Development News - March 7, 2014
ABC's Agatha, American Crime, Exposed, Keep It Together, Saint Francis, Untitled Richard LaGravenese & The Winklers; CBS' Madam Secretary & Red Zone; The CW's The Flash & Jane the Virgin; FOX's Empire & Red Band Society; FX's Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll; and NBC's Ellen More or Less, The Pro, Salvation & Two to Go.
ABC's UNTITLED RICHARD LAGRAVENESE PROJECT
- Dawson's Creek alum Katie Holmes is plotting her return to television with a series regular role on the untitled drama pilot. She will play Ann, a woman of education and breeding who, with her husband, runs a philanthropic foundation that helps bring clean water to African villages, but finds herself soon caught up in the middle of Philip (Rufus Sewell) and Margot's schemings.
- Daphne Rubin-Vega (Smash) has also joined the pilot today. She will play Philip's housekeeper.
ABC's THE WINKLERS
- Josh Sussman (Glee) has been cast on the multi-camera comedy pilot starring Henry Winkler. He will play Jonah, the son of Henry (Winkler) and Tita. Though he has his own apartment, Jonah frequently stops by his parents' home to take baths, hang out and receive praise from his parents or anyone else willing to hand out a compliment.
FX's SEX&DRUGS&ROCK&ROLL
- John Corbett (Parenthood) will co-star opposite Denis Leary on the music-themed comedy pilot. He will play Flash, Johnny's (Leary) former best friend and bandmate. The two parted ways after Johnny slept with Flash's wife. 25 years later, Flash has carried on in music and found some fame as a respected session player and occasional guitarist for Lady Gaga.
THE CW's THE FLASH
- Patrick Sabongui (Godzilla) has joined the cast of the drama pilot in a potentially recurring role. He will play Captain David Singh.
CBS' RED ZONE
- Sepideh Moafi (The Black Box) has landed a regular role on the drama pilot from writer Nikki Toscano. She will play Frida, a Westernized Algerian woman who's keeping a lot of secrets.
ABC's SAINT FRANCIS
- Spencer Grammer (Ironside, Greek) has booked the female lead on the multi-camera comedy pilot starring Michael Imperioli. She will play Heather, Francis' (Imperioli) 29-year-old sister who finds herself pregnant. She is a bit of a born rebel who feels dominated by her older brother and is determined to forge her own path in life.
ABC's EXPOSED
- Fran Kranz has been cast on the drama pilot from writer Charles Randolph. He will play Jeremy, Anna's hipster younger brother, a tech genius who runs a corporation and has top-secret security clearance.
CBS' MADAM SECRETARY
- Bebe Neuwirth (Frasier), Erich Bergen and Evan Roe have joined the cast of the drama pilot starring Tea Leoni. Neuwirth will play Nadine, Elizabeth's (Leoni) Chief of Staff. Bergen will play Elizabeth's young, loyal assistant and the only person on her staff she actually hired. Roe will play Adam, Elizabeth's teenage son, a budding anarchist.
NBC's SALVATION
- Chuck vet Ryan McPartlin will co-star opposite Ashley Judd on the drama pilot. He will play Congressman Todd Bishop, an ambitious man whose political life keeps him from home, making him a bit of an absent husband and father.
FOX's EMPIRE
- Rapper Bryshere Y. Gray (aka Yazz The Greatest) has been cast on the drama pilot starring Terrence Howard. He will play Lucious' (Howard) youngest son, and by far his favorite. He has the swagger of a rising superstar and just might be the front-runner to head Empire Entertainment.
ABC's AMERICAN CRIME
- Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman has closed a deal to play the female lead opposite Timothy Hutton on the drama pilot. She will play Barb Skokie, Russ' (Hutton) stoic ex-wife and mother of the killed young man, Matt. She raised her two sons alone in public housing while her husband was off gambling. She still resents living as the only single white woman in a racially charged environment and being treated accordingly by the other occupants. Determined to hold someone accountable for Matt's murder, Barb plans to stay close to the investigation and get answers.
ABC's AGATHA
- Rake star Bojana Novakovic has landed the title role on the drama pilot from writer Tom Donaghy. She will play Agatha, a smart and perceptive woman who left her blue collar Philly upbringing behind to lead a sophisticated upper West Side life in New York. When a local girl goes missing, she returns home to the estranged father and kid brother she left behind to lend her skills and help bring the girl home. Her casting is formally in second position to the struggling FOX drama - which seems unlikely to continue.
- Warehouse 13 alum Aaron Ashmore has also joined the pilot today as the male lead. He will play Jimmy McAuliffe, a handsome, good-humored and good-natured "meat and potatoes" guy who is a beat cop with the Philly PD and lives in the shadow of his father.
THE CW's JANE THE VIRGIN
- Actor-singer Jaime Camil will make his U.S. pilot debut with a co-starring role on the drama pilot starring Gina Rodriguez. He will play Rubio, a world-famous telenovela star with a surprising connection to Jane.
ABC's KEEP IT TOGETHER
- Jayson Blair and Jeff Ross have been cast on the multi-camera comedy pilot starring Romany Malco. Blair will play Chip, Lorraine's (Bresha Webb) new boyfriend. Ross will play Stu, Derek's (Malco) dorky and annoying but genuinely insightful and observant best friend.
FOX's RED BAND SOCIETY
- Dave Annable (Brothers & Sisters, 666 Park Avenue) has landed a series regular role on the drama pilot starring Octavia Spencer. He will play Dr. William McAndrew, a rock star pediatric oncologist and surgeon who tries not to get too attached to his young patients.
NBC's ELLEN MORE OR LESS
- Chuck alum Joshua Gomez has joined the cast of the single camera comedy pilot starring Stacey McGunnigle. He will play Craig, Ellen's (McGunnigle) co-worker who is too clueless to be mean, neurotic and requires hand-holding.
NBC's THE PRO
- Rebecca Romijn has boarded the single camera comedy pilot in a series regular role. She will play Margot, a driven but insecure and lovable wealthy one-percenter who is a board member at the prestigious L.A. Tennis & Gold Club who takes lessons from Ben (Rob Lowe).
NBC's TWO TO GO
- Angelique Cabral (Enlisted) has signed on for a lead role opposite Christine Woods on the comedy pilot. She will play Anne, a sporty Pilates instructor marred to stay-at-home dad Nick (Echo Kellum). Her casting is in second position to her current role on Enlisted.
