Parenthood is adding a new love interest for Drew in its upcoming fifth season.
90210 alum Lyndon Smith has booked a major recurring role on NBC’s Jason Katims drama, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
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Smith will play Natalie, a college classmate to Drew and a potential love interest for the character, played by Miles Heizer. The character is described as attractive and outgoing with a strong sense of herself. She’s a freshman, in Drew’s class at Berkeley, whom Drew develops a huge crush on. Always in the driver’s seat in their relationship, Natalie dictates the terms of their friendship and whether or not it has occasional benefits — much to Drew’s frustration and misunderstanding.
“We really wanted to focus on that first year of college and what that’s like for Drew,” Katims tells THR. “You think some people set foot on campus and they’re just meant to be there, and then [with] some people, it takes a little bit longer to figure that out. And I think for Drew it’s definitely the latter, that he struggles a little to try to figure out where he is. I like the idea of there being obstacles for him at college and [having it] not be simple.”
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Smith most recently filmed ABC’s drama pilot Reckless and MTV’s Cassandra French’s Finishing School for Boys. She just wrapped a lead role in the independent feature The Circle opposite Riley Smith. She’s repped by Don Buchwald & Associates, Main Title and McKuin Frankel.
Smith joins a rapidly expanding Parenthood guest cast that also includes the previously announced Ray Romano, Matt Lauria, Jurnee Smollett, David Denman, Josh Stamberg, Sonya Walger and Tyson Ritter.
Parenthood returns for its fifth season on a new night starting Thursday, Sept. 26 at 10 p.m.
E-mail: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit
