Wait, Is That a Former 'JAG' Star Playing Max's Dad on 'Call Me Kat'?
Published Feb. 23 2023, 2:37 p.m. ET
Max (Cheyenne Jackson) isn't exactly thrilled when his dad shows up on Season 3, Episode 15 of Call Me Kat on Fox. Can you blame Max though?
After all, Max and his dad had been estranged for 30 years!
So, why did Max's dad decide to show up after decades of estrangement? Who's the actor that plays Max's dad? Will he be a recurring character on the show? Here's what we know.
Max wasn't exactly buying his dad any "Best Father Ever' mugs growing up.
Former 'JAG' star David James Elliott plays Max's dad on 'Call Me Kat.'
JAG fans would be remiss not to recognize the Canadian actor playing Max's dad on Call Me Kat — it's David James Elliott after all!
David played the leading role of Harmon Rabb Jr. on JAG from 1995 to 2005. Captain Rabb was a Navy pilot and a JAG lawyer. If you're an NCIS fan, Captain Rabb was basically Agent Gibbs before Agent Gibbs was cool (if you know, you know).
According to the official episode synopsis for Call Me Kat Season 3, Episode 15, titled, "Call Me 'Cat's in the Cradle,'" Max isn't thrilled by his dad making a sudden reappearance in his life after the two hadn't spoken for 30 years.
Naturally, Kat (Mayim Bialik) makes matters worse by trying to plan a father-and-son reunion dinner for Max and his dad (sometimes kids are estranged from their parents for a reason, Kat!).
Do Max and his dad reconcile on 'Call Me Kat'?
It isn't clear as of this writing whether or not Max and his dad reconcile. However, things initially don't look good for the status of their relationship based on an exclusive preview teaser clip from the Call Me Kat episode that TV Insider shared.
In it, Max's dad completely shocks Max by appearing at the gang's favorite piano bar. Max's dad asks his son if they could sit down somewhere.
Max responds by saying, "You can, I'm out of here." Before Max exits stage left, his dad notes that he got big. Max replies quite snarky with, "Yeah, 30 years will do that to you."
Kat explains to the rest of the Call Me Kat crew that Max's dad left him when he was only 10 years old. Can you blame Max for feeling a bit resentful toward his dad for that? (We can't.)
It isn't clear if David will return for future episodes of Call Me Kat (his IMDb page doesn't give us any clues). However, what we do know is that offscreen, David has been happily married to his JAG co-star Nanci Chambers since 1992. The couple have two children together, a son named Wyatt and a daughter named Stephanie.
Catch David as a guest star on Call Me Kat on Season 3, Episode 15 when it airs on Fox tonight, Feb. 23, at 9:30 p.m. EST!