In case you haven’t noticed, it’s TV pilot season… Here’s another batch of casting announcements you should know about.
— Richard T. Jones has been cast in a lead role opposite Jeremy Piven CBS’ drama pilot “Wisdom of the Crowd,” from former “The Good Wife” writer-executive producer Ted Humphrey and Keshet Studios. “Wisdom of the Crowd” is based on the Israeli format. Inspired by the notion that a million minds are better than one, it centers on Jeffrey Tanner (Piven), a charismatic tech innovator who creates a cutting-edge crowd-sourcing hub to solve his own daughter’s murder, as well as revolutionizing crime-solving in San Francisco. Jones will play Detective Cavanaugh, a traditional crime solver who’s recruited by Tanner to join the CrowdSolver team, but he’ll have to get used to the high-tech way of doing things.
— Shaunette Renée Wilson has booked a series regular role in Fox’s medical drama pilot “The Resident,” which is produced by Antoine Fuqua. Written by Amy Holden Jones, Hayley Schore & Roshan Sethi and directed by Phillip Noyce, “The Resident” centers on an idealistic young doctor who begins his first day under the supervision of a tough, brilliant senior resident who pulls the curtain back on all of the good and evil in modern day medicine. Lives may be saved or lost, but expectations will always be shattered. Wilson has signed up to play Mina Okafor, a Nigerian rising surgical star recently trained on a new device that could redefine surgery.
— Jerod Haynes has landed the male lead opposite Hannah Ware in NBC’s drama pilot “Redliners,” which is based on short stories by Charlaine Harris — whose books also inspired HBO’s hit vampire series “True Blood.” Written by Shaun Cassidy and Kelly Sue DeConnick and directed by Jason Ensler, “Redliners” follows a pair of former operatives, Anne (Ware) and Holt (Haynes), who get re-activated and drawn into a larger conspiracy while attempting to maintain their undercover lives. Haynes’ Holt is an FBI agent posing as a basketball coach at Anne’s college. Holt initially was sent in to monitor and “protect” Anne, with the Bureau hoping she might be a lure to draw out a shared enemy. But over time, he has come to care deeply for the players on his team.
— Hill Harper has booked a series regular role in ABC’s medical drama “The Good Doctor,” which is based on a South Korean format and directed by Seth Gordon. “The Good Doctor” centers on Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore), a brilliant young surgeon with autism who is recruited into the pediatric surgical unit at the prestigious San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital. Hill will play Dr. Horace Andrews, the head of surgery at the hospital. He joins the previously cast Chuku Modu, also a series regular, who will play Dr. Jared Unger, a resident at the San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital. Also Antonia Thomas plays the female lead.
— Lucas Hazlett is set as a series regular in CBS’ comedy pilot “Real Life,” written/executive produced by Hilary Winston and directed by Pam Fryman. “Real Life” chronicles the relationship of two 20-somethings, Nora (Rittenhouse) and Drew, who go from being co-workers on opposite coasts to working in the same office. Hazlett will play Kam, a fun-loving gossiper who works with Nora. Working in Human Resources, he has all the dirt on everyone and he’s not afraid to secretly share it.
— Newcomer W. Tré Davis has booked a series regular role in The CW’s military drama “Valor,” written by writer-musician Kyle Jarrow and directed by Michael Robin. The boundaries between military discipline and human desire are tested in “Valor,” set on a U.S. Army base that houses an elite unit of helicopter pilots trained to perform clandestine international and domestic missions. It follows chopper pilots Nora and Gallo (Matt Barr) who, after a botched mission in Somalia leaves a pair of American servicemen in enemy hands, train for a rescue operation and only they share a very large secret from the initial operation — a secret that must never come to the attention of the Army. Davis will play Jimmy, the chief of the helicopter flight crew.
That’s all for now!
