Odette Annable to Star in Pilot for ABC’s “thirtysomething” Sequel, “thirtysomething(else)”

Odette Annable is taking on something big!

The 34-year-old Colombian & Cuban American actress will lead the ensemble cast of the ABC pilot thirtysomething(else), a sequel to Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick’s beloved 1987-91 drama series thirtysomething, playing grown-up Janey Steadman.

Odette Annable

Written by Herskovitz and Zwick and to be directed by Zwick, thirtysomething(else) will follow an ensemble of new faces playing the grown-up children of the original cast, the new generation of thirtysomethings. 

They are being joined by returning original cast members Ken Olin(Michael Steadman),Mel Harris(Hope Murdoch), Timothy Busfield(Elliot Weston) and Patty Wettig(Nancy Weston), reprising their characters in supporting roles.

Annable’s Janey Steadman is the striking spinoff of Hope and Michael. With piercing eyes and unruly dark hair, Janey is a passionate, some might say driven person, possessed of what her boyfriend, Brad, calls a very big engine in a very small car.

Annable joins recently cast Chris Wood, who’ll play Janey’s younger brother, Leo Steadman. The two previously co-starred together on Supergirl.

Although seen as an ensemble drama, the original thirtysomethingseries revolved around husband and wife Michael and Hope and their baby Janey. Little Janey was played by twins Brittanyand Lacey Craven.

Herskovitz and Zwick executive produce for ABC Studios, part of Disney Television Studios, and MGM Television

Filming on the pilot is slated to begin in March in New Jersey.

Annable played a lead on the second season of CBS All Access’ anthology series Tell Me a StoryBefore that, she was a series regular on Season 3 of the CW’s Supergirl, playing the villainous Samantha Arias/Reign.She is reprising her role in an episode airing later this month. 

Her other credits include HouseOctober Road and Banshee.

Mariah Carey Writes & Performs Theme Song for ABC’s “black-ish” Spinoff “mixed-ish”

Mariah Carey is Mix’ingthings up…

The 49-year-old half-Venezuelan American five-time Grammy-winning singer has been tapped to write and perform the theme song for ABC’s new black-ish spinoff mixed-ish. 

Mariah Carey

Titled “In the Mix”, the track is written by Carey and produced by Carey and Daniel Moore. Sung by Carey, the new theme song will be heard when the series premieres on Tuesday, September 24 at 9:00 pm ET on ABC. 

“As a fan of Kenya Barris’ megahit shows, black-ish and grown-ish, I was inspired to connect with Kenya to find a way we could work together,” said Carey. “As a biracial woman in the entertainment industry, there was no way I did not want to be a part of mixed-ish, especially after seeing the pilot, which I loved. I could not be more honored and proud to be writing and performing ‘In the Mix’ for Kenya and the show.”

ABC’s mixed-ish will follow Rainbow Johnson as she recounts her experience growing up in a mixed-race family in the ‘80s and the dilemmas they face to acclimate in the suburbs while staying true to themselves. Bow’s parents, Paul and Alicia, decide to move from a hippie commune to the suburbs to better provide for their family. As her parents struggle with the challenges of their new life, Bow and her siblings navigate a mainstream school in which they’re perceived as neither black nor white. This family’s experiences illuminate the challenges of finding one’s own identity when the rest of the world can’t decide where you belong.

The series stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Paul Johnson, Tika Sumpter as Alicia Johnson, Christina Anthony as Denise, Arica Himmel as Bow Johnson, Ethan William Childress as Johan Johnson, Mykal-Michelle Harris as Santamonica Johnson and Gary Cole as Harrison.

Karin GistPeter Saji and Barris are writers and executive producers, along with Tracee Ellis RossRandall WinstonArtists First (Brian Dobbins), Cinema Gypsy (Laurence Fishburne and Helen Sugland) and Anthony Anderson

Anton Cropperdirected the pilot. The series is produced by ABC Studios, a part of Disney Television Studios, a collection of studios comprised of 20th Century Fox Television, ABC Studios and Fox 21 Television Studios.