Hi everyone, below you'll find all the casting announcements for the new pilot season. We'll try our best to keep this updated with all new casting as quickly if possible. If you find any that aren't posted, please do submit them in.
The latest pilot castings will be posted at the top.
The Tick - Peter Serafinowicz Cast as the Lead in Amazon's Revival Pilot
EXCLUSIVE: British actor-comedian Peter Serafinowicz is set as the lead in the Amazon pilot The Tick, a new take on Ben Edlund‘s comic book character with an all-new cast. Edlund, who created the 2001 live-action Fox comedy as well as the 1994 animated series, is writing and executive producing. Also back are fellow original exec producer Barry Josephson and original studio Sony Pictures TV.
The reboot is bringing back the eponymous muscle-bound, antennae-sporting superhero (Serafinowicz). In the new incarnation, the blue suit-wearing Tick is recovering from a memory loss and ends up re-teaming with his sidekick Arthur (Griffin Newman) to fight evil. The two are surrounded by a new host of characters that include Arthur’s sister Dot (Valorie Curry).
Source:
Deadline
Still Star Crossed - Dan Hildebrand Joins Cast
Dan Hildebrand has signed on as a series regular to ABC drama pilot Still Star-Crossed from Shondaland. Written by Heather Mitchell based on the book by Melinda Taub and directed by Michael Offer, Still Star-Crossed is set in 16th century Verona and picks up where William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet left off. It charts the treachery, palace intrigue and ill-fated romances of the Montagues and Capulets in the wake of the young lovers’ tragic fate.
Hildebrand will play Friar Lawrence, who uses the church to climb the social ladder.
Source:
Deadline
Hail Mary - Tom Stourton Joins Cast
UK actor, writer and comedian Tom Stourton has booked a series regular role on ABC’s single-camera comedy pilot Hail Mary, from Sony TV and ABC Studios. Written by The McCarthys creator Brian Gallivan and directed by Julie Anne Robinson, Hail Mary centers on Mary Wolf (Casey Wilson), a young small-town mayor who has dysfunctional siblings, a dying father, disgruntled citizens, a nearly bankrupt town and the mafia breathing down her neck. Only a miracle can help her. So … she fakes one.
Stourton will play Inspector Matteo, a dry-witted, confident emissary from the Vatican who has come to this small town to investigate a sighting of the Virgin Mary.
Source:
Deadline
The Trail - Angel Parker to Recur
Angel Parker, who can currently be seen in “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” has booked a recurring role in NBC’s comedy pilot “The Trail,” which stars John Lithgow, Variety has learned exclusively.
“The Trail” follows the arrest and murder trial of a beloved poetry professor, Larry Henderson (Lithgow), from a small Southern town who is accused of murdering his wife, and the young “Northeastern” lawyer and team hired to defend him. Parker will play Heidi Baker, a local Carolina newscaster who’s following the Larry Henderson murder case and reports on many of the case’s unexpected twists and turns.
Source:
Variety
Untitled Kevin James CBS Comedy - Lenny Venito and Gary Valentine Join the Straight to Series Comedy
Lenny Venito (The Neighbors) and Gary Valentine (The King of Queens) are set as series regulars opposite Kevin James in his multi-camera comedy series at CBS.
The untitled show, from Sony Pictures TV, James’ studio-based Hey Eddie Productions and CBS TV Studios, centers on a 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.
Venito will play Duffy, Kevin’s (James) oldest buddy with a great sense of humor and two ex-wives. Valentine is Kyle, Kevin’s brother who is a fireman and not taken seriously by Kevin and his cop buddies.
Source:
Deadline
When The Street Lights Go On - Kelli Mayo and Ben Winchell Join Cast
Kelli Mayo and Ben Winchell are set as series regulars in When The Street Lights Go On, Hulu’s drama pilot adapted from the Black List feature script by writers Chris Hutton and Eddie O’Keefe. The project hails from Paramount Television and Anonymous Content.
In the vein of Stand By Me, When The Street Lights Go On is a coming-of-age thriller about a sleepy, suburban town that is rocked by the brutal murder of a high school girl and her teacher in the summer of 1983.
Mayo will play 15-year-old bohemian bookworm, Berlice Beaman. Winchell is Brad Krichoff, the brooding, quarterback boyfriend of prom queen, Chrissy Monroe.
Source:
Deadline
Miranda's Rights - Parker Sawyers Cast as the Male Lead
On the heels of his first feature starring role as Barack Obama in the indie Southside With You, which premiered at Sundance, Parker Sawyers has been cast as the male lead opposite Rebecca Breeds in NBC’s drama pilot Miranda’s Rights.
Written/co-executive produced by Katie Lovejoy and executive produced by John Glenn, Miranda’s Rights is a one-hour legal soap about an idealistic group of lawyers — Young Law Group — who not only work together but live together at their start-up firm. In centers on Miranda Coale (Breeds), a pretty and smart attorney plagued for the past six years by a youthful mistake — a much-publicized and scandalous affair in her early 20s with a married state Senator which changed the course of her life forever.
Sawyers will play Tanner, a charming and confident attorney and one of the founders of YLG. He’s also Miranda’s ex, the one she dumped to take up with the married senator. Now teamed with four other lawyers, all partners at a start-up law firm, he offers Miranda a job, only to ruffle the feathers of Lana, another attorney, also his fiancée.
Source:
Deadline
Untitled NBC Vladimir Caamaño Pilot - Liche Ariza Joins Cast
Liche Ariza has booked a series regular role in NBC’s untitled multi-camera family comedy pilot starring Vladimir Caamaño. Produced by Bill Lawrence and written by Adam Sztykiel and Caamaño, the project is inspired by Caamaño’s real-life family dynamic living with his Dominican father and older brother in the Bronx.
