In October, it was announced that Shiri Appleby was joining the cast of a new Disney+ series, Big Shot. According to Deadline, she has been replaced as the female lead by Jessalyn Gilsig who will now star alongside John Stamos in the series.
What’s Happening:
- Big Shot is a 10-episode series that will follow a temperamental college basketball coach, played by John Stamos, who gets fired from his job and must take a teaching and coaching job at an elite all-girls private high school.
- Though it had been previously announced that Shiri Appleby (Unreal) had been tapped to play the female lead in the show, it was announced today that Jessalyn Gilsig (Vikings) will now play the character of Holly, the school’s good-humored and down-to-earth assistant basketball coach.
- Holly was originally conceived and cast younger but allegedly the character has since evolved to be more of a contemporary to the John Stamos character, Marvin, and can potentially become a love interest for him down the road, which could have been the main reason for the recasting.
- Big Shot is being produced by David E. Kelley and Dean Lorey and produced by ABC Studios, part of Disney Television Studios. Kelley has previously worked Jessalyn Gilsig on the Fox series, Boston Public, where she played one of the lead characters, Lauren Davis, who was also a main faculty member at a high school.
- This marks her first regular role since she portrayed Siggy in The History Channel’s Vikings. She has also been on Fox’s Glee, FX’s Nip/Tuck, and ABC’s Scandal.
- Additional Cast for the show still includes:
- Yvette Nicole Brown (Community) as Sherilyn
- Richard Robicheaux (All My Children) as George
- Sophia Mitri Schloss (The Kicks) as Emma
- Nell Verlaque (Secrets in a Small Town) as Louise
- Tiana Le (General Hospital) as Destiny
- Monique Green as Olive
- Tisha Custodio as Carolyn “Mouse” Smith
- Cricket Wampler as Samantha “Giggles”
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