Some TV casting news you should know about…
First, Boris Kodjoe has joined the cast of the 3rd season of CBS’ crime drama series Unforgettable, to play a Secret Service Agent named Benjamin Hernandez, who takes over a murder case because of its connection to a federal case he’s been working on. The character is described as adversarial and territorial, but eventually warms up to the Unforgettable team.
Second, the sadly-underused Sophie Okonedo (although she works consistently outside the USA, on stage and screen) has booked a co-starring role a new Wall Street-set CBS drama series from the writers of Justified (Taylor Elmore and Ben Cavell), which follows a smart and sophisticated Wall Street hedge fund trader who served his country in Iraq, who wants to do good. Okonedo has signed up to play a character named Bryce, described as a woman who’s deeply committed to her work as an assistant attorney general, tasked with the responsibility of heading a task force investigating Wall Street firms.
Third, S. Epatha Merkerson is returning to NBC to play a recurring role on the network’s drama pilot Babylon Fields, rejoining with her Deception co-star, Megan Good, who stars in the new sci-fi project. In the drama, set in a place called Babylon, NY, the dead are coming back to life, as their bodies regenerate, and they grow stronger than the living, leading to the scary suggestions that they just might be the next step in human evolution. Good plays a Dr Janine Beltran, local to Babylon, NY, who has “an edge to her,” and Merkerson will play Pearl Montoya, Janine’s (Meagan Good’s) stepmother. Oddly enough, in Deception, she played Good’s mother.
Fourth, Joe Morton has landed a co-starring role on TNT’s drama pilot Proof, joining Jennifer Beals who will play the lead in the medical supernatural show, which will see Beals star as a brilliant but somewhat jaded female surgeon, still struggling with the devastating death of her son, who begins investigating cases concerning reincarnations, haunting, out-of-body experiences, and other supernatural phenomena. Morton will play Dr. Charles Russell, the tough and intimidating chief who runs the hospital where Beals’ character works.
And finally, Barbara Eve Harris has landed a series regular roles on ABC’s drama pilot Forever, which centers on New York City’s star medical examiner, who also happens to be immortal. Harris has signed up to play a Lt. Roark, an NYPD veteran who runs the unit where the medical examiner works. Worth noting is that, the role originally was written for a male character.
That’s it for now! Happy weekend!