Development News - March 11, 2020
ABC's The Brides & Work Wife; FOX's The Big Leap; and Showtime's American Gigolo.
FOX's THE BIG LEAP
- Scott Foley will play the male lead on the dramedy pilot starring Teri Polo and Matt Lucas. Simone Recasner and Jon Rudnitsky have also been cast today. Foley previously starred for four seasons in The WB's Felicity and five seasons in ABC's Scandal. Recasner is a recent graduate of New York University. Rudnitsky starred in the Hulu limited series Catch-22.
- Foley will play Nick Smart, the handsome, smart and a little slick executive producer of The Big Leap. He delights in the inevitable drama of putting together strangers on a reality show. He isn't totally devoid of a conscience, but he lives to make entertaining television.
- Recasner will play Gabby Taylor, a wonderful single mom who gave up her dream of being a dancer to take care of her adorable child and because she never had the traditional "dancer's body," which is a shame because she's an amazing dancer. When she sees a chance to chase her dream again, she lights up with a fire she hasn't had in years.
- Rudnitsky will play Mike Devries, a fit, blue collar former auto worker who is laid off and finds himself trying to survive in the gig economy with his other former co-workers. His wife, Paige, also recently left him. On the verge of a breakdown, he decides to dance his way onto The Big Leap to win his wife back.
ABC's THE BRIDES
- Erin Richards has landed the third lead role on the drama pilot starring Gina Torres and Katherine Reis. Charlie McElveen has also been cast today. Richards previously starred for five seasons in FOX's Gotham. McElveen has guest starred on HBO's The Deuce.
- Richards will play Renée, the head of a top modeling agency in New York City, known for her torrid affairs with her beautiful female models. In her former life, she was the wife of the Marquis de Sade when she invited Dracula (Goran Visnjic) into her "house of pain" and asked to be "turned" by him.
- McElveen will play Arthur Seward, an ambitious young news reporter. He works the graveyard shift at his paper, covering news of the bizarre. He becomes infatuated with Lily (Reis), a striving singer in New York City - unaware that she is an immortal vampire.
SHOWTIME NEW PILOT ORDER
- AMERICAN GIGOLO (Drama) - Sequel to the 1980 film featuring Richard Gere and Lauren Hutton. Starring The Walking Dead and The Punisher's Jon Bernthal. Written and directed by Ray Donovan showrunner David Hollander. Executive produced by Hollander, Jerry Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman and KristieAnne Reed. Produced by Paramount Television and Jerry Bruckheimer Television. Logline: Set 18 years after being arrested for murder, male escort Julian Kaye (Bernthal) struggles to find his footing in the modern-day Los Angeles sex industry, while seeking the truth about the set-up that sent him to prison all those years ago and also hoping to reconnect with his one true love, Michelle.
ABC's WORK WIFE
- Angelique Cabral, Tone Bell, Christopher Gorham, Annapurna Sriram, Matt Shively and Maile Flanagan will star in the comedy pilot written by David Windsor and Casey Johnson. Furthermore, executive producer Kelly Ripa will appear in a recurring role should the pilot be picked up to series.
- Cabral (Life in Pieces) will play Dani, the co-owner of a small real estate company in Cincinnati, Ohio with her longtime business partner and best friend, Scott. They're new bosses, making it up as they go along and not always getting it right. Dani is also a wife and mother of two kids and the breadwinner of her family. She's smart, driven and a bit of a tornado as she tries to balance all the demands of her busy life. Sometimes all the pressure can cause her to comically take it out on her adversaries, but she's fiercely loyal and has the ability to make co-workers feel like family.
- Bell (Fam) will play Scott, the handsome, single and charming "fun boss" to Dani's "boss boss." Since his personal responsibilities are few, he has time to have a great lifestyle - like taking girlfriends to Mexico for the weekend and curating his office with the latest design elements. Even though he loves his life, underneath he longs for what Dani has - a loving relationship, kids and a place to call home. As long as they aren't messy.
- Gorham (Insatiable) will play Alex, Dani's husband and stay-at-home dad to their two kids. He is comfortable in his role of at-home parent, but his more traditional family doesn't totally get it. Alex and Scott are close friends - working out together, dreaming of opening a brewery together. Dani likes how close the two men in her life are, as long as they don't talk about her when she's not around. Alex is sometimes jealous of Scott's freedom and fabulous life but wouldn't trade his wife and kids for the world.
- Sriram (The Blacklist) will play Rebecca, a young agent in the real estate office who has a win at all costs mentality. She's a first generation American who feels pressure from her parents to succeed. She's so focused on her career that she has not had many life experiences or boyfriends, even though they keep pursuing her. She is going to learn how to loosen her grip ever so slightly and attempt to have relationships with other human beings.
- Shively (The Real O'Neals) will play Travis, Dani's cousin and de facto head of marketing. He is the opposite of Rebecca. He's friendly and open to everyone, but isn't sure what he wants to do with his life. He isn't even sure he wants to have this job, even though he likes the people he works with, especially Rebecca. He has a huge unrequited crush on her that Joy tries to talk him out of. While Travis is a bit of a screw up, his energy makes him a delight to have around.
- Flanagan (Lab Rats) will play Joy, the administrative assistant at Dani and Scott's real estate office. She is very sweet on the outside, but has a dark side lurking underneath. She's recently gone through a divorce and is restarting her life. She reads a ton of self-help books and is great at giving out advice even if she can't take it herself. Joy's a valued team member because of her enthusiasm, although sometimes she struggles setting and respecting boundaries.
- Ripa will play Bobbi Gold, Dani and Scott's former boss and current nemesis. She is the queen of Cincinnati real estate. She's larger than life, takes no prisoners and lives by her motto "Go For the Gold."
