Fox has ordered a LETHAL WEAPON remake to pilot starring Damon Wayans as Roger Murtaugh. The original four-movie buddy cop action franchise starred Mel Gibson as Martin Riggs and Danny Glover as Murtaugh. McG is on board to direct the pilot written by Matt Miller.
In the remake, Texas cop and former Navy SEAL Riggs moves to Los Angeles to start anew after he suffers the loss of his wife and baby. There, he is partnered with LAPD detective Murtaugh, who, having recently suffered a “minor” heart attack, must avoid stress in his life.
Wayans’ most recent on-screen role was a 2011 episode of Happy Endings opposite his son, Damon Wayans Jr. The In Living Color actor/writer also co-created and starred in My Wife And Kids and Damon. He’s repped by ICM Partners.
Hayley Atwell’s pilot CONVICTION has added Walking Dead alum Emily Kinney. The ABC legal drama pilot stars Atwell as the brilliant but ne’er-do-well daughter of a former President who is blackmailed into taking a job as the head of Los Angeles’ newly created Conviction Integrity Unit. She, along with her team of lawyers, investigators and forensic experts, work together to examine cases where there’s credible suspicion that the wrong person may have been convicted of a crime.
Kinney will play Tess Thompson, the paralegal for the Unit team. Tess used to work for the Innocence Project but decided to work for CIU because she thinks she can make a bigger impact working cases from inside the system.
In addition to her role as Beth Greene on AMC’s The Walking Dead, Kinney has had arcs on Showtime’s Masters of Sex and Cinemax’s The Knick. She’s repped by Paradigm and Anonymous Content.
Hart Of Dixie alum Wilson Bethel is set to join A&E’s THE INFAMOUS. Set against real events in turbulent 1990s Los Angeles leading up to the L.A. riots, the hip-hop crime drama pilot revolves around two complicated men on a collision course: an ambitious reformed gangster poised to break out of South Central and the LAPD detective hell-bent on taking him down.
Bethel will play Jason Gant, an officer with the LAPD’s Crash Unit. In addition to capturing hearts on CW’s Hart of Dixie, Bethel co-starred in ABC’s Astronaut Wives Club and is set for an arc on How To Get Away With Murder. He’s repped by WME, Zero Gravity Management, and LINK Entertainment.
Mark-Paul Gosselaar has landed the male lead opposite Kylie Bunbury in Fox’s PITCH pilot. The baseball drama follows Ginny (Bunbury), a young female pitcher who defies the odds when she becomes the first woman to play in the major leagues. Gosselaar will play Mike Lawson, a handsome, charming, self-assured future Hall of Fame MLB catcher. A ladies’ man off the field and a leader on it, Mike’s not sure what to do with the undeniable spark between him and Ginny.
Best known as Zach Morris on Saved By The Bell, Gosselaar’s lengthy TV resume also includes regular roles on NYPD Blue, Raising The Bar, Franklin & Bash, and this season’s Truth Be Told. He is repped by CAA and Luber Roklin Entertainment.
NBC’s Untitled Tracey Wigfield pilot has added two more to the cast. Andrea Martin and Kimrie Lewis-Davis join the previously cast Adam Campbell in the comedy from Wigfield, Tina Fey, and Robert Carlock.
The pilot centers on an already inseparable mother-daughter relationship that becomes more complicated when mom Carol accepts an internship at her daughter’s workplace, a news program where daughter Katie is a segment producer. Carol is a well-meaning, overly-chatty, upbeat but bored mom who never went to college and gave up her career to raise her now-adult children. Galvanized by an inspirational eulogy at a friend’s funeral, Carol decides to follow her dream of having a big career and lands an internship at her daughter’s newsroom where she wins kudos for her honesty.
Martin will play Carol while Lewis-Davis plays Portia, the dingbat co-host on the show, a breezy, demanding, clueless woman whose inane story ideas are given the green light. Campbell is Greg, the recently-named executive producer of the show.
Martin, whose credits include Difficult People, Working the Engles, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding, is repped by Innovative Artists and OAZ. Lewis-Davis has recurred on Scandal and Chasing Life. She’s with TalentWorks and Steven Summits Management.
Colin Woodell is the latest to join John Ridley’s ABC pilot PRESENCE.
Described as a stylish update of the classic detective genre, Presence centers on Presence Foster (Stephanie Sigman), an Army veteran who finds herself interacting with a divergent and colorful cross-section of Los Angeles as she unintentionally begins a career as an unlicensed private investigator. Woodell will play Mike McKay, a young LAPD detective and fellow Army vet who has equal parts heart and charm — a good cop and a good man. His personal and professional life begin to take a turn once Presence arrives on the scene as they balance their mutual attraction with the loose partnership they begin to form.
Woodell, repped by Innovative Artists, has recurred on Showtime’s Masters Of Sex, the CW’s The Originals, and Lifetime’s Devious Maids.
Kristen Bell and Ted Danson’s GOOD PLACE has tapped William Jackson Harper. NBC’s 13-episode straight-to-series comedy centers on Bell’s Eleanor, a woman from New Jersey who comes to realize that she hasn’t been a very good person. She decides to turn over a new leaf by learning what it actually means to be “good” or “bad,” and then trying to make up for her past behavior. Danson plays Michael, who, through an unlikely set of circumstances, comes to be Eleanor’s guide through her self-designed self-improvement course. New addition Harper will play Chris, a kind and extremely intelligent guy who always sees the good in people.
Harper, repped by Stone Manners Salners Agency, has guested on The Blacklist and Person of interest. His film credits include True Story starring Jonah Hill and James Franco and this year’s Sundance movie How To Tell You’re a Douchebag.
Ryan Cartwright is set to join Kevin James in his untitled CBS comedy pilot, which Andy Fickman will direct. The show centers on newly retired police officer (James) who looks forward to spending more quality time with his wife and three kids — only to discover he faces much tougher challenges at home than he ever did on the streets.
Cartwright plays Chale, a dreamer from an upscale family who may be on the verge of creating the next billion-dollar app and carries himself as if it’s already happened. He is very much in love with Kevin’s daughter Kendra, played by previously announced Taylor Spreitler.
Cartwright’s credits include arcs on Mom, Bones, and Mad Men as well as a regular role on Syfy’s Alphas. He’s repped by Paradigm and SC Management. He can next be seen in Independence Day: Resurgence.
Ashley Judd has joined Showtime’s TWIN PEAKS revival. Co-creators David Lynch and Mark Frost will both appear in the series, with Lynch confirmed to reprise his role of Gordon Cole from the original series. Frost’s father, Warren Frost, will also be back for a cameo as Dr. Will Hayward.
Judd, repped by WME, co-stars in the Divergent movie franchise and the Dolphin Tale films. Her TV credits include Missing and Sisters.
Katia Juanita | Staff Writer
