The primetime success of ABC’s ‘Black-ish,’ ‘Scandal,’ and ‘How To Get Away With Murder,’ alongside FOX’s breakout hit series ‘Empire,’ are proving themselves just the catalysts needed to see more faces of color in high profile roles.
Now, with ABC and FOX changing the game, CBS and NBC are both readying a slew of projects to “get in on the action,” so to speak, by calling on the likes of Rockmond Dunbar, Anika Noni Rose, and Lance Gross to veteran actresses Whoopi Goldberg and Phylicia Rashad to help steer potential future projects upward.
Get the latest on all of the previously mentioned actors/actresses and more as primetime TV promises to see its most diverse displays yet later this year, early next year:
Christina Milian (source):
“Singer-actress Christina Milian is set as a lead opposite John Stamos and Josh Peck in Fox’s single-camera comedy pilot Grandpa, from ABC Studios and 20th TV.
….Grandpa centers on Jimmy (Stamos), a charismatic longtime bachelor whose life is upended when he discovers he’s a father — and a grandfather. Peck plays Gerald, the son Jimmy didn’t know he had – a sweet unemployed techie who is himself the proud and surprisingly capable father of a two-year-old daughter, the product of a one-night stand with the sexy Vanessa (Milian), described as a hip, hot mess.”
Crisis star Lance Gross is reuniting with NBC and Crisis pilot director Phillip Noyce. Noyce has cast Gross in the pilot he is directing for NBC this year, martial arts drama Warrior.
Set in a grounded, contemporary multicultural and sometimes magical milieu, Warrior, from Universal TV, centers on Kai Forrester (Natalie Martinez), a damaged heroine who works undercover with physical and spiritual guidance from a mysterious martial arts master to bring down organized crime syndicate YOMI. Gross, repped by WME, MGMT and Stone Meyer, plays Agent Golden, an Interpol agent and former Navy SEAL who gives Kai the news that she is their best shot at getting an agent inside the triad. Allo plays the daughter of YOMI’s New York boss.
Anika Noni Rose & Shawn Hatosy:
“Anika Noni Rose has been tapped for the lead in CBS’ civil rights crime drama drama pilot For Justice, written by Law & Order veteran Rene Balcer and directed by Selma helmer Ava DuVernay.” As previously reported, Phylicia Rashad has already been tapped to fill out the cast.
“Southland star Shawn Hatosy has booked a lead role opposite Anika Noni Rose in CBS’ civil rights crime drama pilot For Justice. Hatosy, repped by Paradigm and MGMT Entertainment, will play Jess, a lawyer with the Department of Justice, a Boston jock who wears his heart on his sleeve. He recently wrapped an arc on Amazon’s Bosch.”
Whoopi Goldberg (source):
“The View co-host Whoopi Goldberg has signed on as the co-lead opposite Jermaine Fowler in ABC’s multi-camera comedy pilot Delores & Jermaine.
With her on board, the pilot and the potential series will film in New York City, where Goldberg lives and works on another ABC program, daily talk show The View. Goldberg has another year on her View contract, and production on Delores & Jermaine would be scheduled around her duties on The View. “
Rockmond Dunbar (source):
“[After] The Mentalist series finale, the show’s co-star Rockmond Dunbar has booked his next series regular gig, signing on as the male lead in the NBC drama pilot Love Is A Four Letter Word.
Dunbar will play half of the lead couple, Nick, a charismatic and charming ad agency entrepreneur whose first marriage to Julie, the mother of two of his children, broke up over his affair with Fiona, now his wife. Nick and Fiona have an open marriage, and Fiona takes full advantage of their “arrangement” — but through the years, Nick has always pined for Julie, the true love of his life.”