At today’s Contenders panel for Fox’s zany freshman comedy LA to Vegas, panel moderator Michael Ausiello of TVLine pointed out the obvious: Comedy is the not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Dylan McDermott, who stars in the airborne series as irreverent pilot Captain Dave.

After all, McDermott’s long line of drama credits includes The Practice and American Horror Story — not a lineup of wacky sitcoms and not exactly the first guy who comes to mind to play a character who might be Sully Sullenberger’s evil twin.

Fox

“I knew it was time,” said McDermott of his flight into comedy. “I knew it was time. I had done too much darkness…no one thought of me for this. Dylan, he’s not funny.”

McDermott said he had paid his dues in stand-up comedy in New York. “I knew I could do it, but no one else did,” McDermott said.

But now that’s he’s in comedy, he’s really enjoying the ride. “I don’t know, I love it so much, “ McDermott said. “I would be hard-pressed to go back, yeah.”

McDermott would not reveal many details about this season’s finale episode, except to point out that Captain Dave may get himself into a bit more trouble. “It’s a little chunkier (than previous episodes). More happens (for) Captain Dave. You see him gambling, having a little romance. It’s more fun, if you will.”

Does McDermott think LA to Vegas will end up on the flight schedule for another season? “I think we’re in good shape…you usually hear the negative stuff first (on a first-season series) and we’re not hearing any of that stuff,” he said. “It’s a great fit for Fox. I think we’re in good shape. What’s great about this is it’s limitless in terms of the stories you can tell.”

While waiting for news on renewal, McDermott is having fun on real airplane flights, visiting cockpits and taking photos. “They feel like I’m one of their own,” he said.

“I was flying Jet Blue the other day, pilot got on and said: This is Captain Dave speaking. He was an actual Captain Dave,” McDermott added with a laugh.

He said the flight experience has improved as well. “I get a lot of free s * * t now, “ he said. Still, flying will never be a treat. “That’s why this show works, because everybody’s having the worst time when you travel, it’s horrible to travel,” McDermott said. “That’s why this show is so much fun.”