A TV veteran will be scrubbing into “Doc” soon.
Blair Underwood is joining the cast of the Fox medical drama, Variety reports. He’ll guest-star in next month’s Season 2 finale before becoming a series regular next season. (Fox renewed “Doc” for Season 3 earlier this week.)
Underwood will play Dr. Ben Grant, “a world-class trauma and cardiothoracic surgeon with an ego that somehow outpaces even his résumé,” per the official description. “A once-in-a-generation talent with the swagger to match, he doesn’t just save lives — he owns the OR.”
Dr. Ben Grant is “impossibly magnetic and even more confident,” the description continues. “He’s never not been the smartest person in the room… until he meets Dr. Amy Larsen. Almost instantly, their approaches clash, egos collide, and sparks fly like Westside has never seen. Together, their brilliance is unmatched — as long as they can survive each other.”
Underwood first broke out on the NBC hit “L.A. Law” as attorney Jonathan Rollins, earning a Golden Globe nomination in 1991. He later starred in network dramas like “City of Angels,” “Dirty Sexy Money,” and “The Event.” He also appeared as Miranda’s love interest Robert on “Sex and the City.” His other TV credits include “In Treatment,” “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” “Quantico,” and “The New Adventures of Old Christine.”
In other casting news…
* Kate Walsh (“Grey’s Anatomy”) will star alongside Rhys Darby in the CBS comedy pilot “The Tillbrooks,” according to Deadline. A multi-cam family sitcom set in 19th-century English high society, Walsh will play matriarch Jocelyn, “who knows what she wants and expects to get it.”
* Fox’s “Baywatch” reboot has added Noah Beck (“Sidelined”) to its cast, per Deadline. He’ll play Luke, “a rookie lifeguard, and the youngest in a family of firefighters who chose the beach over the firehouse.”
* Keith David (“The Lowdown”) has joined Jake Johnson in the cast of his untitled NBC private eye comedy pilot, TVLine has learned. David will play Garner Taggert, who runs a P.I. agency and is “a tough guy with somewhat antiquated views of the world.”
* Prime Video’s “Ballard” has added Ever Carradine (“The Handmaid’s Tale”) to its Season 2 cast in a key recurring role, per Deadline. She’ll play Lauren Sousa, “a devoted mother whose past involvement in an influential spiritual movement continues to shape her present.”
* AMC’s “Dark Winds” has added Paola Núñez (“The Fall of the House of Usher”) to its cast for the upcoming Season 5, Deadline reports. She’ll play Luisa Alvarado, a lead investigator for the U.S. Attorney’s office who has a connection to Joe Leaphorn’s past.