Ariza is Julio, Vlad’s (Caamaño) father, a hard-working, good-hearted, endearingly melodramatic family man who has been in this country since 1970. A building super, Julio shares a rent-free basement unit with his two sons, while his wife (whom he adores) has a nearby subsidized apartment.
Source:
Deadline
The Great Indoors - Susannah Fielding Joins Cast
Susannah Fielding (4.3.2.1) is set as a series regular opposite Joel McHale and Stephen Fry on The Great Indoors, CBS‘ multi-camera pilot written and executive produced by Mike Gibbons. The comedy, from CBS TV Studios, centers on Joel (McHale), an adventure reporter who must adapt to the times when he becomes boss to a group of millennials in the digital department of their magazine.
Fielding will play Brooke, Antonio’s (Fry) daughter who is in charge of co-running “The Great Outdoors” with him.
Source:
Deadline
Untitled Laura Steinel FOX Comedy Pilot (aka HR) - Esai Morales to Co-Star
Esai Morales is set to co-star opposite Judy Greer and Patton Oswalt in Fox’s untitled Laura Steinel comedy pilot (aka HR).
The project, from 20th Century Fox TV, centers on Jane (Greer), the overused and underappreciated head of Human Resources for a plastics molding plant, who is caught between trying to manage her charmingly incompetent HR department and an eccentric new CEO Sam (Oswalt), who dreams of bringing the New Jersey plastics plant into the future.
Morales will play Bruce. Even though Bruce is usually unclogging toilets, or fixing someone’s foot heater, he always has a pleasant, chill and strangely sexy demeanor.
Source:
Deadline
Chicago Justice - Lorraine Toussaint to Guest
Thanks to A for the heads up.
The worlds of Law & Order and Chicago Justice are about to collide.
Lorraine Toussaint is set to appear in the backdoor pilot of Dick Wolf's latest NBC drama as a character she originated on the former series 26 years ago, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
The Critics Choice Award winner will play defense attorney Shambala Green in the 21st episode of Chicago P.D., which serves as the backdoor pilot for Chicago Justice. Formerly titled Chicago Law, the show stars Philip Winchester, Nazneen Contractor, Joelle Carter and Carl Weathers, the latter's casting was announced Saturday at PaleyFest.
Toussaint played Green seven times over Law & Order's 20 seasons, her most recent appearance being in 2003. Since then, Toussaint has enjoyed breakout success thanks to her role as Vee in Orange Is the New Black. The actress currently stars on the Fox medical drama Rosewood. Her appearance in the Chicago Justice pilot is a guest-starring role, meaning her full-time gig on Rosewood will not be affected.
Source:
The Hollywood Reporter
MacGyver - Lucas Till Cast as MacGyver in CBS Pilot
Following a lengthy and extensive casting search, CBS has found its new MacGyver.
X-Men alum Lucas Till has been tapped to take on the character that was originally made famous by Richard Dean Anderson, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Additionally, Joshua Boone has joined the drama pilot as a series regular.
CBS' MacGyver is described as a reimagining of the television series of the same name. It follows a 20-something MacGyver (Till) as he gets recruited into a clandestine organization where he uses his knack for solving problems in unconventional ways to help prevent disasters from happening.
Till recently wrapped X-Men: Apocalypse, where he plays mutant Havok. He's also set as the lead in Paramount's Monster Trucks. The actor, who was born into a military family and raised by his father (a lieutenant colonel and aviation task force commander in the Army, he started his career on the set of Walk the Line. He's repped by APA, manager Tom Sullivan and Hirsch Wallerstein.
Source:
The Hollywood Reporter
Chicago Justice - Carl Weathers Joins Cast
Chicago Justice is bringing a true fighter onboard.
Rocky alum Carl Weathers has joined the latest spinoff project, executive producer Dick Wolf announced Saturday at PaleyFest.
The actor, best known for his portrayal of fighter Apollo Creed, will play the state's attorney of Cook Country in the backdoor pilot for the new project, which is set to air as episode 21 of the current season of Chicago PD.
Source:
The Hollywood Reporter
What Goes Around Comes Around - Matt Murray Joins Cast
Kevin From Work alum Matt Murray has booked a series regular role opposite Alyssa Milano and Jason Lee on CBS comedy pilot What Goes Around Comes Around. In addition, he’s been cast in a recurring role on USA drama series Eyewitness. Written by Kopelman and directed by Tim Story, What Goes Around Comes Around centers on two fortysomething parents — Kenny (Lee), a husband, father and owner of a hip music management company; and Robin (Milano) — who were wild and reckless teenagers now face their worst nightmare of raising three teenagers.
Murray will play Doyle, the Smithers to Kenny’s (Lee) Mr. Burns. Kenny is the father figure he never had and, in Doyle’s eyes, Kenny can do no wrong. In crime thriller Eyewitness Murray will play Deputy Tony Michaels, Sheriff Helen’s (Julianne Nicholson) right-hand man who seamlessly operates their storefront precinct.
Source:
Deadline
Still Star Crossed - Sterling Sulieman Joins Cast
Sterling Sulieman (In Time) has joined ABC drama pilot Still Star-Crossed from Shondaland. Written by Heather Mitchell based on the book by Melinda Taub, Still Star-Crossed is a period drama that picks up where Romeo & Juliet left off, charting the treachery, palace intrigue and ill-fated romances of the Montagues and Capulets in the wake of the young lovers’ tragic fate.
