Sam Neill, Emmanuelle Chriqui Join CBS Drama 'The Ordained'

4:45 PM PST 3/5/2013 by Lesley Goldberg

0
0
0
0
0
Email
Print
Comments

Neill will reunite with his former "Alcatraz" co-star Jorge Garcia, while the "Entourage" alum will try her hand at drama.

Getty Images

Sam Neill and Emmanuelle Chriqui

CBS is staging an Alcatraz reunion.

'Lost's' Jorge Garcia on the Case for CBS' 'The Ordained'

'Boardwalk Empire's' Charlie Cox to Star in CBS Drama 'The Ordained'

'Private Practice's' Audra McDonald to Co-Star in CBS Drama 'Ordained'

Sam Neill has been added to the cast of the network's drama pilot The Ordained, reuniting with his co-star on the short-lived mystery drama Jorge Garcia, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Additionally, Entourage alum Emmanuelle Chriqui has joined the cast of the legal thriller starring Boardwalk Empire's Charlie Cox.

PHOTOS: The Faces of Pilot Season 2013

Ordained centers on Tom (Cox), the son of a Kennedy-esque family who leaves the priesthood and becomes a lawyer to prevent his politician sister from being assassinated.

Neill will play Michael Thomas Riley, Tom's dad, who is best known as The Governor. He's a former three-term Governor of New York and failed candidate for president with political aspirations for his daughter, Packy. Chriqui will portray Sam, a writer who lives next door to Tom who is spontaneous and everything Tom isn't.

Journalist/author Lisa Takeuchi Cullen will pen the script for CBS Television Studios and will executive produce alongside Frank Marshall, Larry Shuman and A.B. Fischer. RJ Cutler will helm the pilot, with Robert Zotnowski on board as a co-EP. Private Practice's Audra McDonald co-stars.

STORY: TV Pilots 2013: The Complete Guide

Neill played Emerson Hauser on Fox's Alcatraz, which also co-starred Garcia as Dr. Diego Soto. His credits include Crusoe, The Tudors, Jurassic Park and The Piano. He's repped by ICM Partners.

Chriqui, who starred as Sloan on HBO's Entourage, will make her drama series regular debut with the role. Her credits include a recent arc on CBS' The Mentalist as well as voice roles in Tron: Uprising and Thundercats. She's repped by UTA, Brookside Artist Management and Bloom Hergott.

Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit