Casting News - HBO Max's "Heated Rivalry" and Starz's "Untitled Kirk Moore Drama"
Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie join Season 2 of the HBO Max romance series.
HBO MAX’s HEATED RIVALRY
Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie have joined the cast of the drama’s upcoming second season. Smith starred in the films Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and I Saw the TV Glow. Gillespie can currently be seen in the film One Night Only and previously starred in Netflix’s one-season musical dramedy Julie and the Phantoms.
Smith and Gillespie will play Harris Drover and Troy Barrett, respectively. They are the couple at the center of “Role Model,” the fifth book in Rachel Reid’s “Game Changers” series.
STARZ’s UNTITLED KIRK MOORE DRAMA
DeWanda Wise, Tian Richards and Marcus Mitchell will star in the upcoming drama created by Kirk A. Moore. Wise previously starred for two seasons in Netflix’s She’s Gotta Have It, in the FOX limited series Shots Fired and in the Starz limited series Three Women. Richards starred in The CW’s one-season drama Tom Swift. Mitchell recurred on Freeform’s Good Trouble, ABC’s Doctor Odyssey and NBC’s Chicago Fire.
Wise will play Anaya Clarke-Reagan, the Clarke family’s firstborn. Savvy, polished, and highly educated, she is the mayor of Trinity City. A consummate chameleon, she has built a conservative public image alongside her husband, Gregg, a powerful judge - an image that conceals far darker desires. Anaya works tirelessly for her city, but self-preservation and family come first, even when that means protecting them from their own father. She’ll do whatever it takes to secure her public image and political aspirations.
Richards will play Rodney Clarke, the fire-starter. He is Sebastian and Anaya’s smart-ass, openly gay younger brother. Charming, impulsive and incapable of leaving a wound alone, he is the sibling most likely to turn a spark into an inferno. He has little interest in the family rodeo, preferring to run Big Rod’s Likka Lounge, where it appears he’s finally put his troubled past behind him. He hasn’t. When his business is violently robbed, and one of his own is killed, Rodney embarks on a reckless quest for revenge that threatens to engulf the entire Clarke family.
Mitchell will play Julius Calhoun, the hometown hero. Disciplined and proud, he is Sebastian’s closest friend and Jojo’s protective older brother. Tall and sexy, he’s also deeply spiritual. Bible verse etched into his riding jacket. Non-confrontational but not afraid to stand up for himself. He is Trinity City’s main draw and most decorated bull rider since Sebastian. For him, being a cowboy is a way of life. Bull riding is a way to a better life. And he’s looking to take his career beyond Trinity City. Julius’ ambitious put his body and friendship with Sebastian to the test. Still, Julius will go great lengths to stay on top.