Sulieman will play Prince Escalus.
Source:
Deadline
Hail Mary - Jackee Harry Joins Cast
Jackee Harry has joined the cast of ABC’s single-camera comedy pilot Hail Mary, from Sony TV and ABC Studios. Written by The McCarthys creator Brian Gallivan and directed by Julie Anne Robinson, Hail Mary centers on Mary Wolf (Wilson), a young small-town mayor named who has dysfunctional siblings, a dying father, disgruntled citizens, a nearly bankrupt town and the mafia breathing down her neck. Only a miracle can help her. So … she fakes one.
Harry will play Nurse Wanda, the insightful, no-nonsense nurse tending to Mr. Wolf.
Source:
Deadline
The Mick - Carla Jimenez, Thomas Barbusca and Jack Stanton Join Cast
Carla Jimenez, Thomas Barbusca and Jack Stanton have booked series regular roles opposite Kaitlin Olson in Fox comedy pilot The Mick. Written by John and Dave Chernin, The Mick has a centers on Mackenzie “Mickey” Murphy (Olson), a hard-living, foul-mouthed, cigarette-smoking woman who moves to affluent Greenwich, CT to raise the spoiled kids of her wealthy sister who has fled the country to avoid a federal indictment. She quickly learns what the rest of us already know — other people’s children are awful.
Jimenez will play Alba, the Pembertons’ housekeeper who gets along famously with Mickey.
Barbusco is Chip, A supremely confident twelve-year-old with adult-like sensibilities and an extremely punchable face. Chip behaves as if the world is a cocktail party and he is the host. His conservative ideology and entitled behavior can be off-putting to a lot of people, especially his Aunt Mickey.
Stanton is Ben, the youngest Pemberton child.
Source:
Deadline
Untitled Laura Steinel FOX Comedy Pilot (aka HR) - Veronica Osorio & Lateefah Holder Join Cast
Veronica Osorio (Hail Caesar!) and newcomer Lateefah Holder are set as series regulars opposite Judy Greer in Fox comedy pilot HR (aka untitled Laura Steinel). The project, from 20th Century Fox TV, centers around Jane (Greer), the over-used and under-appreciated head of H.R. for a plastic molding plant, who is caught between trying to manage her charmingly incompetent human resources department and a new eccentric CEO who dreams of bringing the New Jersey plastics plant into the future.
Osorio will play Tanya, a real Jersey girl. She started as Jane’s (Greer) assistant but worked her way up to payroll and severances.
Holder is Effie, a factory worker at BS Plastics. Effie is… a pain, the kind who makes dramatic, impassioned pleas to keep the soda machines.
Source:
Deadline
Zoobiquity - Ben Rapport Joins Cast
Ben Rappaport (Mr. Robot) has been cast as a series regular in Zoobiquity, Fox’s light medical procedural pilot written by Bones executive producers Stephen Nathan and Jon Collier and directed by Kevin Bray.
Based on the best-selling book by Dr. Barbara Natterson-Horowitz and Kathryn Bowers, Zoobiquity follows the unlikely pairing of Dr. Kara Martins (Marsha Thomason), a successful, driven cardiologist as she risks career suicide by teaming with Dr. Lucas Cort (Peter Facinelli), a brilliant, socially-challenged veterinarian who relates better to animals than people. They try to put aside their competitive natures to cure the incurable using a unique blend of cross-species medicine that’s never been tried before. Kim Raver co-stars.
Rappaport will play Dr. Henry Lowe, a cardiology resident. Ambitious and always concerned with doing the right thing for his career, he surprisingly bends hospital rules.
Source:
Deadline
Me & Mean Margaret - Gavin Stenhouse Cast as the Male Lead in NBC Comedy Pilot
Allegiance star Gavin Stenhouse is returning to NBC as the male lead opposite Stockard Channing in the network’s multi-camera comedy pilot Me & Mean Margaret, from producer Peter Chernin.
Written by veteran comedy writer Adam Barr and directed by top multi-camera director Jimmy Burrows, Me & Mean Margaret is an unlikely buddy comedy that follows Margaret (Channing), a fiercely candid and often offensive legendary actress, and Ben (Stenhouse), the ambitious 27-year-old lawyer forced to babysit her.
Naturally conciliatory but not a doormat (entirely), Ben is a nice, responsible, hard-working lawyer with a solid plan for his life: make partner, get a killer apartment with his girlfriend, get married. He accepts his latest assignment as the legal conservator/babysitter for the notoriously mean and mischievous former actress Margaret Manley (Channing), but quickly realizes it’s more than he bargained for. He’s forced to go way outside his comfort zone and think on his feet — and in the process, learns a thing or two from her about standing up for himself.
Source:
Deadline
Untitled Chris Case FOX Comedy Pilot - Joshua Carlon, Steele Stebbins and Amberia Allen Joins Cast
Joshua Carlon (Richie Rich), Steele Stebbins (Vacation) and Amberia Allen (Punk’d) are set as series regulars opposite Bill Bellamy and Becki Newton in Fox’s untitled Chris Case comedy pilot from 20th Century Fox Television.
Written by Case and directed by Malcolm D. Lee, the untitled interracial family comedy (fka My White Wife And Kids) follows Jay “Havoc” Hammond (Bellamy), an African-American ex-NFL lineman who recently moved in with his white wife, Christy (Newton), and her two oddball sons, as he struggles to win the most challenging game of his life: fatherhood.
Carlon will play Colin, Christy’s meek, awkward Amberia Allenmama’s boy. Colin has absolutely no game whatsoever. Jay takes him under his wing and tries to teach him self-confidence.
