‘Carrie Diaries’ Casts Young Samantha for Season 2

Lindsey Gort - P 2013

The CW has found its Samantha Jones.

Newcomer Lindsey Gort (the upcoming 2 Guns) has been cast in the iconic role for the second season of the CW’s The Carrie Diaries.

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The character, made famous by Kim Cattrall on HBO’s Sex and the City, will be seen on the sophomore season of the CW’s prequel as a 20-something who is described as hot, sexy and gorgeous and comes from the wrong side of the tracks. She’s ballsy, confident and has a don’t-screw-with-me attitude. She works the velvet rope at a downtown nightclub and makes her mark on Manhattan.

Through a surprising connection, the CW’s young Carrie (AnnaSophia Robb) will meet one of the most important people in her life this season: Samantha, who is from the panhandle of Florida but has made her way to the rock ‘n’ roll scene of 1980s New York.

The actress is repped by Pakula/King & Associates and Principato Young.

The CW first noted it would introduce the character in May when the network unveiled its fall schedule, revealing that the series would depict Carrie and Samantha’s first meeting.

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Samantha isn’t the first Sex and the City character to be introduced on the show. The season-one finale referenced Stanford Blatch, a role that Willie Garson played, as being Bennett’s (Jake Robinson) roommate.

“I know exactly how I would like to introduce each of the characters into the show, and he’s not going to be the only one, that’s for sure,” Carrie Diaries executive producer Amy B. Harris hinted to The Hollywood Reporter in April. She added: “I know what I want season two to look like and who I think is showing up, but I always thought that Bennett and Stanford were probably roommates, and that’s how Carrie ends up meeting Stanford.”

The Carrie Diaries returns for its second season on Oct. 25 on the CW.

E-mail: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com, Philiana.Ng@thr.com
Twitter:
@Snoodit, @InsideTheTube


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‘Pretty Little Liars’ Spinoff ‘Ravenswood’ Adds New Regular (Exclusive)

Merritt Patterson Headshot - P 2013

Courtesy of Merritt Patterson

Merritt Patterson

ABC Family has added another Ravenswood resident.

Former Kyle XY and Supernatural actress Merritt Patterson has joined the Pretty Little Liars spinoff series Ravenswood, The Hollywood Reporter has learned exclusively.

Ravenswood centers on a town not far from Rosewood, Pa., that has suffered for generations under a deadly curse. Five strangers find themselves connected by the fatal curse and are charged with investigating the town’s mysterious and terrible history before it’s too late for everyone.

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Patterson will play the series regular role of Tess, Olivia’s (Elizabeth Whitson) former best friend who is not involved with the curse. She’ll appear in the subsequent Ravenswood episodes that follow the series’ Halloween installments.

Pretty Little Liars star Tyler Blackburn, who plays Hanna’s (Ashley Benson) significant other Caleb, will leave Rosewood and topline the new series as a regular. Blackburn will be seen traveling to the new town in the Halloween hour where he’ll be joined by Brett Dier (L.A. Complex) and former model Whitson, who play twins Abel and Olivia, respectively.

Marlene King, Oliver Goldstick, Joseph Dougherty and Leslie Morgenstein are on board to executive produce Ravenswood, which like Pretty Little Liars hails from Alloy Entertainment and Warner Horizon Television.

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Patterson, whose credits also include Life Unexpected, the first version of the CW’s The Selection pilot and Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, is repped by Play Management and Mosaic.

The series still has two female major roles to be cast, including the part of Miranda — who will appear in the Halloween episodes — as well as an unnamed character poised to join later in the series.

Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit


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