Development News - March 1, 2019
ABC's Until the Wedding; CBS' Evil; FOX's Next; NBC's Like Magic & Prism; and Syfy's (Future) Cult Classic.
SYFY's (FUTURE) CULT CLASSIC
- Geoffrey Owens and Justin Bartha have been cast on the dark comedy pilot starring Emily Alyn Lind. Owens starred for five seasons in NBC's The Cosby Show and has recently appeared in CBS' NCIS: New Orleans and OWN's The Haves and the Have Nots. Bartha starred for two seasons in CBS All Access' The Good Fight as well as in The Hangover film franchise.
- Owens will play Detective Moscowitz, an old-school cop out of his element in a tech-based society. Although he's rusty, his instincts quickly return when an old-school string of murders shocks his community.
- Bartha will play Jeff, Bree's (Lind) father and a formerly successful true-crime novelist whose career has dried up due to the fact that murder has been virtually eradicated. What's been good for society has been bad for him and his family, leaving him in a desperate place despite his outwardly spirited demeanor.
CBS' EVIL
- Michael Emerson is returning to CBS for the drama pilot starring Katja Herbers and Mike Colter. He previously starred for four seasons in ABC's Lost and five seasons in CBS' Person of Interest. He is a two-time Emmy winner for his guest role on ABC's The Practice and supporting role on Lost. He next appears in SundanceTV's upcoming limited series The Name of the Rose.
- He will play Townsend, a seemingly kind and trustworthy man with a twinkle in his eye and an appealing manner. But outward appearances couldn't be more deceiving. An expert witness for the defense in a mass-murder case, he actually might be an agent of evil who spurs his followers to acts of unspeakable violence and murder.
ABC's UNTIL THE WEDDING
- E.J. Bonilla will play the male lead opposite Olivia Thirlby on the drama pilot written by Becky Mode. He earned a Daytime Emmy nomination for his performance in CBS' Guiding Light. He also starred for one season in A&E's Unforgettable and in the National Geographic limited series The Long Road Home.
- He will play Danny Garcia, a serious mensch, warm, funny, wears his heart on his sleeve. He's not afraid to say what he thinks or express emotion. He's the kind of guy who was born 40, and then had to shoulder a lot of responsibility growing up. Super-smart and tech savvy, he came from nothing. He built an online fraud detection company that's about to go public, but he's a family guy first. He's a romantic, and madly in love with his girlfriend Adrienne (Thirlby). Things get complicated when Adrienne's ex-boyfriend shows up on the weekend Danny plans to propose.
NBC's LIKE MAGIC
- Freddie Stroma and Hayley Magnus will co-star on the comedy pilot starring Jee Young Han. Stroma starred for one season in Lifetime's UnREAL and one season in ABC's Time After Time. Magnus starred for two seasons in the Australian drama The Wrong Girl.
- Stroma will play Jake, the overworked entertainment director of the Magic Palace.
- Magnus will play Penny, who forges a bond with Holly (Han) as the only two female performers.
NBC's PRISM
- Chloe Wepper, David Alpay and Brooke Smith have landed series regular roles on the drama pilot starring Malin Akerman and Ramon Rodriguez. Wepper is currently recurring on Freeform's Good Trouble. Alpay has recurred on The CW's The Vampire Diaries, ABC's Quantico and USA's Suits. Smith starred for two seasons in ABC's Grey's Anatomy.
- Wepper will play Sophie Regen, a recent law school graduate who worships Rachel (Akerman).
- Alpay will play Jay Kershaw, a therapist who's kind of messed up.
- Smith will play Bec Jamison, the hard-living and tough mother of the accused.
FOX's NEXT
- Fernanda Andrade and Aaron Moten have joined the cast of the drama pilot written by Manny Coto. Andrade has recurred on HBO's Here and Now and Hulu's The First. Moten starred in Netflix's one-season comedy Disjointed and has recurred on HBO's The Night Of and Amazon's Mozart in the Jungle.
- Andrade will play Shea, an FBI agent with the cybercrime division. She overcame a troubled, sometimes violent past in her home country to become the youngest agent to run her own cyber division.
- Moten will play Ben, a straight-laced, buttoned-up hard worker. Boring to the point of being interesting, he works with Shea at the FBI cyber crime division.
