Executive producer David Greenwalt was very keen to acquire the character of Cordelia for the spin-off series, commenting, "I desperately wanted her to come to "Angel" because Angel being dark and broody, we need a big bright smile." At the same time, Whedon felt her presence was sorely missed in the fourth season of "Buffy" where "All of our characters got to the point where they were loving and hugging, and it was sort of like, where's Cordelia?", leading him to introduce Spike (James Marsters) to the cast to accommodate her absence. Kelly A. Manners describes Cordelia as a "rich gal whose family ended up losing everything to the IRS. So in episode one of "Angel", Cordelia showed up in LA trying to start a career as an actress because her family was in jail, actually." Crusie states that in mourning for Doyle Cordelia also begins "finding within herself a new level of humanity".