Several new pilot castings were announced today, with the unlikely duo of ’90s golden boy Freddie Prinze Jr. and “Growing Pains” mom Joanna Kerns joining a new comedy from “Community” writer Hilary Winston, former “CSI” star William Petersen set to play a hitman in a new drama that he’ll also be executive-producing, and “Vampire Diaries” regular Matt Davis toplining the new CW mystery-drama “Cult”.
– Former “24” regular Freddie Prinze Jr. is taking another stab at television with a new untitled NBC comedy from “Community” scribe Hilary Winston, according to TVLine. The show will focus on a woman named Agnes (Sarah Wright) who plots revenge on the ex-fiance who dumped her (Prinze) with the help of her female co-workers (played by Mena Suvari, Aubrey Dollar and Kyle Howard). Former “Growing Pains” mom Joanna Kerns was also announced as a cast addition today; she will play Agnes’ mother.
Prinze previously had his own sitcom on ABC, the short-lived “Freddie”. That show was cancelled after one season.
– William Petersen, who had a whopping nine-year run on the CBS procedural “CSI”, is attached to star in and executive-produce a new drama series entitled “Hurt People” for production company GK-tv (the TV arm of Graham King’s GK Films). Petersen will play Hollis Brown, a veteran hitman who is hired by the crime family responsible for his wife’s murder. The job? Track down his estranged daughter – who is hell-bent on avenging her mother’s death – and kill her. Wow.
Though the project isn’t yet set up at a network, scoop-getter Deadline reports that due to the dark subject matter Petersen and company are looking at cable as well as new original-content players like Netflix as possible homes for the series. This would be Petersen’s first regular-series role on television since leaving the hit CBS crime procedural in the middle of its ninth season.
– “Vampire Diaries” regular Matt Davis will be heading up CW’s new mystery-drama pilot “Cult”, opposite the previously-cast Jessica Lucas (“Melrose Place”). Davis will star as Jeff, a journalist who teams up with young TV production assistant Skye (Lucas) to investigate a string of recent disappearances (and a possible murder) that may or may not be re-creations of the crimes featured on the television series she works on.
According to Deadline, which broke the story, Davis will still be made available to guest-star on “Vampire Diaries” – in which he currently plays high school teacher/vampire hunter Alaric Saltzman – though he’ll no longer be a series regular.
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