‘World’s End’: Aasif Mandvi, Maya Kazan & Three More Cast In TBS Pilot

The Daily Show alum Aasif Mandvi, Maya Kazan (The Knick), Robin Bartlett (Inside Llewyn Davis), Ajay Naidu (Office Space) and James Ortiz have booked series regular roles opposite Hamish Linklater, Wanda Sykes and Maribeth Monroe in TBS pilot World’s End.

Written by Jonathan Ames, based on Icelandic dramedy Heimsendir, a Sagafilm format, World’s End is a dark comedy about an asylum that operates like a family, and as in all families, the question of who is sane and who is not is open for discussion. It follows Henry Mueller (Linklater), a charismatic high school English teacher who has a breakdown and is committed to a mental institution. There, under the watchful eye of Louise Baldwin (Sykes), he begins to feel “sane.” Henry starts to question the system and the methods used to contain the inmates, ultimately becoming the leader of an inmate revolt.

Mandvi will play Dr. White, the head of Kingsley Hospital. He’s pretentious and eccentric, and there’s a wild gleam in his eye that suggests Dr. White should be an inmate, not an administrator of Kingsley Hospital. Kazan, Bartlett, Naid and Ortiz will play patients at Kingsley Hospital. Kazan is Maggie, who initially flirts coquettishly with Henry (Linklater), then bites his hand and claims he assaulted her. Bartlett plays Hildy. She suffers from a catastrophic depression and year-round seasonal affect disorder — yet has a luminous beauty to her. Naidu portrays Karl Magnus, a mathematic genius who becomes an unlikely revolutionary leader amongst the inmates. Ortiz is Martin, Dr. White’s prized patient and mentee at Kingsley Hospital that gives every impression of being on staff. Martin, however, is the deeply troubled subject of Dr. White’s book and is suffering from multiple personality disorder.

Mandvi is repped by ICM Partners, Lillian LaSalle of Sweet 180 and attorney Bruce Gellman.