Amazon's Utopia; Freeform's Besties; and Starz's P-Valley.
AMAZON's UTOPIA
- Rainn Wilson, Dan Byrd and Cory Michael Smith have been cast on the upcoming drama starring Sasha Lane. Wilson previously starred for nine seasons in NBC's The Office, where he received three Emmy nominations for his performance. Byrd starred for six seasons in the ABC/TBS comedy Cougar Town. Smith has starred for five seasons in FOX's Gotham, which is currently airing its final season.
- Wilson will play Michael Stearns. Once a promising virologist, he is now a forgotten scientist who's lost his edge - under-appreciated and underfunded in his laboratory work. When a nationwide outbreak of a deadly flu arises, he offers his expertise, and soon finds he has landed smack in the middle of something much bigger.
- Byrd will play Ian. He went to an online college, works in a soul-robbing job and lives in Canton, Ohio with his grandma in a small apartment. Craving a more exciting life outside his online/virtual world, he embarks on a mission to uncover the secrets of the graphic novel, Utopia, which is also driven by his crush on fellow graphic novel fan, Becky.
- Smith will play Thomas Christie. Bright and ambitious, he works under his biotech scientist father at Christie Laboratories. He becomes tasked with tracking down the only copy of the much sought after graphic novel, Utopia, for less than benevolent reasons.
FREEFORM's BESTIES
- Gigi Zumbado, Jessika Van and Davi Santos have joined the cast of the upcoming comedy starring Jordin Sparks. Zumbado's guest credits include CBS' Criminal Minds, MTV's Scream and USA's Graceland. Van starred in The CW's one-season drama The Messengers. Santos starred in the first season of CBS All Access' Tell Me a Story.
- Zumbado will play Jesi, a free-spirited 23-year-old Cuban American raised by two adoring gay dads, who is more than thrilled to find out she has a half sister, Becca (Sparks).
- Van will play Luna, Becca's roommate and a brilliant med student who is number one in her class but has no intention of being a doctor.
- Santos will play Simon, the assistant to a high-powered agent who is constantly at odds with Jesi.
STARZ's P-VALLEY
- Carolyn Braver, Parker Sawyers, Elarica Johnson and Harriett D. Foy will round out the main cast of the upcoming drama created by Katori Hall. Braver starred on Broadway in The Iceman Cometh opposite Denzel Washington. Sawyers starred in the film Southside with You. Johnson recurred on the first season of Sky One's A Discovery of Witches. Foy's guest credits include CBS' Madam Secretary, NBC's Law & Order: SVU and CBS' Limitless.
- Braver will play Gidget, a quirky and earnest trailer-park philosopher. She's a second generation pole dancer and the ultimate ride-or-die best friend who views stripping as an Olympic worthy sport - high art even.
- Sawyers will play Andre Watkins, a former son of this gritty Delta town who's managed to transform himself into a well-educated, upper-middle-class, high-achiever. Back home on mysterious business, he finds himself ensnared by a mystery woman and the ties that bind his struggling community.
- Johnson will play Autumn Night, a perfectly polished beauty with a dark secret tucked deep in her Louis Vuitton bag. This bad and bougie femme fatale washes up on the shores of the club under murky circumstances. A walking wound in need of connection and care, she's got no time to depend on the kindness of strangers - she's depending on her damn self in the dangerous landscape of the Delta.
- Foy will play Patrice Woodbine, a gospel-singing pimpstress and the muva of our shero, Mercedes. She's a larger than life, wanna-be preacher who can squeeze an offering from a stone and have an entire congregation speaking in tongues.
