I Hate My Teenage Daughter star Jaime Pressly is making a dramatic turn with a co-starring role in NBC’s drama pilot Bad Girls. Adapted from the long-running UK series, the John Wells/Warner Bros. TV project follows the ins and outs of a group of unlikely women in a federal prison. Pressly will play prison warden Melinda, a sexy, ominous woman with a sadistic streak enjoying cat-and-mouse games with her inmates who are terrified by her. The project is formally in second position to Fox’s Teenage Daughter, which also is produced by Warner Bros. The freshman comedy has been de facto cancelled after Fox pulled it from the schedule earlier this week. This marks Pressly’s return to NBC where she co-starred on comedy My Name Is Earl, which earned her an Emmy.
Newcomer Hannah New and Eka Darville have landed lead roles in the CW’s Mark Schwahn/J.J. Abrams drama pilot Shelter. Produced by Warner Bros TV, Shelter is set at historic New England summer resort Shelter Bay where the new and returning staff attend to the practical, emotional and often comical needs of the guests while navigating friendships, rivalries and romances of their own. New will play the lead role of Kathryn Gilchrist, who is at Shelter Bay for her wedding. This marks the first acting gig in her native language for English-born New, who recently graduated from London’s Central School of Speech and Drama with a Masters with Distinction. Fluent in Spanish and Catalan, New began her acting career in Spain where she will next be seen in the 11-part period mini-series El Tiempo Entre Costuras (The Time Between) on Spain’s Antena 3. She is repped by UK’s Creative Artists Management, manager Stacey Castro and attorney Lev Ginsburg. Aussie Darville, managed by Peter McGrath, will play Bobby Repeta, a local who lives at Shelter Bay year-round and works at the bay as a fisherman. He recurred on Terra Nova and Spartacus: Vengeance and recently wrapped the indie Mister Pip, in which he plays the title role opposite Hugh Laurie.
