EXCLUSIVE: Orlando Jones has booked a recurring role opposite Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba in the second season of Spectrum’s L.A.’s Finest.
This is Jones’ first TV series casting following his two seasons on Starz’s American Gods as trickster god Anansi, aka Mr. Nancy. Jones made headlines recently, claiming he was fired ahead of Season 3 and alleging racial bias. Series producer Fremantle has insisted that Jones was not fired, but that the company decided not to pick up a third-season option on his contract because of the narrative focus of the upcoming season.
Union, who made her own headlines late last year with her controversial firing from the Fremantle-produced NBC reality series America’s Got Talent, triggering an investigation, was among the first to reach out to Jones after he revealed his ouster from American Gods on social media.
On L.A.’s Finest, Jones will play Marshawn Davis, a veteran of the LAPD’s Internal Affairs Division who is brought in to question Syd Burnett (Union) after an investigation turns deadly. Equal parts integrity and determination, Davis quickly suspects Syd and the truth have a complicated relationship which puts her squarely in his crosshairs.
Created by Brandon Margolis and Brandon Sonnier, season one followed Syd Burnett (Union), and her LAPD partner Nancy McKenna (Alba), taking on the most dangerous criminals in Los Angeles while skirting the rules, and speed limits. Syd and Nancy became a force to be reckoned with – on the streets, and in each other’s lives. Season Two finds Syd and McKenna forced to rely on each other more than ever before in both their personal and professional lives as they take on a new and deadly adversary threatening to unleash chaos on the streets of Los Angeles.
L.A.’s Finest is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer Television and 2.0 Entertainment in association with Sony Pictures Television. Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba executive produce alongside Margolis and Sonnier, as well as Jerry Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman, KristieAnne Reed, Pam Veasey, Doug Belgrad, Jeff Gaspin, John Dove, Jeff Morrone and Anton Cropper.
On the film side, Jones is set for a starring role in Lexicon’s upcoming horror movie Dark Forces, directed by Anthony O’Brien. He also co-stars on the Showtime limited series The Good Lord Bird.