Under normal circumstances, Terrence Howard and Judd Hirsch have very little in common, but for the purposes of Wednesday (February 19) afternoon news, they’re both Oscar nominees who are getting into the pilot game.
No. Hirsch and Howard are not getting into the pilot game together, though TNT’s “Hirsch & Howard,” featuring Judd Hirsch and Terrence Howard playing exaggerated versions of themselves and fighting crime would be a massive, massive hit.
In the short term, though, Terrence Howard has landed the lead in FOX’s hip-hop drama pilot “Empire,” while Judd Hirsch will play a supporting role in ABC’s drama “Forever.”
Written by Danny Strong and set to be directed by Lee Daniels, “Empire” will star Howard as Lucious Lyon, a music superstar on the verge of taking his company, Empire Entertainment, public.
The official character description for Lucious reads, “Raised on the streets, he has never backed away from a fight and will resort to any measures, fair or foul, to defend his beloved Empire.”
Howard is no stranger to the world of hip-hop, of course. He earned an Oscar nomination for “Hustle & Flow” and also appeared in the 50 Cent opus “Get Rich or Die Tryin’.” If you want to expand his credits to films focusing generally on music and the music industry, you could add “Lackwanna Blues,” “Idlewild,” “Ray,” “August Rush” and, least successfully, “Glitter.”
In addition to briefly starring in “Law & Order: LA,” Howard’s recent TV work has included an episode of “Hawaii Five-0” and multiple episodes of FOX’s upcoming event series “Wayward Pines.”
Created by Matt Miller (“Chuck”), “Forever” focuses on New York City’s star medical examiner, Henry Morgan. Apparently Morgan digs the dead, because he is immortal. Hirsch will play the main character’s mortal best bud Abe, “a older and insightful gentleman who knows Henry”s secret and encourages him to get out of the morgue and start living.” [All similarities to “New Amsterdam” are probably coincidental.]
It may surprise you to learn that Hirsch has never played a character named “Abe” before.
The “Dear John” Emmy winner and “Ordinary People” Oscar nominee was recently cast in Syfy’s “Sharknado 2: The Second One.” He may have recently and semi-recently spotted him on episodes of “Perception,” “Maron,” “The Good Wife” and “Damages.”
“Forever” comes to ABC from Warner Bros. TV.
For now, check out Howard reminding us of the difficulties managing prostitutes in today’s global marketplace:
Intrigued? Or will you just wait for “Hirsch & Howard”?