Ed Westwick Joins ‘L.A. Crime’; More ABC Pilots Add To Cast

Gossip Girl star Ed Westwick has landed one of the male leads in ABC’s drama pilot L.A. Crime, from ABC Studios and Mandeville. The character-driven “true crime” procedural, written by Steven Baigelman and directed by Tom Shankland, explores sex, politics and popular culture across various noteworthy eras in Los Angeles history. In the first installment, L.A. Crime: The Sunset Strip, L.A. cops Jack Roth (Adam Rothenberg) and Paco Contreras (Gabriel Luna) will be searching for a Bonnie & Clyde-esque serial-killing team amid the coke-infused rock ‘n’ roll, revelry of the 1980s Sunset Strip. Westwick will play Kent, a twisted serial killer who preys on young women who have come to L.A. to become famous. He is repped by WME, Affirmative Entertainment and Emptage Hallett in the UK.

Amir Talai (Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay) has booked a series regular role in ABC’s single-camera comedy pilot The King Of 7B. The ensemble project, written by Howard Franklin and directed by David Frankel, focuses on Prentiss Porter (Craig Ferguson), an agoraphobic recluse who ventures outside for the first time in 11 years when he spies what could be his soulmate moving into the building across the street. Talai will play Darren, the deluded millennial owner of the bodega in the building where Porter lives.

Australian actor Rarmian Newton (Dance Academy) has signed on for a series regular role in the untitled ABC/ABC Studios drama pilot written by Jenna Bans and directed by Paul McGuigan. It follows the return of a politician’s (Joan Allen) young son, Adam Warren (Liam James), who was presumed dead after disappearing more than a decade earlier. Newton, repped by Intellectual Artists Management and Active Artists Management in Australia, will play young Danny Warren the wise-ass, abrasive athlete Zach Gilford’s character was 12 years ago.