Sometimes life gives you lemons, but then turns right around and makes it easy for you to transform the sour fruit into lemonade. Such is the case for any actor who's stint on one show wraps up, but they find themselves getting another wonderful opportunity before too much longer. And, this is exactly what's happened to former Suits (and Pearson) star Gina Torres, because she'll be starring in a new pilot called The Brides.
Gina Torres has signed up to lead the cast of The Brides in the ABC pilot from Riverdale and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina executive producer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. Torres will play Cleo Phillips on the series, and if you think she's going to just be some newlywed adjusting to married life, then you know nothing about Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. The Brides actually focuses on the three brides of Dracula. Yeah, you read that right. These ladies are vampires!
According to Deadline, The Brides is going to be a sexy, modern reimagining of the Dracula tale as a family drama that sees three powerful women at the center of the narrative. Gina Torres' Cleo is the leader of the three women, and is considered to be "an imperious woman with a queenly manner," mostly due to the fact that she was, indeed, a queen in her human life, but was turned into a vampire by Dracula after her husband's death.
Cleo is now a New York-based real estate mogul who we'll see be challenged in her professional life by a mysterious newcomer. But, that won't be the only trouble that Cleo has, because her personal life will be beset by issues when her formerly close ties to her vampire bride sisters begin to fray to dangerous degrees. The Brides will see each of the women struggle to maintain their wealth, power and legacy, while also trying to maintain their immortal family. Even though the drama is focused on the women, Dracula will also be featured on the series.
The pilot comes from Aguirre-Sacasa, Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television, and will be written by Aguirre-Sacasa, as well. Directing duties will be handled by Maggie Kiley, who's helmed episodes of Dirty John as well as working with Aguirre-Sacasa on Sabrina and Riverdale. Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter will executive produce the pilot for The Brides, along with Kiley and Aguirre-Sacasa.
Gina Torres wrapped her run as a series regular on the popular USA legal drama Suits during the Season 6 midseason finale in 2016. While her contract was, indeed, up, there were also rumors that a spinoff was on the horizon which would follow the character as she practiced law away from New York City. It took three years for that spinoff to materialize, but Pearson did debut last summer. Unfortunately, the new show didn't get the response that most were hoping, and not even two full months after the Season 1 finale, Pearson was cancelled by USA.
Luckily, fans who love watching Gina Torres do her commanding, strong, intelligent woman thing might have the chance to watch her in a whole new type of show before too long. The Brides is, obviously, still in the very early stages, but should the pilot be finished and approved, it could end up on ABC within a year.
There's no telling right now whether or not The Brides will get a series order, or how many episodes we could see if it does, so be sure to stay tuned to CInemaBlend for the latest on that and everything else happening in TV right now!