Stebbins is Harry, Christy’s 12-going-on-25-year-old son, charming, rap-loving, more confident than motivated, and as much of a ladies’ man as a kid can be at 12. He’s also selfish and disrespects authority, probably because he’s never had any authority to respect.
Allen is Angela, Jay’s well-educated, successful and strong-willed sister. She has some very specific points-of-view about Jay’s marriage that she doesn’t necessarily keep to herself.
Source:
Deadline
The Jury - JD Pardo Joins Cast *Updated with Details on his Character*
Please Note: Deadline has released information on his character*
Revolution alum JD Pardo is set as a series regular opposite Jeremy Sisto, Archie Panjabi and Kevin Rankin in ABC’s murder trial drama pilot, The Jury. Written by VJ Boyd and Mark Bianculli, and executive produced by Carol Mendelsohn, The Jury examines “the ultimate social experiment” that happens thousands of times a day in the U.S.: A person’s fate is placed in the hands of 12 strangers. Described as “12 Angry Men meets the podcast Serial,” the series follows a single murder trial a season as seen through the eyes of the individual jurors, exploring the biases and experiences that influence the jurors’ judgment and how their preconceptions change along the way.
Pardo will play Oscar, a U.S. Marine who signed up for the Corps straight out of high school and displays immense pride in his status as a soldier.
Source:
Deadline
Toast - Punam Patel Joins Cast
Punam Patel has landed a series regular role on Toast, ABC’s hybrid comedy pilot executive produced by Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes. The project hails from Rhimes and Betsy Beers’ Shondaland, Scott Foley and Greg Grunberg. Written by Foley and Grunberg and directed by Gail Mancuso, Toast revolves around engaged couple Max Leeds (Jono Kenyon) and Page (Jerrika Hinton), who, over their wedding rehearsal dinner, have their eclectic family and friends give toasts recalling anecdotes about the couple — but flashbacks reveal that the toasts don’t always get it right, as we watch the true story of their complicated, funny and relatable road to marriage.
Patel will play Arden, a charmingly spoiled life-of-the-party who is first up to give a toast at the rehearsal dinner who definitely says more than she should. Patel, who cut her teeth in Chicago’s Second City, is also an alum of CBS’ Diversity Showcase. Her credits include a series regular role in Kevin From Work, and a guest starring role on NBC’s untitled Amy Poehler pilot.
Source:
Deadline
Frequency - Daniel Bonjour Joins Cast
Daniel Bonjour has joined the cast of Frequency, the CW’s drama pilot based on Toby Emmerich’s sci-fi thriller. The TV series, written by Supernatural showrunner Jeremy Carver, centers on Raimy, a female police detective in 2016 who discovers that she is able to speak via a ham radio with her estranged father, Frank Sullivan (Riley Smith), also a detective, who died in 1996. They forge a new relationship while working together on an unresolved murder case, but unintended consequences of the ‘butterfly effect’ wreak havoc in the present day.
Bonjour will play Daniel Badour, a handsome man with infectious charm, an up-and-coming architect who is deeply in love with Raimy and planning to propose. He’s gravely concerned by Raimy’s apparently insane claims that she’s communicating with her dead father in the past. Bonjour has recurred on The Walking Dead and Satisfaction.
Source:
Deadline
Making History - Yassir Lester Joins Cast
Comedian-writer Yassir Lester (The Carmichael Show) is been cast opposite Adam Pally in Making History, Fox’s time-travel single-camera comedy pilot executive produced by Phil Lord, Chris Miller & Julius “Goldy” Sharpe. Written by Sharpe, Making History revolves around three unlikely friends who find an even less likely way to travel through time, irreversibly complicating their personal lives in 2016.
Lester will play Chris, a 30-year-old history professor and the most popular teacher on campus, with good reason. He has a gift of inspiring people by making his encyclopedic knowledge of history accessible. Women love him and guys want to be his buddy but when he goes to the past, it quickly unravels. Yassir is currently working double duty on the writing staff of The Carmichael Show and Girls, but will take a brief hiatus to shoot this pilot.
Source:
Deadline
The Fluffy Shop - Tommy Savas Joins Cast
Tommy Savas is set opposite Gabriel Iglesias on ABC comedy pilot The Fluffy Shop, co-written by and starring Iglesias. It follows Gabe (Iglesias), a stepfather and boss to his family and friends, while he navigates his home life during the few days he spends off the road each week.
Savas will play Reggie, Gabe’s manager, who’s not a slick Hollywood player but tries to carry himself like one. He grew up disadvantaged, didn’t go to college but makes up for it with street hustle. Gabe met Reggie early in his career and sticks with him out of loyalty.
Source:
Deadline
Lethal Weapon - Johnathan Fernandez Joins Cast
Johnathan Fernandez has been cast opposite Clayne Crawford and Damon Wayans Sr. in Lethal Weapon, Fox’s hourlong pilot based on the hit movie franchise. In the pilot, written by Matt Miller and directed by McG, when Texas cop and former Navy SEAL Riggs (Crawford) suffers the loss of his wife and baby, he moves to Los Angeles to start anew. There, he is partnered with LAPD Detective Roger Murtaugh (Wayans Sr), who, having recently suffered a “minor” heart attack, must avoid stress in his life.
Fernandez will play Scorsese, a dry-toned and creative pathologist with the LAPD who works with Riggs (Crawford) and Murtaugh (Wayans Sr.)
