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ABC
Pirates of the Caribbean star Jack Davenport has boarded DOOMSDAY from Mark Bianculli and VJ Boyd. The drama stars in the aftermath of 9/11, when the U.S. government institutes a secret think tank featuring the most creative minds in science and entertainment that is tasked with dreaming up man-made disaster scenarios and their possible solutions. The list is considered dangerous and therefore the program shut down. When a catastrophe occurs that’s ripped from the pages of the missing doomsday boo, causing the team to be reunited years later to prevent the disasters they created. Davenport is Warren, a playwright-turned-action screenwriter. As a team member, he sees problems like a story which helps him think like (and even empathize with) the enemy.
He is repped by Gersh and Sanders Armstrong Caserta Management.
After his infamous departure from The Walking Dead, Michael Cudlitz is being resurrected on ABC’s half-hour comedy THE TRUSTEE. The buddy cop comedy follows a stubborn detective who finds unlikely help from her precinct’s trustee, a larger-than-life ex-con finishing out her prison sentence doing menial tasks for the police department. Though the duo has completely opposing views on crime and punishment, a highly entertaining and successful partnership is formed. Cudlitz has been cast as Captain Timothy Waits, a wry and sardonic police captain who has learned to appreciate one of the lead’s unorthodox methods.
He is repped by APA and Anonymous Content.
Shondaland’s untitled legal drama pilot from Paul William Davies has added Britne Oldford, Ben Rappaport, and Anna Deavere Smith. The series is set in the Southern District of New York Federal Court, aka “The Mother Court,” and follows young lawyers working for both the defense and the prosecution as they handle the most high-profile and high-stakes cases in the country, all as their personal lives intersect. Oldford has been cast as Sandra, a fiercely intelligent and independent new public defender. Rappaport will be Seth, an inexperienced, recent law school grad. Smith will play Tina Krissman, who is a tough, no-nonsense SDNY court clerk.
Oldford is repped by Gersh and Authentic Talent and Literary.
Rappaport is repped by Gersh and Invictus Entertainment.
Smith is repped by Gersh and Judi Farkas Management.
LAS REINAS has tapped Sonia Braga to join the cast. The show centers around detective Sonya De La Reina, who is forced to confront her past when a case compels her to reconnect with her estranged family – the most powerful criminal outfit in Miami. Thrown back into the world she thought she had left behind, Sonya must walk the murky line between the law and her family, and question her true destiny as a De La Reina. Braga has been cast as Gabrielle De La Reina, the matriarch of one of the most powerful crime syndicates in the world.
Braga is repped by WME.
CW
Sleepy Hollow actor Matt Barr has been cast in military thriller VALOR from writer-musician Kyle Jarrow. The series explores the boundaries between military discipline and human desire are tested on a U.S. Army base that houses an elite unit of helicopter pilots trained to perform clandestine international and domestic missions. Barr will play chopper pilot Gallo, an “aging hipster meets flyboy” who must work with his commanding officer to train for a rescue mission to retrieve two servicemen from Somalia.
Barr is repped by UTA and Luber Roklin Entertainment.
NBC
Tina Fey and Robert Carlock’s single-camera comedy SACKETT SISTERS has set Busy Philipps to headline the series. The show centers around two estranged sisters who perform a Sully Sullenberger-eque act of public heroism, then are forced to navigate their newfound notoriety together. Philipps will play one of the sisters.
She is repped by ICM and Rise Management.
Anders Holm and Mouzam Makkar have booked a series regular roles on Mindy Kaling and Charlie Grandy’s untitled comedy pilot. The half-hour centers on Vince, a charismatic gym owner with no ambition who lives with his younger brother Micahel, a gorgeous idiot. Their lives are turned upside when Vince’s high school fling shows up with a teenage son. Holm has nabbed the lead role of Vince while Makkar will play Britney, his life-long love interest.
Holm is repped by WME and Avalon Management.
Makkar is repped by Gray Talent Group.
THIS IS US has added Jeremy Luke in a recurring role. He is set to play Darryl, one of the series lead Jack’s best friends growing up who is a blue collar kid who idolizes Jack. The show stars Ventimiglia and Mandy Moore as the parents of triplets in the past, and the adult lives of their children in present day.
Luke is repped by Global Artists and Luber Roklin Entertainment.
Military drama pilot FOR GOD AND COUNTRY has tapped Natacha Karam for a series regular role. The show looks into the complex world of soldiers who make personal sacrifices while executing the most challenging and dangerous missions behind enemy lines. Karam is set to play Jaz, the second member of ISA Special Operations Group Unit 7 and one of the few women in the world to make it through the U.S. Army Ranger School and Delta Force Selection.
She is repped by Gersh and Luber Roklin Entertainment.
CABLE
WGN America has booked Alex Meraz for a lead role in SCALPED. The modern-day crime story is based on the DC graphic novel by Doug Jung and will feature a mostly Native American cast. Meraz has been cast as Dashiell Bad Horse, a resident on the reservation who has returned home after years away and is now at odds with the ambitious Chief Lincoln Red Crow.
Meraz is repped by Innovative Artists and Corner Booth Entertainment.
THE ALIENIST has booked Matthew Shear for a series role. The psychological thriller is set during the Gilded Age of New York in 1896. Shear has been cast as Police Sergeant Lucius Isaacson, an extremely intelligent, focused man whose medical studies have helped hone his expertise in criminal science.
He is repped by ICM and Authentic Talent and Literary.
PREMIUM CABLE
Starz and BBC’s co-production of HOWARDS END has added Julia Ormond, Philippa Coulthard, and Joseph Quinn. The story is based on the classic EM Forster novel that follows three families connections to an English house. Ormond will play Ruth Wilcox, the Howards End matriarch who passes away unexpectantly and jumpstarts the narrative. Coulthard plays Helen Schlegel, the younger sister of Margaret who is played by Hayley Atwell. Quinn has been cast as Leonard Bast, a bank clerk and friend of the Schlegels.
Ormond is repped by Gersh and Creative Partners Group.
Coulthard is repped by Stagecoach Entertainment, Joseph Le Talent Agency, and the Markham Agency.
Quinn is repped by Curtis Brown Group.
ONLINE
Maya Erskine is joining the cast of CASUAL for a recurring role in season three. The show picks up after last year’s shocking death and Valerie’s big decision to move, propelling the series leads into exploring new paths. Erskine will play Rae, an Airbnb guest of Alex’s.
She is repped by Gersh and Mosaic.
INTERNATIONAL
Game of Thrones’ Natalie Dormer, Yael Stone, and Lola Bessis have joined the cast of PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK, a period drama based on the classic novel and is set to air in Australia on Foxtel. The story centers on the mysterious disappearance of three schoolgirls and one teacher at Hanging Rock in rural Victoria on Valentine’s Day 1900. Dormer leads the class as English headmistress Hester Appleyard, Stone has been cast as Miss Dora Lumley, and Bessis is Mademoiselle Dianne de Poitiers.
Dormer is repped by UTA, Untitled Entertainment, and United Agents in the UK.
Stone is repped by Gersh, Andy Corren Management, and Lisa Mann Creative Management in Australia.
Bessis is repped by UTA, Thirty Three Management, and UBBA and Elevate Artist Management in France.
Emily J | TV Editor
