Showtime comedy pilot based on the 1999 movie “The Wood” has named the main cast, diverse I learned exclusively.
Vince Staples, Xavier Mills, Karen Obellum, Melvin Gregg, and Essence Raina will star in the pilot, with Richard T. Jones and Tamala Jones set to reprise their roles as Slim and Tanya characters respectively from the film.
Rick Famoiwa, who wrote and directed the film, will direct and direct the pilot. Ordered on Showtime in August 2021. Described as an honest look at friendship, the show dates from the perspective of three young black men born and raised in the enhanced Los Angeles suburb of Englewood. The trio’s struggle to balance parenthood, ambition, and loyalty forces them to question whether they are growing apart or getting closer to each other.
Staples (“Lazor Wolf”) will play Jamal, an aspiring photographer from Ladera Heights, whose family is cut off from the upper class when he decides to follow his own path instead of going to historic Morehouse College. This role combines Staples and Famuyiwa, with Staples appearing in a small role in Famuiyiwa’s feature film “Dope”.
Mills (“Sadness”, “The Legacies”) plays Mrs., a sheep dressed in wolf clothes who is educated and ambitious but frustrated by so much in his life. He is reserved and emotionally unavailable to everyone except his high school sweetheart Brill.
Obelum (“Doom Patrol,” “Games People Play”) plays Brill. Brill is a confident and polished engineer with big dreams to move beyond her humble beginnings.
Greg (“Snowfall,” “Nine Perfect Strangers”) plays Shaun, a Pokemon card seller weighing the pros and cons of staying loyal to his friends or growing up, settling down and trying to make his relationship work with Ashley.
Rina (“Bosch: Legacy”) plays Ashley. Ashley is the mother of Shaun’s daughter and an aspiring fashion designer who is unimpressed by his charm and has clear rules and expectations for him as a man and a father.
Justin Helian wrote the experimental screenplay for “The Wood” and also the executive producer along with Famuyiwa. Gunpowder & Sky’s Van Toffler and David Gale are also executive producers. Paramount Television Studios will produce. The pilot is currently in production at Englewood.
(Pictured, left to right: Vince Staples, Richard T. Jones, Tamala Jones, Melvin Gregg)
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