Former House of Lies co-star Josh Lawson is set as the lead in CBS’ multi-camera comedy pilot Welcome to the Neighborhood. Survivor’s Remorse alumna Tichina Arnold also has been cast in a major series regular role in the project from Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment and CBS TV Studios.
Written by Jim Reynolds and directed by James Burrows, Welcome to the Neighborhood centers on Dave (Lawson), the nicest guy in the Midwest who moves his family into a tough neighborhood in L.A. where not everyone appreciates his extreme neighborliness.
Lawson’s Dave is the most polite Midwestern guy you’ll ever meet who works as a conflict resolution expert, a job that calls for a friendly nature, and excellent diplomatic skills. He and his wife and son have moved from Michigan to live in their dream home, a vintage Craftsman house, in Pasadena. He realizes when they arrive that connecting with their new community is a more complex and delicate endeavor than he expected.
Arnold will play Loretta, Calvin’s (Cedric the Entertainer) wife. She’s the mother of Malcolm and Marty, and is very devoted to her faith. She judges the newcomers to her neighborhood by their knowledge of Scripture (nonexistent) and their Sunday service attendance record (shockingly poor!).
In addition to Cedric, Lawson and Arnold join previously cast Sheaun McKinney and Marcel Spears.
Reynolds executive produces with Kapital’s Kaplan and Dana Honor as well as Kapital-based producer Wendi Trilling via her TrillTV and Cedric and Eric Rhone of A Bird And A Bear Entertainment.
Lawson was nominated for an Academy Award this year for The Eleven O’Clock, a short film he wrote and starred in. He can recently be seen starring in Josh Greenbaum’s docu-film Becoming Bond for Hulu that won the Audience Award last year at SXSW. He previously starred as Doug Guggenheim on the Showtime comedy series House of Lies and can be seen recurring on NBC comedy Superstore. Lawson is repped by UTA, Silver Lining Entertainment and Jackoway Tyerman.
Arnold previously starred in Everybody Loves Chris and Martin and most recently played Cassie Calloway in Starz’s Survivor’s Remorse. She’s repped by APA and Tize & Company.
