Nellie Andreeva

British actor Joe Anderson (Across the Universe) has landed the lead in ABC’s drama pilot The River directed by Jaume Collet-Serra. The horror thriller, from DreamWorks TV, ABC Studios and Paranormal Activity mastermind Oren Peli, centers on Lincoln Cole (Anderson) who, after his famous TV explorer father goes missing way up the Amazon, reluctantly abandons his medical studies and follows in his father’s footsteps – accompanied by a small camera crew, and with Something Deadly in the water, waiting for him. Anderson, repped by CAA, Management 360 and U.K.’s United Agents, co-stars in the two-part The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, in which he plays English nomadic vampire Alistair.

Another twentysomething Brit, Lucy Griffiths, has landed the lead in the CW’s zombie thriller Awakening. The project, from WBTV and Reveille, is about two sisters coming of age and facing off against one another amidst the beginning of a zombie uprising. It centers on the older sister, Jenna (Griffiths), an attorney in the New York City’s public defender’s office who, like her sister, is a zombie. This marks the first U.S. acting gig for Griffiths, which stems from the talent holding deal she inked last month with CW’s sibling network CBS. In the U.K., the actress, repped by the Kohner Agency, Principal and the U.K.’s Hamilton/Hodell, played Maid Marian on BBC’s Robin Hood.

Robin Givens has joined the cast of Fox’s pilot Tagged. The hybrid comedy, from Sony TV, Reveille and writers David Guarascio and Moses Port, is a workplace ensemble set at the Los Angeles County’s coroner’s office that centers on Wally Percy (Tommy Dewey) who, just fresh out of medical school, joins his father, respected coroner James Percy (Gary Cole), and his team at the coroner’s office. Givens, repped by Marshak/Zachary, will play the relentlessly cheerful, marginally bone-headed new head of the county department, who doesn’t know a thing about forensics or pathology.

Pedro Pascal, who has been recurring on CBS’ The Good Wife, is the latest actor to join David E. Kelley’s Wonder Woman reboot for NBC. The project stars Adrianne Palicki as comic book heroine Wonder Woman/Diana Themyscira/Diana Price who is a successful corporate executive working to balance all of the elements in her complicated life. Pascal will play a liaison to the police department who is devoted and loyal to Diana. Pascal is the third actor cast in Wonder Woman in the past 24 hours, following deals for Tracie Thoms as a regular and Elizabeth Hurley as guest star.

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