Pilot Castings: Bellamy Young, Marcia Cross, Harry Shum Jr. and More
Bellamy Young is electing to return to TV on Fox: Scandal‘s former President has signed on to co-star with Michael Sheen in the Fox drama pilot Prodigal Son, our sister site Deadline reports.
The potential series centers on criminal psychologist Malcolm Bright, who knows how killers think because his father is one: the notorious serial killer known as “The Surgeon,” played by Sheen. Young will play Malcolm’s mother Jessica, a WASP-y New York socialite “who wields sarcasm like a samurai sword,” per the official description.
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Young is best known as First Lady/President Mellie Grant on the ABC drama Scandal, which wrapped up a seven-season run last year. She guest-starred on fellow Scandal alum Scott Foley’s new ABC series Whiskey Cavalier, and is also set to appear in Netflix’s upcoming anthology Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings.
In other pilot casting news, per Deadline and Variety:
* Marcia Cross (Desperate Housewives, Melrose Place) has joined the cast of The CW’s Jane the Virgin spinoff Jane the Novela. The series is based on Jane Villanueva’s fictional novels, with the first season set at a Napa Valley vineyard; Cross will play the glamorous Renata, who co-owns a winery with her son Felix.
* Harry Shum Jr. (Shadowhunters, Glee) will headline the ABC drama The Heart of Life, based on the John Mayer song. The plot follows two sets of adult siblings who discover they’re related; Shum will play world traveler Brendan, while Katie Findlay (How to Get Away With Murder) plays his architect sister Sydney. Also, Dave Annable (Brothers & Sisters) will play Wes, who Brendan and Sydney learn they’re related to.
* Timeless alum Malcolm Barrett has signed on to star in CBS’ sitcom pilot Our House as kindhearted and caring “super dad” Shawn, who, along with his wife, are dedicated to raising their kids with the love and support his wife never got as a child.
* Thomas Lennon (Reno 911!, The Odd Couple) will star in the Fox comedy pilot Richard Lovely as a children’s book author who hates kids — and whose “Mr. Mouse” character starts appearing in his real life.
* Natasha Leggero (Another Period) has joined Pauley Perrette and Jaime Camil in the cast of the CBS comedy pilot Broke, about a trust fund kid (Camil) who gets cut off and is forced to move with his wife (Leggero) in with the wife’s estranged sister (Perrette) in her cramped Reseda condo.
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