Anthony Anderson Back at ABC in ‘Public Defenders’ Comedy

Anthony Anderson is headed back to ABC.

The former Black-ish star will topline and be an executive producer of the network’s comedy pilot Public Defenders, from 20th Television and Wonderland Sound and Vision. His casting comes less than a year after Black-ish concluded its eight-season run, which netted Anderson six Emmy nominations for lead actor in a comedy series.

Additionally, Public Defenders, created by Eddie Quintana, has tapped Liz Astrof as showrunner and Randall Einhorn as director. Both will also serve as executive producers along with Quintana (Acapulco), Anderson, E. Brian Dobbins, and Wonderland Sound and Vision’s McG, Mary Viola and Corey Marsh.

Public Defenders will follow four young public defense lawyers, “up to their earholes in student debt,” who work to keep their clients out of jail. “Along the way, they have to rely on each other to navigate their first defendants, the absurd court system and the copy machine that always jams.”

Anderson will play Marshall, the lead deputy attorney at public defender’s office, who sees it as his mission to turn his charges into cutthroat defense lawyers. Though he’s described as “always angry,” he eventually shows that he is deeply protective of his deputies.

Astrof most recently created and ran Fox’s Pivoting. Her credits also include The Conners, 2 Broke Girls and Raising Hope. Einhorn’s directing credits include Abbott Elementary, The Office and Parks and Recreation.

Anderson is repped by UTA, Artists First, Goodman Genow and Initiative PR. Astrof is with CAA, and Einhorn is repped by Odenkirk-Provissiero Entertainment and CAA.

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