Source:
Deadline
Lethal Weapon - Keesha Sharp to Co-Star in Recasting
Keesha Sharp, who plays attorney Johnnie Cochran’s wife Dale in the hit FX miniseries American Crime: The People vs. OJ Simpson, is set to co-star opposite Damon Wayans Sr. in Lethal Weapon, Fox’s hourlong pilot based on the hit buddy cop action comedy movie franchise. Girlfriends alumna Sharp, who will play one of the lead female roles, Trish, replaces fellow former Girlfriends star Golden Brooks, who was originally cast in the part. The decision was made after the project’s table read last night.
In Fox’s Lethal Weapon, written by Matt Miller and directed by McG, when Texas cop and former Navy SEAL Martin Riggs (Clayne Crawford) suffers the loss of his wife and baby, he moves to Los Angeles to start anew. There, he is partnered with LAPD detective Roger Murtaugh (Wayans), who, having recently suffered a “minor” heart attack, must avoid stress in his life.
Sharp will play Roger’s hardworking, perceptive and loving wife Trish, who worries about him and is not thrilled when she hears about his new adrenaline-crazed partner. In the movies, Trish was played by Darlene Love and Roger by Danny Glover.
Source:
Deadline
Untitled Chris Case FOX Comedy Pilot - Bill Bellamy to Star
Fox has found its leading man for Chris Case's comedy pilot. Stand-up comedian/actor Bill Bellamy will star opposite Becki Newton in the inter-racial family comedy.
The family comedy follows Jay ""Havoc"" Hammond, an African-American, ex-NFL lineman who recently moved in with his white wife and her two oddball sons, as he struggles to win the most challenging game of life: fatherhood.
Bellamy will take on the role of Jay, a tough, ex-NFL player who has retired from the field and is looking to move into the sports announcer side of the business. He is also married to Christy (Becki Newton) and is step-father to her two sons. He tries to respect Christy’s wish that he let her be the disciplinarian, but when he feels like she’s allowing the kids to get away with too much, he steps in with comic results…but manages to get through to the kids, too.
Source:
The Hollywood Reporter
Speechless - Minnie Driver to Star; Mason Cook to Co-Star
Former About A Boy star Minnie Driver is set as the female lead in the ABC comedy pilot Speechless, from Scott Silveri and 20th Century Fox TV. In addition, Mason Cook (The Haunting Hour) has been cast as the project’s young lead.
Speechless centers on a family with a special-needs child, which is good at dealing with the challenges it faces and excellent at creating new ones.
Driver will play the mother, Maya. Fiercely protective of her non-verbal son JJ, she makes it her mission to find the perfect school for him, repeatedly moving her family from town to town in the process. Her single-minded fight for her family can rub people the wrong way – sometimes people in the family itself – but it all stems from a loving intention.
Cook will play Ray, the youngest of the family’s three boys. Ray supports his mother as she struggles and tilts at windmills; he just wishes she could bust a few fewer asses along the way. Quite certain he’s always right, Ray views himself as “the only adult in the family” – an assertion to which the actual adults who birthed him sometimes object.
Source:
Deadline
Transylvania - Sofia Pernas Replaces Amrita Acharia
The Young & the Restless‘ Sofia Pernas has been cast as a regular opposite Laura Brent in The CW genre-themed drama pilot Transylvania. She replaces Amrita Acharia who was originally cast in the role.
It’s been a whirlwind 48 hours for Pernas. On Monday, she was let go early from her Young & the Restless contract due to budgetary reasons. Twenty four hours later, she had auditioned, tested, and booked the role in Transylvania, and today, she got on a plane to go to the pilot shoot.
Written by Hugh Sterbakov and directed by Jason Ensler, Transylvania is set in 1880 and centers on Victoria (Brent), a headstrong young woman in search of her missing father who ventures from NYC to Transylvania where she teams up with a wrongfully disgraced Scotland Yard Detective, and together they witness the births of the most famous monsters and villains in history.
Pernas will play Coriander, an exotic gypsy, the leader of the matriarchal Szgany clan that runs the fleshpots of the Old City — the haunted spot where Vlad the Impaler once killed thousands of their tribe.
Source:
Deadline
Zoobiquity - Melissa Tang Joins Cast
Melissa Tang is set as a series regular opposite Marsha Thomason and Peter Facinelli in Zoobiquity, Fox’s light medical procedural pilot written by Bones executive producers Stephen Nathan and Jon Collier and directed by Kevin Bray. Based on the best-selling book by Dr. Barbara Natterson-Horowitz and Kathryn Bowers, Zoobiquity follows the unlikely pairing of Dr. Kara Martins (Thomason), a successful, driven cardiologist as she risks career suicide by teaming with Dr. Lucas Cort (Facinelli), a brilliant, socially-challenged veterinarian who relates better to animals than people.
Tang will play Dr. Diana Hess, an earthy and free-spirited top resident pathologist at the hospital. Tang’s TV credits include The Goodwin Games, The Big Bang Theory and Beauty and the Beast. She’s repped by Gersh and Colleen Schlegel Entertainment.
Source:
Deadline
Real Good People - Julie White Joins Cast
Julie White (Transformers) has been cast opposite David Keith in Real Good People, CBS’ multi-camera comedy project, written/executive produced by writer-actress Stephnie Weir and executive produced by Greg Garcia. It centers on a conservative small-town family forced to reconcile their values when they discover their children’s lives are less than perfect.
White will play Gloria, the family matriarch and other half of what is possibly the world’s happiest couple. Paradigm-repped White was a series regular on Amazon’s Alpha House and recently appeared on The Good Wife.
