy, which is great, because ... from Smallville, I loved doing the drama, but I was looking for some comedy to do. Something funny. But I didn't want to get away from the drama... this is perfect."

Here's a video clip from the interview where Hartley discusses Will's relationship with Emily and Will's unique bedside manner:

Will may not have have feelings for Emily, but that doesn't mean he won't develop them.

"I think sometimes when something is presented to you that you weren't aware of there's a knee jerk reaction... and then after that, you have time to sort of slow down and take a breath, you look at it a little bit differently, and I think that's sort of what Will is going through right now."

Going forward, Hartley teases, "... you start to learn why [Emily] likes him so much. Why she sort of is in love with him or whatever. You find out a lot about him."

In addition to the personal drama happening with the characters, the show focuses on the medical side and the patients.

"You know what I like about Will... I think he's got good bedside manner, but I also think there's a level, and there's a point to which he just sort of calls it like it is.

"He's like a man's man. He's like 'Listen. Here's what's going on, okay?' And sometimes that's really not what you should be doing as a doctor. So I've heard. But Will, ... maybe he's a little rough around the edges when it comes to that. Maybe he needs to work on that a little bit, but that's also sort of what is endearing about the character, I think, a little bit. That's one of his flaws."

Emily Owens, M.D. premieres at 9/8c on The CW. Visit TV Fanatic immediately following the premiere for a full review.

Carla Day is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter and on Google+.