Coombs, left, and Briggs Courtesy of D2; Courtesy of IMDB PRO
Coombs and Wade Briggs will take on the roles of Count Paris and Benvolio in the drama exec produced by Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers.
ABC's Romeo and Juliet follow-up is beginning to take shape.
Reign star Torrance Coombs and Home and Away's Wade Briggs have nabbed key roles in the network's Shondaland drama pilot Still Star-Crossed, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
Based on the book by Melinda Taub, the period drama picks up where Romeo and Juliet left off, charting the treachery, palace intrigue and ill-fated romances of the Montagues and Capulets in the wake of the young lovers’ tragic fate.
Coombs — who has starred for three seasons as Bash on The CW's Reign — will exit the drama at season's end and take on the role of Count Paris, who is described as "your basic Prince Charming." The Count of Mantua, he is betrothed to marry Juliet — whom he's never met — and is saddened when she dies. The character is rumored to be the show's central villain.
Briggs, meanwhile, is set as the male lead of Benvolio Montague, the dark, dangerous and handsome guy who is able to play both the good and bad guy. The character believes no good will come from mixing Montague and Capulet blood. He's Lord Montague's nephew and is betrothed to marry a woman he doesn't love — though that is called off because of his bad behavior. He agrees to look after Romeo at his uncle's request and is later ordered to marry Capulet Rosaline in the hope that their union will create peace in Verona.
They join a cast that also includes Medalion Rahimi.
Grey's Anatomy and Scandal's Heather Mitchell will pen the script and exec produce the ABC Studios drama alongside Shondaland's Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers. Michael Goldstein is also on board as an EP with Michael Offer set to direct the pilot.
Briggs (Please Like Me) is repped by Shanahan Management in Australia and manager GEF Entertainment; Coombs will next be seen in The Last Heist, opposite Henry Rollins. He's repped by D2 Management and King Talent.
Keep up with all the latest pickups, castings and eventual series orders with THR's handy guide to pilot season.
Pilot Season
