Cannes: Another Jewelry Heist? $2.6M Necklace Missing After … 
‘Hangover III’ With Weak $11M Wed/Thurs Kicks … 
Specialty B.O. Preview: ‘Before Midnight’, … 
2012-2013 Season Network Rankings: CBS Sweeps In Final … 
Full 2012-2013 TV Season Series Rankings 
TOLDJA! Paramount Pocketing $190M From Disney For Marvel … 
‘Good Morning America’ Hits 19-Year Viewership … 
MGM Buys ‘Modern Family’ Producer Ben … 
‘Fashion Police’ Writers Chant On Picket Lines: … 
Universal Makes Seven-Figure Deal For ‘The School For … 
Steven Soderbergh Will Interrupt Retirement To Direct And … 
Cannes: EOne Announces Itself As Player In U.S. … 
Will LIN TV Stations Go Dark On Time Warner Cable? 
RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘Modern Family’, ‘Law … 
Hammond On Cannes: Paramount’s ‘Nebraska’ … 
Hot Trailer: Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s ‘Don … 
Hammond On Cannes: A New Day Comes To The Fest As HBO and … 
Cannes: Fleming Reflects And Finds Talented Trio A Breath … 
Hot Trailer: ‘Man Of Steel’ 
CBS Wins Season & Ties Sweep In Demo; ABC Tops Adults … 
Cannes: Weinstein Co Acquires Keanu-Reese Sci-Fi Pic … 
Amber Heard (Zombieland) and Naturi Naughton (Fame) are set as leads in the NBC drama pilot Playboy. The project, from 20th TV/Imagine TV, is set at the Playboy Club in Chicago in 1963. CAA-repped Heard, who had been in talks for the project, will play Maureen, a new hire at the club, originally an orphan from Fort Wayne, an inquisitive young woman with an untethered sexuality and a dark past. Naughton, repped by Innovative and Luber Roklin, will play Brenda, a stunning African-American Bunny determined to become the first black Playboy centerfold who is Maureen’s confidante and roommate in the Bunny Dormitory. Interestingly, she also played a 1960s Black Playboy bunny in the Hands and Knees episode of Mad Men last year. Alan Taylor, who directed the pilot for AMC’s Mad Men, is directing Playboy from a script by Chad Hodge.
TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.
Loading ...
This looks like a different kind of show for network tv and the script is supposedly good. And it has Allen Taylor who directed Mad Mens pilot. Maybe it will be as good as the Mad Men pilot.
No disrespect to Naturi Naughton who is a nice girl (though mostly known as a singer), but she is the same actress that played the black Playboy bunny in Mad Men.
It seems as if the casting directors had no knowledge or awareness of anyone else.
You shouldn’t speak of things you have no knowledge of. They auditioned a lot of women for this role.
Excuse me, Alan Taylor. It is also nice that they are involving race issues, a subject matter that Mad Men rarely touches on.
Why would it? It’s about upper crust ad execs in lower Manhattan.
“It is also nice that they are involving race issues, a subject matter that Mad Men rarely touches on.” Except for the very first scene of the entire series…
And that was it. Unless you consider Lane having a black girlfriend dealing with race issues.
How about the episode where Pete wanted the TV company to target the African-American market?
Am I the only one who thinks Amber Heard is just dreadful? Beautiful, for sure, but “The Informers” was unbearable and she was quite possibly the worst part.
Amber Heard is incredibly gorgeous. American perfection doesn’t get much purer than her.
I wonder if Matthew Weiner had anything to do with the casting? Perhaps he suggested Naturi to Alan Taylor?
There is a word we use in casting for Naturi Naughton playing the same role in two different shows: embarrassing. Do Matt Weiner and the Mad Men CD’s get paid for casting ‘Playboy’ as well? They should.
Is it really that embarrassing? Is Naughton’s reward for making the most out of a small guest role to never, ever get to play that role again, even when there’s a star-making version of it being cast?
Sure, there aren’t a whole lot of “Black Bunny” roles, so this seems like lazy casting, but there are all too many doctor/lawyer/detective roles. Would you say the same thing if she’d played a sexy detective on a Hawaii 5-0 arc, and then was cast to star as a sexy detective on CSI:Miami?
Very surprised Amber Heard is doing this — she seems to be constantly working in film and has that coveted role in The Rum Diary opposite Johnny Depp.
I can’t wait to not watch this.
This will never work on Network tv. Mark my words.
On another note, this sounds like A Bunny’s Tale http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088865/
Amber Heard looks exactly like what a playboy bunny of that era looked like. I can’t think of a better visual fit for that role among young actresses. I’ve never seen any of her work so I don’t know if she can act or not. Let’s hope so.
I hope this pilot is well done and not a sexist embarrassment.
Considering most of the people involved with this show, including Amber, are gay and/or women, I would be surprised if this happened.
I have read some people on here say that the pilot was a good script.
Then you should check out the other bunny who was on Mad Men Hands and Knees, bunny Judy played by actress Brooke Newton. She is something else and is the perfect 1960?s look. She reminds me of Marilyn Monroe. With her sexy beauty mark and amazing lips. She’s a brilliant actress.
Sexist embarrassments do very well on television. But do rip offs of cable shows?
so amber realized her film career was a bust and is onto tv?
Chad is brilliant — this is great casting… lucky they got someone so hot in films to head up the cast.
chad is brilliant? are you a friend? because i’m in the midst of pilot season hell and i gotta say, out of all the scripts i’ve read (and knowing chad’s history), he is anything BUT brilliant. the pilot is poorly written and so on the nose, but then again, everything hodge writes is pretty obvious. i give this 6 episodes (IF it makes it on the air – greenblatt would be crazy to give it a go).
I agree that Amber is the all American girl and the perfect fit to play a bunny in this show. Did anyone see the movie The Joneses? If not the best part was Amber.
The thing is this show is not a network tv kind of show and should be broadcast on cable like HBO and or even FX.
This show would of worked much better in pre-wardrobe malfunction days when broadcast tv channels werent afraid to be sexy or show some skin, now their scared to death of the FCC so they dont air anything remotely racy or any nudity.
Well Amber used to be a stripper in Vegas before LA came knocking, so this will be an upgrade
They should cast Star Jones, for Playboy! Too bad Donald Trump never dated Star, she’d have taken his heart! Adverb Heard, thats a weird name fur a girl? But I bet she does alot of PETA ads.
Be good kids, say no to drugs, brush you’re teeth, and don’t stay up past midnite….
I think they should look at the other bunny who was on Mad Men Hands and Knees, the redhead Judy played by Brooke Newton a former NFL cheerleader for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. She is so charming and fits the 1960′s look to a tee.
I think they should have hired the other bunny from Mad Men Hands and Knees, the redhead Judy. She was so charming.
I CAN’T WAIT FOR THE SHOW.. I THINK NATURI NAUGHTON WILL DO GREAT.. SHE IS A GREAT ACTRESS! BEEGLAM…
Naturia Naughton was great on the first episode. I’m sure they looked at a lot of actresses and Im sure the fact that she played the black Playboy bunny in Mad Men added to the casting decision. But I would really like to see Brooke Newton on this show. She was also in the show Mad Men with Nautria Naughton, Brooke Newton played her best friend at the Playboy Club and boy she was tempting.