Source:
Deadline
Bull - Michael Weatherly Cast as Lead in CBS's Dr. Phil Drama Pilot
Departing NCIS co-star Michael Weatherly is staying in the CBS fold as the lead in the network’s drama pilot Bull, playing a character inspired by Dr. Phil.
Written by Phil McGraw and Paul Attanasio and directed by Rodrigo Garcia, Bull is based on popular daytime talk-show host Dr. Phil’s early days as head of one of the most prolific trial consulting services of all time. It centers on Dr. Jason Bull (Weatherly), who runs Trial Sciences Inc., a company that analyzes juries to help develop defense strategies. He has a physicality and feral intelligence that make him magnetic to women, and a bruising candor.
Source:
Deadline
A.P.B. - Ernie Hudson to Co-Star
Ghostbusters‘ Ernie Hudson is set to co-star opposite Justin Kirk and Natalie Martinez in Fox’s drama pilot APB, from writer David Slack and Sleepy Hollow co-creator/executive producer Len Wiseman.
Inspired by the July New York Times Magazine article “Who Runs the Streets of New Orleans,” APB explores what happens when an enigmatic tech billionaire, Gideon Reed, (Kirk) purchases a troubled police precinct in the wake of a loved one’s murder.
Hudson will play Sgt Ed Conrad, a gruff, grumpy teddy bear veteran cop with the 13the Precinct. He’s not a fan of the arrival of the precinct’s new “owner,” Gideon Reed, (Kirk). Martinez plays Detective Amelia Murphy.
Source:
Deadline
Toast - Jerrika Hinton Cast as the Female Lead
EXCLUSIVE: Grey’s Anatomy co-star Jerrika Hinton has been cast as the female lead opposite Jono Kenyon in Toast, ABC’s hybrid comedy pilot executive produced by Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes. The project hails from Rhimes and Betsy Beers’ Shondaland, Scott Foley and Greg Grunberg.
Hinton’s casting in Toast will have no immediate impact on her status on Grey’s Anatomy, where she is a regular, playing surgical resident Stephanie Edwards. If Toast goes to series, that will likely be revisited. There are no plans in place but I hear there is a possibility for her to do both shows, likely scaling back her duties on Grey’s for logistical reasons.
Written by Foley and Grunberg and directed by Gail Mancuso, Toast revolves around engaged couple Max Leeds (Kenyon) and Page (Hinton), who, over their wedding rehearsal dinner, have their eclectic family and friends give toasts recalling anecdotes about the couple — but flashbacks reveal that the toasts don’t always get it right, as we watch the true story of their complicated, funny and relatable road to marriage.
Hinton’s Page is Max’s confident, no-nonsense, self-aware, soon-to-be bride. She’s spent most of her life working very hard but feeling a bit sheltered by her well-to-do Texas family. In an effort to break the mold, Page finds herself wanting to take a risk with the charismatic but awkward Max.
In addition to Hinton, Shondaland also recruited Grey’s alumna Tessa Ferrer for a co-starring role in Toasts.
Source:
Deadline
Time - Sakina Jaffrey Joins Cast
Sakina Jaffrey (House of Cards) is set as a series regular in Time, NBC’s action adventure drama pilot from Supernatural creator Eric Kripke, The Shield creator Shawn Ryan, Sony Pictures TV and studio-based Davis Entertainment. Described as “Back To The Future meets Mission: Impossible,” Time is a high-octane drama following an unlikely trio who travel through time to battle a master criminal intent on altering the fabric of human history with potentially catastrophic results.
Jaffrey will play Agent Denise Christopher, a formidable and high-ranking goverment agent in charge of the team’s trip back in time to chase after the criminal. Jaffrey recurs as The Mindy Project and Mr. Robot. She’s repped by Greene & Associates Talent Agency, Authentic Talent and Literary and Schreck, Rose, Dapello & Adams.
Source:
Deadline
Untitled NBC Vladimir Caamaño Pilot - Lilah Richcreek Joins Cast
Lilah Richcreek has joined the series regular cast of NBC’s untitled multi-camera family comedy pilot starring Vladimir Caamaño. Produced by Bill Lawrence and written by Adam Sztykiel and Caamaño, the project is inspired by Caamaño’s real-life family dynamic living with his Dominican father and older brother in the Bronx.
Richcreek will play Rosie, self-described Bronx girl, a smart, capable young woman managing close to 20 of her dad’s buildings. Vlad (Vladimir Caamaño) finds her both inspiring and intimidating. When Rosie offers Vlad a job as her IT guy, this gives their good-natured flirtation even more common ground.
Source:
Deadline
Dream Team - MasterChef Jr. Winner Addison Osta Smith Joins Cast
Addison Osta Smith, the youngest and first female winner of cooking competition series MasterChef Jr, has been cast opposite Justin Long in Dream Team, ABC’s single-camera half-hour from comedy writers Kari Lizer and Bill Wrubel, and Warner Bros. TV.
Written/executive produced by Lizer and Wrubel, Dream Team centers on Marty Schumacher (Long). Recently divorced, Marty is the eternally optimistic manager of a sporting goods store and also the “damn good” head coach of a nationally ranked soccer program — the one true love in his life. Currently recruiting young girls for his dream team, Marty is looking to recreate his amazing rise to the national championships of two years ago.
Smith will play Miley, a fantastic soccer player who is built like a sparkplug and recruited to join Schumacher’s (Long) dream team.
Source:
Deadline
The Great Indoors - Stephen Fry to Co-Star
Popular British actor/comedian/writer/game show host Stephen Fry is set to co-star opposite Joel McHale in The Great Indoors, CBS‘ multi-camera pilot written by Mike Gibbons and directed by Andy Ackerman. The comedy, from CBS TV Studios, centers on Joel (McHale), an adventure reporter who must adapt to the times when he becomes boss to a group of millennials in the digital department of their magazine.
