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Twitter'Southland,' 'Friday Night Lights' and 'Parenthood' add cast members
A trio of NBC shows -- returnees "Southland" and "Friday Night Lights" and newcomer "Parenthood" -- have added new regulars to their casts.
On "Southland," former "Prison Break" inmate Amaury Nolasco will move to the other side of the law as Lydia's (Regina King) new partner, according to The Hollywood Reporter. His gung-ho attitude will drive Lydia to distraction.
What Nolasco's casting means for Tom Everett Scott, who played King's partner last season, is unclear at the moment (though it can't be especially good, given that the character was shot in the final episode of the spring). NBC has said it's making some changes to the second-year cop show, retooling to focus more on King's and Ben McKenzie's characters. That could mean that other characters, including Scott's, will be marginalized or written out altogether.
On "Friday Night Lights," Jurnee Smollett will play a character named Jess. She's the daughter of a former NFL player who helps her dad raise her younger siblings. Whether Jess is enrolled at Dillon high or at Coach Taylor's (Kyle Chandler) new school, East Dillon, remains to be seen.
Smollett's credits include "The Great Debaters" and "Gridiron Gang." "Friday Night Lights" begins its fourth season on DirecTV in October and will hit NBC sometime next year.
Finally, NBC's midseason show "Parenthood" has added Joy Bryant ("Virtuality," "Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins") to its cast. The HR says she'll play a single mom who moves back to the Bay Area to restart a dance career and introduce her son to his father. Presumably at least one of those things will bring her into contact with the Braverman family, the clan at the center of the show.
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Related:
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Zap2it Twitter Talk 
It says a lot about the desperate straits NBC is in when its returnees are Friday Night Lights with its 3 million viewers and Southland and its 5 million viewers...
Rita
To me it says they are willing to give good shows a chance. Not everybody likes reality shows all the time and that is what NBC has had.
jef
i would say it is pretty bad for Tom Everett Scott since he was last seen being shot several times and has been bleeding all summer
Yeah, that probably isn't good. Thanks for the info, Luke - I had missed the finale.
NBC will wish they had that many viewers for Leno's future dud
Friday Night Lights and Southland + NBC/Good shows? Nope doesn't compute. It never has. All the good shows were cancelled by NBC because Jeff Zucker has ZERO concept when it comes to weeding out good from crap such as FNL, Southland, Heroes, etc., etc., etc. I predict another incredibly bad year for NBC and they deserve every bit of it.
glad to see Amaury working even though i have no interest in Southland.