‘Doomsday’: Dan Byrd Cast In ABC Pilot

Cougar Town alum Dan Byrd is the first series regular cast in ABC’s thriller drama pilot Doomsday, from producer Carol Mendelsohn, writers Mark Bianculli & VJ Boyd and Sony TV.

Written by Bianculli and Boyd, Doomsday starts in the aftermath of 9/11, when the U.S. government institutes a secret think tank featuring the most creative minds in science and entertainment that is tasked with dreaming up man-made disaster scenarios and their possible solutions. Because the hypothetical ideas are deemed extremely dangerous, the list is sealed and the program shut down. But when a catastrophe occurs that’s ripped from the pages of the missing doomsday book, the team is brought back years later to prevent the disasters of their own making.

Byrd will play Nate Hensley. Nate became rich as a professional analyst and is the founder of The New Oracle, a website that is devoted to predicting politics, sports and stock trading. He can hedge any bet and predict any outcome.

This is the latest ABC gig for Byrd. He played Travis Cobb on all six seasons of Cougar Town, which originated on ABC before moving to TBS, and also recurred on ABC drama Scandal. He’s repped by Gersh, Dan Spilo at Industry and attorney Rick Genow.