Thursday, June 30, 2022

Casting News - S. Epatha Merkerson and Judith Light Join 'Poker Face'; 'Perry Mason' Adds Wallace Langham; Plus 5 More Updates!

Casting News - June 30, 2022

AMC's Invitation to a Bonfire; AppleTV+'s The Changeling & Untitled Godzilla Drama; HBO's Perry Mason; HBO Max's The Girls on the Bus; Netflix's Glamorous; and Peacock's Poker Face




HBO MAX's THE GIRLS ON THE BUS
  • Natasha Behnam has been cast as a series regular on the upcoming drama starring Melissa Benoist. She previously guest starred on TNT's Animal Kingdom, The CW's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and FX's Mayans M.C.
  • She will play Lola Gabriel, a sharp-witted and passionately political TikTok star and well-known Gen Z influencer.
NETFLIX's GLAMOROUS
  • Zane Phillips, Jade Payton, Michael Hsu Rosen, Ayesha Harris, Graham Parkhurst, Diana Maria Riva, Lisa Gilroy and Mark Deklin have joined the cast of the upcoming drama starring Miss Benny and Kim Cattrall. Phillips recently starred in the Hulu film Fire Island and recurred on The CW's Legacies. Payton recurred on The CW's iZombie and Dynasty. Rosen starred in Netflix's one-season drama Tiny Pretty Things and one-season comedy Pretty Smart. Harris guest starred on ABC's Abbott Elementary and NBC's This Is Us. Parkhurst guest starred on Paramount+'s Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Netflix's The Umbrella Academy. Riva currently stars in HBO Max's Gordita Chronicles, which released its first season earlier this month. Gilroy currently stars in Comedy Central's Fairview. Deklin recurred on Netflix's Grace and Frankie, CBS' Blue Bloods and Paramount+'s The Good Fight.
  • Phillips will play Chad, the devoted son to Madolyn (Cattrall) and the Director of Sale for her beauty empire, who is caught in a never-ending quest to live up to his mother's expectations.
  • Payton will play Venetia, Madolyn's ambitious and chic first assistant who takes the newly-hired Marco (Miss Benny) under her wing, showing him not only how to navigate the office, but queer Brooklyn nightlife as well.
  • Rosen will play Ben, a graphic designer at Glamorous by Madolyn, full of angst and opinions, who has built a wall around his heart. That is, until he meets Marco, and is inspired to stumble out of his comfort zone.
  • Harris will play Britt, a fellow graphic designer at Glamorous by Madolyn, who finds her longtime crush on her colleague requited when they match by surprise, sparking a relationship that gets serious in more ways than one.
  • Parkhurst will play Parker, a confident, self-proclaimed jock who symbolizes unobtainable gay cis-male perfection. He has a chance encounter with Marco that sets in motion a game of pursuit.
  • Riva will recur as Julia, Marco's unpretentious, no-nonsense mother who wishes her son would up his dreams of social media stardom and get a real job, which he finally does - much to her surprise - when he starts working for Madolyn.
  • Gilroy will play Alyssa, a first-generation social media influencer who pivoted to a career in marketing and now runs all social accounts at Glamorous by Madolyn, fiercely clinging to her former glory days.
  • Deklin will play James, a charming and creative but underemployed documentary filmmaker whose chance encounter with the famous Madolyn Addison tumbles into an unexpected romance.
PEACOCK's POKER FACE
  • S. Epatha Merkerson and Judith Light are the latest cast additions to the upcoming drama starring Natasha Lyonne and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Merkerson currently stars in NBC's Chicago Med, which returns for its eighth season in September. Light has received four Emmy Award nominations for her performances in ABC's Ugly Betty, Amazon's Transparent and FX's The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.
  • As with all previous casting, no details were immediately announced about the characters they will be playing.
HBO's PERRY MASON
  • Wallace Langham has landed a recurring role on the drama's upcoming second season. He previously starred for six seasons in HBO's The Larry Sanders Show and eight seasons in CBS' CSI.
  • He will play Melville Phipps, a Los Angeles native and attorney for a very wealthy oil baroness. He works well under women and acts as a caretaker when necessary.
APPLE TV+'s UNTITLED GODZILLA DRAMA
  • Anna Sawai, Ren Watabe, Kiersey Clemons, Joe Tippett and Elisa Lasowski are set as series regulars on the upcoming drama created by Chris Black and Matt Fraction. Sawai currently stars in AppleTV+'s Pachinko, which has been renewed for a second season. Watabe appeared in the film 461 Days of Bento. Clemons starred in the films Hearts Beat Loud and Lady and the Tramp. Tippett starred in the HBO limited series Mare of Easttown. Lasowski starred for three seasons in Canal+'s Versailles
  • Sawai will play Cate, a former schoolteacher and a G-Day survivor who travels to Japan to settle family affairs but instead uncovers a family secret. Tired of running from her problems, she is determined to find answers.
  • Watabe will play Kentaro, an intelligent, creative and curious young man who has yet to find his own path. He will embark on a quest to learn more about his revered yet mysterious father and discover his own talents in the process.
  • Clemons will play May, an American ex-pat with a roguish exterior that she uses to protect herself as well as others. Whether it be deciphering a code or finding the loophole, she is always three steps ahead of everyone around her.
  • Tippett will play Tim, an office drone who dreams of secret agent adventure. His overconfidence gets him in trouble in the field, but he is determined not to fail his organization.
  • Lasowski will play Duvall, an expert operative with unwavering confidence in herself and her skills. She also possesses a wry sense of humor, which she uses to guide her less field-oriented colleague.
APPLE TV+'s THE CHANGELING
  • Samuel T. Herring will co-star on the upcoming drama starring LaKeith Stanfield. He is the frontman of the synth-pod band Future Islands. He will make his acting debut with the series.
  • He will play William Wheeler, a man who befriends Apollo (Stanfield) in a quest to win back his wife and children.
AMC's INVITATION TO A BONFIRE
  • Freya Mavor, Pilou Asbæk and Ngozi Anyanwu will star in the upcoming drama based on the novel by Adrienne Celt. Mavor currently stars in HBO's Industry, which returns for its second season in August. Asbæk recurred on HBO's Game of Thrones. Anyanwu recurred on NBC's Law & Order: SVU and HBO's The Deuce.
  • Mavor will play Zoya Andropova, an orphaned refugee and the consummate outsider at the posh all-girls school where she works. She is a Soviet among Americans, a peasant among silver spooners, an intellectual among the incurious. When the novelist Leo Orlov joins the faculty, Zoya develops a dangerous obsession with him - and his magnetic wife.
  • Asbæk will play Leo Orlov, a literary genius currently in turmoil. When he arrives to teach at the upper-crust New Jersey girls school, he bristles with resentment - much of it directed towards his wife. But then he meets Zoya, a young groundskeeper at the school, and the trajectory of his writing - and his life - are forever changed.
  • Anyanwu will play Hilda, an ambitious, independent woman who refuses to betray her heart - no matter the cost. After her affluent family refused to accept her for who she is, she left them behind, choosing to start anew in the kitchen at the school.