Don't these guys have agents that can work this kind of thing out ahead of time?

I'm sure many of you saw the commercials for the new CBS fall TV drama "Hostages," starring Dylan McDermott. I'm also sure almost all of you then ignored the show, as I did. Well, it's some kind of thriller with political overtones, as Dylan tries to force Toni Collette to botch a surgery on the President...or something like that...while holding her family hostage. Yes, this somehow is taking place over an entire season and not a two-hour single movie.

OK, so "Hostages" is going along on CBS with Dylan McDermott. Got that? Dylan McDermott.

The other day, I was reading a preview of upcoming midseason series debuts, and I noticed an item about "Crisis" on NBC. The tagline is "How Far Would You Go to Protect the Ones You Love?" A rookie Secret Service agent is embroiled in a crisis (hence the title) when a group of kids, including the President's son, are kidnapped. In other words, it's a political thriller.

Get this: One of the stars--not THE Secret Service guy, but one of them--is none other than...Dermot Mulroney!

So it took America something like 15 years to be able to tell the two apart, and now Dylan McDermott and Dermot Mulroney are both starring in ongoing broadcast network political thrillers. In fact, I'm not even sure America HAS the hang of this yet. Did YOU just look them up? Come on, be honest.

How does this happen? The last thing these guys need is to be infringing on each other's territory in any way, shape, or form. While one has a series, the other should be focusing on movies, or doing a podcast, or making personalized wallets to sell on Etsy--anything besides starring in a series.

I don't understand how these guys don't sit down and work it out ahead of time, or at least call each other on the phone:

DYLAN: Hello?
DERMOT: Yeah, hey, Dermot, it's me. Dylan.
DYLAN: Wait, I'M Dylan. YOU'RE Dermot. Remember?
DERMOT: I am? Oh, no, wait, you're right. Anyway, my series just got picked up. SO...
DYLAN: Well, my series is already shooting. Remember I told you about that a few months ago?
DERMOT: You did? Well, I guess I forgot. It's just that this is such a great script and a real juicy part, so I think I'm gonna do it, anyway.
DYLAN: This is really gonna make our lives tougher, Dylan!
DERMOT: Dylan.
DYLAN: Yeah. What?
DERMOT: No, you called ME Dylan. I'm Dermot.
DYLAN: Whatever!

OK, so maybe their agents should be planning this kind of thing for them.