ABC has cast "Kings" star Chris Egan in its modern horror pilot "Gothica," according to The Hollywood Reporter. Egan will play the iconic Dorian Gray, the literary creation of Oscar Wilde who was the focus of the 1890 novel "The Picture of Dorian Gray."
"Gothica" is being described as "a sexy, gothic soap set in the present day that weaves together a mythology that incorporates the legends of Dracula, Jekyll and Hyde, Frankenstein and Dorian Gray, among others." Egan's character is described as "a beautifully charming and devastatingly sexy man with a smile like a switchblade. He's an enigmatic playboy who develops a relationship with Grace Van Helsing and attempts to help her figure out who killed her family."
The high-concept ABC pilot has also cast British "Eastenders" star Tom Ellis as Victor Frankenstein, "a brilliant doctor who's trying to find a way to bring his late daughter, Anna, back to life." Although the character is married to Madeline Usher, THR reports that he, too, has a past with Grace Van Helsing and is in love with her. Ellis was recently rumored to be on the shortlist to join "Downton Abbey" for a major role involving Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery).
The ABC pilot is not to be confused with Showtime's straight-to-series show "Penny Dreadful," which will bring together literary horror characters including Dracula, Dr. Frankenstein and Dorian Gray in turn-of-the-century Victorian London.
In other pilot news ...
"Boardwalk Empire" alum gets "Ordained" by CBS. Charlie Cox will star as the son of a powerful, Kennedy-esque political family who leaves the priesthood and becomes a lawyer to stop his sister (a politician) from being assassinated. [TVLine]
"Argo" actress joins "Beverly Hills Cop" adaptation. Sheila Vand will play Leila, a formerly privileged Beverly Hills detective who gave up riches for independence. She'll butt heads with Brandon T. Jackson's lead character, Aaron, the son of Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy), when he refuses to play by the rules. [THR]
"The Wire's" Isaiah Whitlock Jr. is one of ABC's "Lucky 7." The pilot revolves around seven employees of a Queens gas station whose lives are changed when their lottery syndicate wins the jackpot. Whitlock will play Bob Harris, the manager of the station. [Deadline]
The CW casts two actors in "The Hundred." The pilot is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi story about a ship of 100 teenage delinquents who are sent back to Earth 97 years after a nuclear war to try and recolonize the planet. Australian Bob Morley will play Bellamy, the oldest of the group, and "Emily Owens M.D." alum Eli Goree will play Wells Jaha, who is unpopular with the other kids because his father is the chancellor of the space station full of Earth's remaining survivors. [THR]
