Blair Underwood joins NBC pilot 'The Event'

10:54 PM PDT 10/13/2010 by Nellie Andreeva, AP

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Jason Ritter co-stars in Nick Wauters' dramatic thriller

Blair Underwood will play the U.S. President on NBC's drama pilot "The Event."

"The Event" is a thriller chronicled from multiple points of view that centers on Sean (Jason Ritter), a regular man fighting his way through the mysterious circumstances of a conspiracy to assassinate the U.S. president (Underwood).

The recently-elected President, originally envisioned as "a poised Hispanic JFK," is described as smart, honest, confident and doing a good job at hiding his relative inexperience. He is a family man and a man of faith who truly wants to do good.

"The Event" was first conceived by writer Nick Wauters a few years ago, before Barack Obama's 2008 election as the U.S.' first black president.

Underwood, who is about the same age as Obama, was a supporter of the former Illinois Senator in his presidential campaign and spoke at several Obama rallies.

This is the second black president on a major U.S. TV series following Dennis Haysbert's turn on the first season of Fox's "24."

Underwood, repped by ICM and Thruline, most recently co-starred on ABC's "Dirty Sexy Money" and has recurred on CBS' "The New Adventures of Old Christine."