Teri Polo Joins ‘The Big Leap’ Fox Dramedy Pilot, Matt Lucas, Ser’Darius Blain & Ray Cham Also Cast
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Teri Polo leads a quartet of actors cast in The Big Leap, Fox’s ballet-themed hourlong comedy-drama pilot from The Passage writer/executive producer Liz Heldens. Matt Lucas, Jumanji;s Ser’Darius Blain and Ray Cham also are cast in lead roles in the project, inspired by the UK reality series Big Ballet. It is a co-production between 20th Century Fox Television and Fox Entertainment.
Written by Heldens, The Big Leap is descried as a funny and contemporary tale about second chances, chasing your dreams and taking back what’s yours. The show revolves around a group of diverse underdogs from all different walks of life who compete to be part of a competition reality series that is putting on a modern, hip remake of Swan Lake. What they lack in the traditional dancer body type, they make up for with their edge, wit and desire to reimagine an iconic story to fit their own mold. The Big Leap takes us on a journey of self-acceptance, body-positivity and empowerment at any age.
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Polo plays Julia Torrence. A beautiful former ballerina, Julia is now a social-media-obsessed mom who focuses more on her Instagram than her moody teenage girls or her distant husband, Kevin. When she sees the chance to audition for The Big Leap, it feels like a chance to fill what feels like a hollow, art-free life.
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Cham plays Justin Reyes, Gabby’s adorable high school boyfriend and dance partner, who came out of the closet to nobody’s surprise except Gabby — and his parents, who kicked him out. He works at a big-box store to support himself now, but when Gabby shows up and tells him about the dance contest, he catches the spark and gets excited to dance again too.
Blain is cast as Reggie Sadler. A stunning specimen of humanity, Reggie is a gorgeous, famous, athletic, professional football player. He has demonstrated some erratic behavior and needs to take a break from the sport. He decides that some career rehab is in order and finds himself learning to dance so he can audition to be on The Big Leap.
Lucas plays Wayne Sleep, a joyful British fellow who is one of the co-hosts of The Big Leap. He is a former dancer and is entertaining, enthusiastic and encouraging.
Heldens executive produces with Sue Naegle and Peter Dale of UK company Rare Day, which produced the reality series.
Polo, whose recent credits include Freeform’s The Fosters and spinoff Good Trouble and HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, is repped by Gersh and manager Bob McGowan.
Blain, best known for his role as Anthony “Fridge” Johnson in the Dwayne Johnson-Kevin Hart Jumanji franchise, is repped by Paradigm and Grandview
British actor, comedian and writer Lucas is repped by WME. Ray is repped by TalentWorks and Justine Hunt.
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