GAIL O’GRADY AND JEFF KOBER JOIN CMT PILOT “HIS WIVES & DAUGHTERS”
11/04/16
NASHVILLE – November 4, 2016 – CMT today announced the addition of Emmy Award®-nominee Gail O’Grady (“NYPD Blue,” “American Dreams”) and Jeff Kober (“The Walking Dead,” “Sons of Anarchy”) to its cast for the upcoming pilot “His Wives & Daughters.” The two join previously-announced cast member Jane Seymour in the one-hour comedic series centering on the eclectic and cunning wives and daughters of larger-than-life country music legend and infamous womanizer, Eddie Ray Banks. The pilot kicks-off when Eddie’s estranged family is brought together unexpectedly, causing tempers to flare and old rivalries to resurface, setting the stage for startling secrets to emerge as an unforgettable mystery begins to unfold.
O’Grady plays Donna Banks, Eddie’s vain and materialistic second wife who worked with him on his 1970s variety show and then stole him away from first wife, Lorna (Seymour). She has a codependent relationship with her daughter Carolyn.
Kober portrays Eddie Banks, the charismatic country music legend who became a crossover sensation in the 70s with a No. 1 album and hit movie, in addition to his television variety show. His tabloid-worthy personal life and relationships contributed to his fame just as much as his work achievements. In a career spanning almost 50 years Eddie always had a big heart, but his good intentions were ruined by hard-living.
Production on “His Wives & Daughters” is scheduled to begin this January and additional casting will be announced in the coming weeks.
“His Wives & Daughters” joins CMT’s growing roster of scripted programming including the highly-anticipated new season of “Nashville” on Thursday, January 5; the March premiere of the limited-run series “Million Dollar Quartet” (working title), which chronicles young Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis’ and more rise to fame; and the second season premiere of “Still The King” starring Billy Ray Cyrus this spring. Additional scripted projects in development include a script order for a television adaptation of “Varsity Blues.”
Renowned for starring on ABC’s long-running hit series “NYPD Blue,” which garnered her three Emmy Award® nominations for ‘Best Supporting Actress,’ Gail O’Grady recently guest starred on the ABC hit series “Fresh Off the Boat,” and guest starred on the CBS series “Training Day” and “Code Black.” Other recent credits include recurring on ABC’s “Revenge,” starring in the CW’s “Hellcats,” starring in a recurring role on “Desperate Housewives,” and a multi-episode arc on “Boston Legal.” Other recent credits include starring in the CW drama series “Hidden Palms,” starring on the ABC comedy “Hot Properties,” and starring in NBC’s “American Dreams.” O’Grady is represented by Jeff Witjas at APA and Alan Iezman at Shelter Entertainment Group.
Jeff Kober was a series regular on the highly acclaimed Vietnam War drama “China Beach” and the cult horror series, “Kindred: The Embraced.” He recently recurred on the Showtime series “Shameless,” AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” the Fox series “The New Girl,” and the FX series “Sons of Anarchy.” He can currently be seen in Clint Eastwood's “Sully” and appears in the upcoming films “Block Island,” “Lost Cat Corona,” “Beauty Mark,” “What Still Remains,” and “Somewhere Only We Know.” Recent features include “The Guilt Trip” with Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen, “Bad Blood,” “The River Guard,” “A Man Apart,” “Enough,” “The Hills Have Eyes II,” “Out of Bounds” and “Session Man,” which won the Academy Award for Best Short Film. Kober is represented by Stone Manners Salners Agency, Lisa DiSante-Frank at DiSante Frank & Company, and Mark Johnson at Behr Abramson Levy.
“His Wives & Daughters” is written, created and co-executive produced by Dina Chapman and Steve Sessions, with Jayson Dinsmore and Julia Silverton as executive producers for CMT.
CMT, a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), is the leading television and digital authority on country music and entertainment, reaching more than 92 million homes in the U.S. CMT, CMT.com and CMT Radio offer an unparalleled mix of music, news, live concerts and series and are the top resource for country music on demand. The network’s digital platforms include the 24-hour music channel, CMT Music, CMT Mobile and CMT VOD.
# # #