Fry will play Antonio, the charismatic founder of “The Great Outdoors” magazine, and a world traveler, explorer and adventurer. The employee-boss dynamic between Joel and Antonio is compared to that between Tina Fey’s Liz Lemon and Alec Baldwin’s Jack Donaghy on NBC’s 30 Rock.
Source:
Deadline
No Tomorrow - Sarayu Blue Joins Cast
Sarayu Blue (Monday Mornings) has been cast opposite Tori Anderson and Joshua Sasse in The CW pilot No Tomorrow, from the Jane The Virgin duo of writer/co-executive producer Corinne Brinkerhoff and executive producer Ben Silverman. Directed by Jane the Virgin pilot director Brad Silberling and written by Brinkerhoff and the comedy writing-directing team Scott McCabe and Tory Stanton aka Two Trick Pony, No Tomorrow centers on a risk-averse, straight arrow, female procurement manager (Anderson) at an Amazon-like distribution center. She falls in love with a freewheeling man (Sasse), who lives life to the fullest because he believes the apocalypse is imminent, leading to comedic and poignant results as they embark on a quest together to fulfill their individual bucket lists.
Blue will play Kareema, one of the manager’s (Anderson) “too-hip” co-workers. Blue, repped by Pakula/King & Associates and D2 Management, recurs on The Real O’Neals and will next be seen in Veep.
Source:
Deadline
Lethal Weapon - Chandler Kinney Joins Cast
Chandler Kinney (Gortimer Gibbons Life on Normal Street) has joined the cast of Lethal Weapon, Fox’s hourlong pilot based on the hit movie franchise. In the pilot, written by Matt Miller and directed by McG, when Texas cop and former Navy SEAL Riggs suffers the loss of his wife and baby, he moves to Los Angeles to start anew. There, he is partnered with LAPD Detective Roger Murtaugh, who, having recently suffered a “minor” heart attack, must avoid stress in his life.
Kinney will play Riana Murtaugh, the Murtaughs’ 15-year-old daughter, a typical L.A. teenager. The only time Riana looks up from her phone is to deploy that famous Murtaugh wit at the dinner table; she will bring up anything she can to drive her parents nuts.
Source:
Deadline
Zoobiquity - Wesam Keesh Joins Cast
“Awkward” star Wesam Keesh has been cast as a series regular in Fox’s “Zoobiquity” pilot, Variety has learned exclusively.
“Zoobiquity” is a light medical procedural, which follows the unlikely pairing of a successful, driven cardiologist (Raver) as she risks career suicide by teaming with a socially-challenged veterinarian (Facinelli) in an effort to tackle the most challenging cases with an untested brand of cross-species medicine.
Keesh — who is best known for playing Kyle on the MTV series, “Awkward” — will play Zahid, Facinelli’s assistant at his veterinarian practice. The character is described as kind, strong-willed and a computer whiz.
Source:
Variety
Notorious - Kevin Zegers Joins Cast
Kevin Zegers (The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones) is set as a series regular in ABC’s drama pilot Notorious. The project, from Sony Pictures TV and Jeff Kwatinetz’s The Firm, was inspired by the relationship between famed criminal defense attorney Mark Geragos and longtime Larry King Live executive producer Wendy Walker. Written by Drop Dead Diva creator Josh Berman and blogger Allie Hagan, Notorious is described as a provocative look at the interplay of criminal law and the media.
Zegers will play Oscar Keaton, a billionaire playboy who created one of America’s biggest social media companies that went public two years ago.
Source:
Deadline
Still Star-Crossed - Medalion Rahimi Joins Cast
Medalion Rahimi has signed on as a series regular to ABC drama pilot Still Star-Crossed from Shondaland. Written by Heather Mitchell based on the book by Melinda Taub, Still Star-Crossed is set in 16th century Verona and picks up where William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet left off. It charts the treachery, palace intrigue and ill-fated romances of the Montagues and Capulets in the wake of the young lovers’ tragic fate.
Rahimi will play Princess Isabella, described as intelligent, outspoken and practical with inner steel.
Source:
Deadline
The Kicker - J.B. Smoke Joins Cast
Actor-comedian J.B. Smoove has been cast opposite Geoff Stults and David Spade in The Kicker, CBS’ multi-camera comedy pilot from the 30 Rock and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt trio of Tina Fey, Jack Burditt and Robert Carlock.
Written by Burditt, The Kicker centers on Daryl Thorkelsonan (Stults), an oddball athlete who drives family, friends and strangers insane after he unexpectedly finds himself retired. Smoove will play Gil, Daryl’s (Stults) extremely loyal, totally lovable employee.
Source:
Deadline
Prototype - Annabelle Dexter-Jones Cast in a Lead Role
Annabelle Dexter-Jones has booked a lead role in Prototype, Syfy’s sci-fi thriller drama pilot written by Tony Basgallop (24: Live Another Day). It centers on three unlikely cohorts who inadvertently stumble upon an invention that challenges the very nature of quantum physics – a discovery which in turn puts their lives in grave danger.
Dexter-Jones will play Donna Neuring, a young coder and math whiz whose help has been enlisted to bring a potentially momentous invention to life. But while Donna may be the key to getting a working prototype, her home life is anything but functional.
