This year’s pilot season is seeing networks make their most concerted effort in recent memory to embrace diversity in the casting process, as executives watch viewers flock to series such as Empire, black-ish, Fresh of the Boat, and the Shondaland TGIT block at ABC.
The success of those shows and others has led to a growing feeling across studio lots and board rooms that diversity isn’t just good for the brand, but for the Nielsen numbers, too.
ABC, NBC, and CBS are all considering projects where race is either a key element of the story, or the casting more accurately reflects America’s diversity, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
NBC replaced a white couple with a black one as the focus of drama Love is a Four Letter Word, and the network also is casting Asian-American actors for Warrior (a martial arts drama) and Latino actors for Curse of the Fuentes Women, which has elements of magical realism, a la Isabel Allende and Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
CBS is adapting the Rush Hour movies, and has ordered Taxi 22, starring multi-talented Latino comic John Leguizamo.
Sandra Oh, Damon Wayans Jr., and America Ferrera are all in demand, the trade says.
Read More: The Hollywood Reporter
Brief Take: This season’s buzziest shows all feature diverse casts, proving that diversity is good for the brand, the ratings and the business.
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