Four New NBC Series Get Casting Directors

Three new NBC fall comedies, as well as one drama slated for midseason, now have casting directors under contract, Back Stage has learned.

Lisa Miller Katz will cast “Animal Practice” (formerly “Animal Kingdom”), a single-camera comedy set in a veterinary clinic. Justin Kirk stars as a vet who loves animals, but would prefer that they not come with owners. Also starring are Tyler Labine, JoAnna Garcia, Bobby Lee, and Betsy Sodaro, one of Back Stage’s 10 Comics to Watch for 2012.

Susie Farris will cast “Go On,” which stars Matthew Perry as a sports talk radio host who is forced by his boss to attend grief counseling after the loss of his wife. His initial skepticism is unfounded, however, as he gains solace and support from the eccentric characters that attend his group sessions. Also starring are John Cho, Laura Benanti, Julie White, Tyler James Williams, Suzy Nakamura, and Brett Gelma.

Geraldine Leder will cast “Guys with Kids” (formerly “DILFs,” and even more formerly the Untitled Jimmy Fallon Project), starring Anthony Anderson, Jesse Bradford, and Zach Cregger as three new, young dads who try to balance the demands of fatherhood with the desire to retain their pre-baby lifestyles. Also starring are Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Tempestt Bledsoe.

All three comedies are tentatively schedule to begin production in August in Los Angeles.

New York–based casting director Meredith Tucker will cast drama “Do No Harm,” a modern retelling of Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” centering on a neurosurgeon who develops an immunity to the drug he uses to keep his destructive alter ego at bay. It is slated for midseason, and no production start date has been set, though it will shoot in Philadelphia, same as the pilot. The series stars Steven Pasquale as the Janus-faced surgeon, as well as Alana De La Garza, Mousa Kraish, Michael Esper, Ruta Gedmintas, and Phylicia Rashad. Liz Dean of Ulrich/Dawson/Kritzer cast the pilot from Los Angeles.

Finally, last week we reported that Chicago-based casting office Paskal Rudnicke was handling casting for NBC’s “Chicago Fire.” Additional casting for that show will be done in New York by Jonathan K. Strauss.