Source:
Deadline
Real Good People - Lindsey Gort and Betsy Beutler Join Cast
The Carrie Diaries‘ alumna Lindsey Gort and Betsy Beutler (You’re The Worst) have been cast opposite Nick Zano and Ross Kimball in Real Good People, CBS’ multi-camera comedy project, written/executive produced by writer-actress Stephnie Weir and executive produced by Greg Garcia. It centers on a conservative small-town family forced to reconcile their values when they discover their children’s lives are less than perfect.
Gort will play June, Billy’s beautiful fiancée and the Mayor’s daughter.
Beutler is Liz,’ Beau’s (Kimball) wife who is a former party girl and band groupie now trying to reinvent herself into the mother her husband adores.
Source:
Deadline
Chicago Justice - Joelle Carter to Co-Star
Justified alumna Joelle Carter has signed on for a co-starring role opposite Philip Winchester and Nazneen Contractor in Chicago Justice (fka Chicago Law), the next installment of Dick Wolf’s Chicago franchise for NBC.
The planted spinoff will be introduced in Episode 21 of Chicago PD this season, which will be directed by Jean de Segonzac. Carter will play Lori Nagle, a tough-as-nails investigator.
Source:
Deadline
No Tomorrow - Joshua Sasse Cast as the Male Lead
Joshua Sasse, who plays the title role in ABC’s medieval musical comedy Galavant, is set as the male lead opposite Tori Anderson in the CW pilot No Tomorrow. The project, from CBS Studios, has Sasse in first position.
Directed by Jane the Virgin pilot director Brad Silberling and written by Brinkerhoff and the comedy writing-directing team Scott McCabe and Tory Stanton aka Two Trick Pony, No Tomorrow centers on a risk-averse, straight arrow, female procurement manager (Anderson) at an Amazon-like distribution center. She falls in love with a freewheeling man (Sasse), who lives life to the fullest because he believes the apocalypse is imminent, leading to comedic and poignant results as they embark on a quest together to fulfill their individual bucket lists. Brinkerhoff and Silverman executive produce for CBS TV Studios and Electus.
The underrated Galavant, created by Dan Fogelman with music and lyrics by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater, has developed a cult following but has been softly rated in its limited runs as a midseason replacement. Its second second renewal was hailed as a “miracle” in the self-deprecating opening number of Season 2. Another such miracle is not expected, especially with the ABC Studios-produced show’s chief supporter at ABC, Paul Lee, gone. Still, even if Galavant is to beat the odds and come back, Sasse will only appear in the first episode of the potential third season in a carveout from No Tomorrow. It is hard to imagine Galavant continuing beyond that without Galavant.
Source:
Deadline
Cruel Intentions - Peter Gallagher Joins Cast
Peter Gallagher has been cast in NBC’s revival of “Cruel Intentions,” Variety has learned exclusively.
Gallagher will play Edward Valmont, a sexy, beguiling, sophisticated, powerful and ruthless billionaire hotel magnate with fingers in many far-reaching financial pies — some legal, some not so much. Edward is delighted to discover that he’s got a long-lost grandson in the newly arrived Bash Casey and once the DNA test proves his claim, Edward immediately starts grooming Bash for a life of impossible wealth and opportunity.
Source:
Variety
Bull - Christopher Jackson Joins Cast
Christopher Jackson, who plays George Washington in the Broadway smash hit musical, Hamilton, has been cast in the CBS drama pilot Bull, from Amblin TV and CBS TV Studios.
Written by Phil McGraw and Paul Attanasio, Bull is based on popular daytime talk show host Dr. Phil’s early days as head of one of the most prolific trial consulting services of all time. It centers on Dr. Jason Bull, who runs Trial Sciences Inc., a company that analyzes juries to help develop defense strategies.
Jackson will play Chunk, a stylist on the team who helps prepare defendants for trial, and a former All-American lineman.
Source:
Deadline
Training Day - Justin Cornwell to Co-Star
EXCLUSIVE: Young Chicago actor Justin Cornwell has landed the co-lead opposite Bill Paxton in CBS’ drama pilot Training Day.
Written by Will Beall and directed by Danny Cannon, Training Day is a present-day reimagining of Antoine Fuqua’s acclaimed 2001 feature. Set 15 years after the film left off, the show centers on a bright, gung-ho, idealistic young African-American police officer, Kyle Craig (Cornwell), who is appointed to an elite squad of the LAPD where he is partnered with seasoned, morally ambiguous detective Frank Rourke (Paxton).
Cornwell’s Kyle is one of the good guys — an LAPD cop who is fearless in the face of terrible odds and driven to avenge the murder of his father, also a cop. Tapped to go undercover, Kyle is reassigned to the Special Investigation Section, where he’s supposed to take down rogue cop Rourke.
Source:
Deadline
The Great Indoors - Christopher Mintz-Plasse Joins Cast
Christopher Mintz-Plasse (How To Train Your Dragon 2) has been cast opposite Joel McHale in The Great Indoors, CBS‘ multi-camera pilot written and executive produced by Mike Gibbons. The comedy, from CBS TV Studios, centers on Joel (McHale), an adventure reporter who must adapt to the times when he becomes boss to a group of millennials in the digital department of their magazine.
Mintz-Plasse will play Clark, one of Joel’s colleagues, a tech/nerd survivalist who knows everything about surviving at sea, in the woods and on Mars, but hasn’t left downtown in five years. Cast also includes Shaun Brown and Christine Ko.
Source:
Deadline
Model Woman - Steven Weber Cast as the Male Lead
Steven Weber is set as the male lead opposite Andie MacDowell in ABC’s drama pilot Model Woman.
Weber will play Miller, a character inspired by Jerry Ford. Miller is Bertie’s tall, charming, imposing and handsome husband and the father of their three children. A sharp bus