Mister Sterling," the drama pilot starring three-time Tony winner Audra McDonald, has been picked up as a midseason series for the NBC network.
NBC officially announced its fall line-up May 13, and one of the network's new shows is McDonald's series, which casts the award-winning actress as Jackie Brock, the chief-of-staff for young U.S. Senator William Sterling, Jr., who will be played by Josh Brolin. The drama series also stars William Russ, David Norona, Laura Chandler and James Whitmore. Lawrence O'Donnell, Jr. (NBC's "The West Wing") is the show's executive producer.
McDonald, who will make her solo Carnegie Hall concert debut in Nov., had also been mentioned for the female lead — opposite Brian Stokes Mitchell — in the upcoming revival of Man of La Mancha. The new series, however, would seem to nix the possibility of a return to Broadway next season for the former star of Marie Christine, Ragtime, Carousel and Master Class.
Burke Moses, who most recently appeared on Broadway in the hit revival of Kiss Me, Kate, will also appear on NBC this season. Moses' sitcom, "Good Morning Miami," has been picked up for the fall and will air Thursday evenings at 9:30 PM ET. From the creators of "Will & Grace," "Good Morning Miami" concerns a young TV producer who is asked to revamp Miami's lowest rated morning talk show. Burke Moses stars as the talk show's pompous host, and the cast also features Mark Feuerstein, Ashley Williams, Tessie Santiago, Jere Burns, Suzanne Pleshette and Brooke Dillman.
Patti LuPone, who currently stars on Broadway in the critically acclaimed revival of Noises Off, had also shot a pilot for NBC, "Life at Five Feet," which co-starred Alex Borstein and Robert Bagnell. That pilot has not been picked up for either the fall or as a mid-season replacement. The Olivier and Tony-winning LuPone, however, will star this season in several episodes of HBO's gritty, jailhouse series "Oz." Other new shows for NBC include the comedies "In-Laws" — starring Jean Smart, Elon Gold, Bonnie Somerville and Dennis Farina — and "Hidden Hills," the dramas "American Dreams" and "Boomtown," the midseason series "It's Not About Me" and a limited run of the gritty drama "Kingpin."
