As we close the book on this year’s casting season, let’s hear from the women (and a man) who were in the middle of it all, leading the casting charge at the broadcast networks. I asked the exhausted heads of casting (“I need a vacation,” one of them exclaimed) Tess Sanchez (Fox), Keli Lee (ABC), Grace Wu (NBC) and Peter Golden (CBS), plus Lori Openden (the CW), whose network doesn’t compete directly with the Big 4 as it targets younger talent, to answer questions about the challenges of this pilot season, progress on cast diversity, their and their competitors’ biggest casting coups, the season’s biggest discoveries, and the toughest roles and types to cast. (Find out how many child actors Fox saw for the Bruce Wayne role in Gotham.) Here are their answers:
Tess Sanchez, SVP Casting, Fox
Was casting this year as, less or more difficult than 2013?
This season has been more challenging in certain aspects, but also easier since we’ve transitioned out of a traditional “pilot season” into a year-round development schedule. We now have more flexibility than the 22 episode/7 year commitment we required in previous years and access to talent who were previously uninterested in television but who are now open to the conversation. However, we – and everyone else in the business – also face a new set of challenges in making series regular deals with scheduling and exclusivity now that actors are working in a variety of platforms in front of and behind the camera.
Your biggest casting coup
Without question, Anna Gunn. On the heels of Breaking Bad, she easily had her pick of roles this season, so you can imagine how elated we were when she chose to play Detective Ellie Miller in our event series, Gracepoint.
Tess Sanchez, SVP Casting, Fox
Was casting this year as, less or more difficult than 2013?
This season has been more challenging in certain aspects, but also easier since we’ve transitioned out of a traditional “pilot season” into a year-round development schedule. We now have more flexibility than the 22 episode/7 year commitment we required in previous years and access to talent who were previously uninterested in television but who are now open to the conversation. However, we – and everyone else in the business – also face a new set of challenges in making series regular deals with scheduling and exclusivity now that actors are working in a variety of platforms in front of and behind the camera.
Your biggest casting coup
Without question, Anna Gunn. On the heels of Breaking Bad, she easily had her pick of roles this season, so you can imagine how elated we were when she chose to play Detective Ellie Miller in our event series, Gracepoint.
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