‘The Jury’: ABC Pilot Casts Brandon Jay McLaren & Ben Esler

Graceland alum Brandon Jay McLaren and Australian actor Ben Esler (Hell On Wheels) have been cast as series regulars on ABC’s murder trial drama pilot The Jury, from Sony TV and ABC Studios.

Written by VJ Boyd and Mark Bianculli and executive produced by Carol Mendelsohn, The Jury examines “the ultimate social experiment” that happens thousands of times a day in the U.S.: A person’s fate is placed in the hands of 12 strangers. The series follows a single murder trial a season as seen through the eyes of the individual jurors.

McLaren will play Jared, a juror with a dark past and penchant for speaking his mind. Esler will play Ernest, an awkwardly mild-mannered professional.

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McLaren recurs on Chicago Fire and can next be seen in the upcoming drama anthology series Slasher on Chiller. He is repped by Don Buchwald & Associates, Berwick & Kovacik and Trisko Talent Management. Esler is best known for playing Sean McGinnes on AMC’s Hell On Wheels. He’s repped by Don Buchwald & Associates, Sophie Jermyn Management, Industry Entertainment and Bloom Hergott Diemer.

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