Bryan Greenberg & Henry Simmons Among 5 Joining MGM+’s ‘Emperor of Ocean Park’

Rosy Cordero
·3 min read
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EXCLUSIVE: Henry Simmons, Bryan Greenberg, Torrey Hanson, Ora Jones and Jasmine Batchelor are set to recur in the new MGM+ series Emperor of Ocean Park, a suspense thriller inspired by the best-selling novel of the same name from Stephen L. Carter. They join previously announced series regulars Forest Whitaker, Grantham Coleman, Tiffany Mack and Paulina Lule.

From John Wells and Sherman Payne, Emperor of Ocean Park is set in the worlds of politics, Ivy League academia and the beaches of Martha’s Vineyard. It follows Talcott Garland (Coleman), an esteemed law professor whose quiet life is shattered when his father, Judge Oliver Garland (Whitaker), dies of an apparent heart attack. The nature of the judge’s death is questioned by Tal’s sister, Mariah (Tiffany Mack), a former journalist and inveterate conspiracy theorist, who believes that the judge, a failed Black nominee to the Supreme Court, met with foul play.

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Greenberg plays Howard Denton; Simmons plays Addison Garland; Jones plays Claire Garland; Batchelor plays Maxine; Hanson plays Jack Ziegler.

Emperor of Ocean Park is produced by JWP in association with Warner Bros. Television, where JWP is under an overall deal. Damian Marcano is set to direct multiple episodes. John Wells, Sherman Payne, Damian Marcano, Shukree Tilghman and JWP’s Erin Jontow will serve as executive producers. Payne, who also serves as showrunner, wrote the first episode, which will be directed by Marcano.

Simmons most recently starred in Season 2 of the OWN and Ava DuVernay’s anthology drama series Cherish the Day, from WBTV. Previously, he starred in six seasons of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for ABC and in the final six seasons of the landmark ABC drama NYPD Blue, created by Steven Bochco and David Milch. He was also a series regular on the CBS legal drama Shark and ABC comedy Man Up. He is repped by Emery Entertainment, Independent Artist Group and Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka, et al.

Greenberg is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Jake Jagielski in the CW’s One Tree Hill. He also starred in the HBO series How To Make It In America from the creative team behind Entourage, as well as Friends With Benefits for Screen Gems, opposite Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake. Additionally, Greenberg starred in the fifth and sixth seasons of Mindy Kaling’s The Mindy Project for Hulu. He is repped by Gersh and Jackoway Austen Tyerman, et al.

Hanson has had guest, recurring and co-starring roles in Fargo, The Exorcist, Shining Girls, Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, South Side, Empire, Crisis, Cheers and Wings. He played Jack Hyde in Jordan Peele’s remake of Candyman. He’s performed in over 160 theater productions, most recently at Steppenwolf, Goodman, Chicago Shakespeare and Writer’s Theaters in Chicago. He is represented by Gray Talent Group.

Jones’ Broadway roles include Madame de Volanges in Les Liaisons Dangereuses at the Booth, and Mrs. Phelps in Matilda the Musical, both at the Shubert and in the first national tour. She has worked at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater; the Goodman Theatre; Rivendell Theatre; Timeline Theatre; Writers Theatre and About Face Theatre. She is an ensemble member of the Internationally acclaimed Steppenwolf Theatre. TV appearances include Somebody, Somewhere (HBO), Chicago Fire (NBC), Betrayal (ABC) and 61st Street (AMC/CW). She is repped by Innovative Artists.

Batchelor is coming off a season as Detective Churlish on Law & Order: SVU. Other TV credits include New Amsterdam, NCIS: New Orleans and The Good Fight. For her work as the lead in The Surrogate, she was nominated for a Gotham Award for Breakthrough Actor. She appeared in Journal for Jordan, directed by Denzel Washington, and has two new films coming up, Three Birthdays and I’ll Be There. She has appeared at Lincoln Center Theatre, The Public Theatre, Playwrights Realm, Theatre for a New Audience and Manhattan Theatre Club. Batchelor is repped by Liberman Zerman Management.

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