‘Kindred’: Micah Stock, Ryan Kwanten & Austin Smith Among Six Cast In FX Pilot Based On Octavia E. Butler Novel

Denise Petski
·3 min read

FX has rounded out the series regular cast for drama pilot Kindred, based on an adaptation of Octavia E. Butler’s influential novel. Joining newcomer Mallori Johnson, who stars, are Micah Stock, Ryan Kwanten, Gayle Rankin, Austin Smith, Antoinette Crowe-Legacy and David Alexander Kaplan.

The project hails from writer Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (Watchmen), Courtney Lee-Mitchell (The Reluctant Fundamentalist), Darren Aronofsky and his Protozoa Pictures (Black Swan, The Wrestler), Joe Weisberg (The Americans) and Joel Fields (Fosse/Verdon). FX Productions is the studio.

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Johnson plays the central character Dana, a young Black woman and aspiring writer who has uprooted her life of familial obligation and relocated to Los Angeles, ready to claim a future that, for once, feels all her own. But, before she can get settled into her new home, she finds herself being violently pulled back and forth in time to a nineteenth-century plantation with which she and her family are most surprisingly and intimately linked. An interracial romance threads through her past and present, and the clock is ticking as she struggles to confront the secrets she never knew ran through her blood, in this genre-breaking exploration of the ties that bind.

Character descriptions are being under wraps for now. Stock is believed to be playing Dana’s love interest and Kwanten is believed to be playing Tom.

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The novel, which sold over a million copies, has been hailed as a visionary work of science fiction since it was first published more than four decades ago in 1979.

Jacobs-Jenkins wrote the pilot and will executive produce with Lee-Mitchell, Aronofsky and Ari Handel of Protozoa Pictures, Weisberg, Fields, Ernestine Walker, Merrilee Heifetz and Bravo. Zola helmer Janicza Bravo will direct and executive produce the pilot.

Tony-nominated Stock will next co-star in John Slattery’s film Maggie Moore(s), starring Jon Hamm and Tina Fey. He most recently co-starred in Netflix’s Emmy-nominated short form comedy series, Bonding; as well as a series regular on Disney+’s drama series The Right Stuff. Stock is represented by ICM and Anonymous Content.

Kwanten is best known for his role as Jason Stackhouse for seven seasons on HBO’s True Blood. He was most recently seen in the Amazon anthology Them from Lena Waithe. He previously starred in Blumhouse/Facebook Watch series Sacred Lies opposite Juliette Lewis and alongside Sean Bean in The Oath for Sony’s Crackle. Kwanten is repped by Verve and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.

Rankin can most recently be seen opposite Matthew Rhys in HBO’s Perry Mason. She just wrapped shooting Alex Garland’s new feature, Men, and had a Cannes break-out in Mike Covino and Kyle Martin’s film The Climb. She recently ended her run starring as Sheila the She-Wolf on Netflix’s Emmy-nominated series GLOW. Rankin is repped by UTA and B-Side Management in the UK.

Smith has appeared on Netflix’s Russian Doll, HBO’s Random Acts of Flyness and NBC’s New Amsterdam. He was an original Broadway cast member of Hamilton and is currently starring in the world premiere of Martyna Majok’s Sanctuary City at New York Theatre Workshop. Smith is repped by APA and Authentic Talent and Literary Management.

Crowe-Legacy stars opposite Forest Whitaker in the Epix series Godfather of Harlem. Up next, she will be seen opposite Anne Hathaway and Jared Leto in the WeWork limited series WeCrashed for Apple TV+. Crowe-Legacy is repped by Anonymous Content and The Gersh Agency.

Eleven-year-old Kaplan worked alongside Stephen Dorf in the feature film Embattled and is known for his supporting lead roles in Lifetime Movie, A Sister’s Secret, and two episodes of Creepshow where he was directed by Tom Savini and Greg Nicotero. Kaplan also appeared in The Resident and MacGyver. Kaplan is repped by Joy Pervis at J Pervis Talent Agency and Wendi Green at Atlas Artists.

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