Posted in: ABC, Fox, TV | Tagged: ABC, Anna Enger, anthony hemingway, ben watkins, bleeding cool, cable, Chicago Med, dick wolf, fox, If Loving You Is Wrong, Luna Lauren Velez, malik yoba, MC Lyte, michael delorenzo, new tork undercover, Octavio Pizano, Otmara Marrero, power, she's gotta have it, StartUp, streaming, television, Toby Sandeman, tv
'New York Undercover': ABC Adds MC Lyte, Otmara Marrero, 3 More to Sequel Series Pilot
ABC's New York Undercover has tapped MC Lyte (Power), Otmara Marrero (StartUp), Toby Sandeman (She's Gotta Have It), Anna Enger (Chicago Med), and Octavio Pizano (If Loving You Is Wrong) as series regulars on the contemporary sequel series. Original show creator Dick Wolf, Ben Watkins (Hand of God), and director Anthony Hemingway (Underground, American Crime Story) are spearheading the project. Wolf Films, Universal TV, and ABC Studios are producing.
Written by Watkins based on a story by Wolf and him, New York Undercover picks up 20 years after the end of the original series, this time focusing on New York City Fourth Precinct detectives Nat Gilmore and Melissa Ortiz as they investigate the city's most dangerous criminals from Harlem to Battery Park. Original series lead Malik Yoba (Empire) returns as Det. J.C. Williams, now supervising the unit as well as the next generation of detectives. Though retired from detective work, Luna Lauren Velez's (Dexter) Nina Moreno still has ties to the unit.
Lyte's Lt. April Freeman is a hard-driving boss with a genius IQ, while Marrero's Melissa Ortiz is a fiery young detective who blends well undercover and Sandeman's Nat Gilmore is charismatic with an easy smile and a quick fuse. Enger portrays Lisa Kim, an ambitious climber; while Pizano's Moses Hernandez is an eager beaver with a hero complex.
Having Velez and Yoba as part of the new series will go a long way in helping connect fans of the original series to the pilot project. The influence of the original series will also be key to differentiating the pilot from other shows it might end up competing against: Yoba and co-star Michael DeLorenzo's undercover detectives were the first two people of color to lead a police drama on American television, a series that embraced the diversity of NYC since the beginning.
Wolf, Watkins, and Hemingway are set to executive produce alongside Wolf Films' Arthur Forney and Peter Jankowski. Wolf Films, Universal TV, and ABC Studios will share production responsibilities, with filming on the pilot expected to begin in New York City in early March 2019.