Robert & Michelle King Coronavirus Drama Series ‘The Second Wave’ Ordered By Spectrum; Audra McDonald, Taylor Schilling & Steven Pasquale Star
EXCLUSIVE: Spectrum Originals has given a straight-to-series order to The Second Wave, a six-episode pandemic-themed drama from The Good Fight and Evil creators Robert & Michelle King. It is headlined by The Good Fight co-star Audra McDonald, Orange Is the New Black alumna Taylor Schilling and Steven Pasquale (The Comey Rule). The series is co-produced by Spectrum Originals and CBS Studios where the Kings are based.
Created and written by Robert and Michelle King, The Second Wave follows an unexpected, deadly second wave of the coronavirus outbreak in New York City. It follows the lives of two neighbors, Rachel (McDonald) and Lily (Schilling), as they navigate life in quarantine in New York City. While Rachel juggles her many telemedicine clients as well as a shaky, passionless marriage, Lily is upstairs just trying to convince her Wall Street clientele that her very specific skillset is still just as valuable over video as it was in person. When an unexpected, deadly second wave of the virus arrives, we follow these two women as they face unprecedented times while still juggling their careers, their loved ones… and possibly…the end of the world?
Pasquale plays Rachel’s (McDonald) husband, Dr. Zach, a top official at the CDC who is stuck between the medicine he knows and the politics thrust upon him.
The Kings executive produce via their production company King Size Productions alongside Liz Glotzer and Brooke Kennedy.
Filming is tentatively slated to begin next week and continue through about Dec. 23. In a quick turnaround, the iplan is for The Second Wave to debut on Spectrum On Demand later this year.
Spectrum Originals’ slate includes L.A.’s Finest, which ran for two seasons, as well as limited series Manhunt: Deadly Games, Mad About You and Paradise Lost.
In addition to The Good Fight on CBS All Access, a followup to Robert and Michelle King’s The Good Wife, and Evil for CBS, King Size Productions also is producing upcoming series Your Honor for Showtime. The Kings are repped by UTA and attorney Jon Moonves.
After wrapping The Second Wave, McDonald will segue to production on the fifth season of The Good Fight, expected to begin in January. McDonald is winner of a record-breaking six Tony Awards as well as two Grammys and an Emmy. In 2015, she received a National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama. She will next be seen in MGM’s Aretha Franklin biopic, Respect. McDonald is repped by WME.
Schilling earned two Golden Globe and one Emmy nominations for her role as Piper Chapman in the Netflix series Orange is the New Black, which ran for seven seasons. She can currently be seen in the Hulu anthology series Monsterland and will soon be heard as the lead in new AMC animated drama series Pantheon. Schilling is repped by Gersh, Untitled Entertainment and attorney Rick Genow.
Rescue Me alum Pasquale most recently appeared opposite Jeff Daniels in Showtime’s miniseries The Comey Rule, also produced by CBS Studios. Previously, he starred opposite Kerry Washington in Kenny Leon’s Broadway production of American Son, and reprised his role in the Emmy-nominated Netflix adaptation. Pasquale is repped by UTA and Brookside Artist Management.
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