Thanks to Jovan for the heads up.
NBC has given a pilot green light to a single-camera comedy from Fresh Off The Boat co-executive producer Kourtney Kang and creator/executive producer Nahnatchka Khan, actor-director Fred Savage, and 20th TV. I’ve learned exclusively that Isabella Russo has been cast as the young lead in the show written by Kang based on her life, which explores what it’s like to grow up as the only girl in the only mixed-race family in the suburbs of Philadelphia, dealing with real-world issues like race and gender while never losing focus of her life goal… to become a Laker Girl like her idol Paula Abdul.
Russo, who originated the role of Summer in School Of Rock on Broadway, will play that half-Asian girl, Katie, growing up in the suburbs of Philly in 1988. Because the role is so specific, talent search began ahead of the formal pilot green light, which I hear was contingent on finding a girl to play Katie. Launching a preliminary casting process also made sense since this was one of the hottest NBC comedy scripts this season, and the Kang project already had a put pilot commitment.
Russo, who originated the role of Summer in School Of Rock on Broadway, will play that half-Asian girl, Katie, growing up in the suburbs of Philly in 1988. Because the role is so specific, talent search began ahead of the formal pilot green light, which I hear was contingent on finding a girl to play Katie. Launching a preliminary casting process also made sense since this was one of the hottest NBC comedy scripts this season, and the Kang project already had a put pilot commitment.
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