Whoopi Goldberg Boards 'The Stand' at CBS All Access

CBS All Access' adaptation of Stephen King's The Stand is filling out its cast, with Whoopi Goldberg among five actors joining the show.

The limited series has also added Jovan Adepo (When They See Us, The Leftovers), Owen Teague (It), Brad William Henke (Orange Is the New Black) and Daniel Sunjata (Rescue Me). They join the previously cast James Marsden, Amber Heard, Odessa Young and Henry Zaga.

The Stand is set in a world decimated by plague and locked in an elemental struggle between good and evil. The fate of mankind rests on the frail shoulders of 108-year-old Mother Abagail and a handful of survivors whose worst nightmares are embodied in a man with a lethal smile and unspeakable powers: Randall Flagg, the Dark Man.

EGOT winner and The View host Goldberg will play Mother Abagail, a prophet who receives visions from God and guides survivors of the superflu. Her recent acting roles include Nobody's Fool with Tiffany Haddish and a recurring part on CBS' Instinct.  

Adepo plays Larry Underwood, a young musician with a taste for fame and illegal substances. When the plague hits, he's forced to confront his demons as he makes his way to the new world.

Teague will play Harold Lauder, who goes searching for fellow survivors with Frannie Goldsmith (Young). Though he has good intentions, jealousy and his infatuation with Frannie could lead Harold down a dark path.

Henke is set to play Tom Cullen, Nick Andros' (Zaga) traveling companion who is developmentally disabled after a childhood accident. A sweet soul, Tom will play an instrumental role in the fight for survival.

Sunjata will have the guest role of Cobb, a military man charged with supervising Stu Redman (Marsden) as the government searches for a cure during the outbreak.

The casting comes as It: Chapter Two rules the box office and another King adaptation, of his new novel The Institute, is in development at Spyglass Media Group with the Mr. Mercedes duo of David E. Kelley and Jack Bender executive producing.

Josh Boone (The Fault in Our Stars), a longtime King fan who has been attached to The Stand since it was optioned as a feature film in 2014, is writing the CBS TV Studios series with Ben Cavell. Boone is also set to direct. King will write the last chapter of the series, with a coda that isn't in the book.

Boon and Cavell executive produce along with Roy Lee, Jimmy Miller and Richard P. Rubinstein. Will Weiske is a co-EP, and Knate Lee, Jill Killington and Owen King are producers.

The Stand will join a lineup of originals on CBS All Access that includes The Good Fight, The Twilight Zone, Star Trek: Discovery, Strange Angel, Tell Me a Story, Why Women Kill and No Activity, along with the upcoming Interrogation, Star Trek: Picard, The Man Who Fell to Earth and animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks.

Adepo is repped by Gersh, Strategic and Powerline Entertainment. Teague is repped by Management 360, CAA and Myman Greenspan. Henke is repped by APA.

Source: www.hollywoodreporter.com