Faces to watch

Krista Allen

Actress

Former “Baywatch” regular, single mother and sex symbol Krista Allen plays herself in HBO’s new series, “Unscripted,” which premieres Jan. 9.

Executive produced by former boyfriend George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh, the 10-part series revolves around the experiences of three actors in Hollywood -- Allen, Jennifer Hall and Bryan Greenberg. The scripts are inspired by the actors’ own real-life stories.

In the series, Allen, 32, struggles to be taken seriously as an actress. Though she gets encouragement from her pompous acting teacher (Frank Langella), Allen is cast more for her ability to look great in a bikini than for her talent.

The Ventura native starred as the title character in a series of erotic “Emmanuelle” movies in the 1990s; she also appeared on the soap “Days of Our Lives” and in “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind,” which Clooney directed.

Traylor Howard

Actress

The perky Traylor Howard has quite a task ahead of her on USA’s lighthearted detective series “Monk.”

When the show returns for a new season Jan. 21, Howard, 33, will be playing Monk’s new assistant, Natalie, a single mom and former bartender.

The actress, who demonstrated crack comedic timing on the sitcoms “Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place,” “Boston Common” and the short-lived “Bram and Alice,” is replacing the series’ popular Bitty Schram, who departed “Monk” after three seasons as his nurse and crime-solving partner.

Howard, who also dated George Clooney, hails from Orlando, Fla., and got her first taste of professional acting in high school when she appeared in a Juicy Fruit commercial. She has guest starred on “The West Wing” and appeared in the movie “Me, Myself & Irene.”

David Krumholtz

Actor

The 26-year-old actor sees his role as a brilliant mathematician-turned-crime-solver in CBS’ midseason series “Numbers” as a new chapter to his career. The show premieres Jan. 23 and moves to its regular night, Friday, on Jan. 28.

“The role I play is an amazing opportunity,” he said. “I get to play a brilliant hero.”

Best known as the acerbic elf Bernard in both “The Santa Clause” comedies, Krumholtz admits he was a “mathematical dumdum” in high school and even failed Algebra I two years in a row.

Krumholtz made his acting debut on Broadway in 1992, opposite Judd Hirsch in the award-winning “Conversations With My Father.” Now they are playing father and son again in “Numbers.”

“He and I have a connection that is sort of beyond words,” said Krumholtz.