The 'Friday Night Lights' alum will play a charismatic cardinal in the Showtime drama pilot, while the former 'Buffy' actress will be Robin Williams' on-screen daughter in the CBS comedy.
- February 16, 2013
AceShowbiz -
Kyle Chandler and Sarah Michelle Gellar are plotting their TV returns with different projects. The former is tapped to star in Showtime's pilot "The Vatican", while the latter joins Robin Williams in CBS' pilot "Crazy Ones".
In the drama, "Friday Night Lights" alum Chandler will star as Cardinal Thomas Duffy, "a charismatic yet enigmatic archbishop of New York whose progressive leanings excite some and alarm others within the hierarchy of the Catholic Church." He joins Sebastian Koch and Matthew Goode who have been earlier cast in the project.
"Kyle Chandler is one of the most talented and sought-after actors working today and was a fantastic creative partner through five seasons of 'Friday Night Lights'," says Showtime Entertainment president David Nevins. "With Kyle, Matthew Goode and Sebastian Koch, Ridley [Scott] and Paul [Attanasio] have put together a powerhouse cast to anchor this incredibly timely show."
The drama is described as "a contemporary thriller about spirituality, power and politics, is set against the modern-day political machinations within the Catholic Church." Scott will direct the pilot with the script written by Attanasio.
As for Gellar, she will be seen as Sydney Roberts, the intense and driven daughter of Williams's character in "Crazy Ones". She is described as being pretty, "driven, organized and burdened with being practical."
The single-camera, half-hour workplace comedy revolves around a father-daughter relationship at home and at work.
After "Friday Night Lights" was canceled in 2011, Chandler guest starred in an episode of "Robot Chicken". Gellar's last TV role was the twin sisters Bridget Kelly and Siobhan Martin on the short-lived "Ringer".
