Development News - March 5, 2020
ABC's Harlem's Kitchen & Prospect; CBS' Untitled Kingsbury-Daley-Goldstein; The CW's Maverick; FOX's The Cleaning Lady; and NBC's Untitled Phil Augusta Jackson.
CBS' UNTITLED KINGSBURY-DALEY-GOLDSTEIN PROJECT
- Hannah Simone and Elizabeth Hurley will play the lead roles in the comedy pilot written by Corinne Kingsbury, John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein. Simone starred for seven seasons in FOX's New Girl. Hurley starred for four seasons in E!'s The Royals and one season in Hulu's Runaways.
- Simone will play Penelope, a smart, hard-working producer at a sports TV network, wife to airline pilot Josh and mother of their challenging toddler, Levi. When they lose their longtime babysitter, Penelope's young, single mother Georgia comes to help and turns her well-ordered world upside down.
- Hurley will play Georgia, fun-loving and a bit immature; she doesn't have the best judgment, especially when it comes to men. She had Penelope when she was 17, and although she was a warm and loving single mom, their roles have reversed a bit now that Penelope is an adult. When Georgia becomes the babysitter to Levi, she might get a chance to redeem herself, but then again chaos tends to follow her.
ABC's PROSPECT
- David Alan Grier has been cast as a series regular on the comedy pilot starring Hunter King. He previously starred for three seasons in NBC's The Carmichael Show. He has recently recurred on OWN's Queen Sugar and FOX's The Resident.
- He will play Mayor Ambrose. Bigger than life, a bit of a scoundrel but super charming with a good heart, he is the mayor of the tiny western prairie town of Prospect. Known as somewhat of a wheeler-dealer, he will do anything to make his town work. And he knows that educating its inhabitants is the only way they, and his town, will succeed.
THE CW's MAVERICK
- Christopher Meyer and Zayne Emory have joined the cast of the drama pilot starring Reina Hardesty. Meyer has previously recurred on Showtime's The Affair, Spectrum's Mad About You and CBS All Access' Tell Me a Story. Emory has recurred on ABC's The Goldbergs, The CW's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and ABC's The Rookie.
- Meyer will play Chase, a handsome and effortlessly cool freshman at the university. He connects quickly with Kit (Hardesty) as they are in all of the same classes. But he has many secrets to hide, even as the chemistry between them grows.
- Emory will play Lucas, a popular sophomore at the university. He is an old family friend of Kit's, as they grew up in similar elite circles. He's sweeter than his frat bro facade, and has been holding a torch for Kit for years, hoping the timing is now right.
ABC's HARLEM'S KITCHEN
- Delroy Lindo has booked the lead role on the drama pilot written by Zahir McGhee. He currently stars in CBS All Access' The Good Fight, which returns for its fourth season in April.
- He will play Ellis Rice, a renowned African American chef who adds his infinite swag to fine dining at his iconic Harlem restaurant, Rice. His kitchen is Harlem's Kitchen, and everyone who walks through those doors is family - as long as they play by Ellis' rules. A native of Alabama, he landed in Harlem with nothing, and worked his way up through some of the toughest and most grueling kitchens in New York City. Through the tough times Ellis has always had his wife CC by his side. A true family man, he is a devoted father to his three daughters - Zadie, Nina and Eden. But he knows only one of them has what it takes to fill his shoes, and carry on his legacy.
NBC's UNTITLED PHIL AUGUSTA JACKSON PROJECT
- Carl Tart, Echo Kellum and Justin Cunningham have landed series regular roles on the comedy pilot written by Phil Augusta Jackson. Tart has recently been a story editor on NBC's Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Kellum starred for three seasons in The CW's Arrow. Cunningham starred in the Netflix limited series When They See Us.
- Tart will play Sherm Jones, a no-commitment, perpetually single guy.
- Kellum will play Noah Koles, a hopeless romantic.
- Cunningham will play Wyatt Fields, who has been happily married for eight years.
FOX's THE CLEANING LADY
- Ginger Gonzaga will co-star on the drama pilot starring Shannyn Sossamon. She previously starred for one season in TBS' Wrecked. She has also recurred on Hulu's Chance, Showtime's I'm Dying Up Here, Freeform's Alone Together and Showtime's Kidding.
- She will play Reyna's (Sossamon) undocumented half-sister who welcomes Reyna and her nephew into her home to live with her own family.
