Alfre Woodard to join the cast as the 5th Housewive

[Pavan]

Alfre Woodard is pulling up stakes and moving to Wisteria Lane.

Thesp has inked a deal to join the cast of ABC's megahit "Desperate Housewives" next season. She'll play a seemingly normal woman who moves into the cul-de-sac with her son in tow.

Meanwhile, Woodard has also signed to star opposite Antonio BanderasAntonio Banderas in the New Line feature "Take the Lead."

"Desperate Housewives" reps Woodard's first regular TV gig since she played Dr. Roxanne Turner on "St. Elsewhere." Woodard will appear as a guest in the show's final episode before continuing as a regular this fall.

Insiders had hinted an African-American family would move into the "Housewives" neighborhood; beyond that, ABC and Touchstone are mum about Woodard's character.

As for "Take the Lead," pic follows the story of a French emigrant who volunteers at an inner-city high school. Woodard plays the school principal, who is at first concerned with the lead character's methods, until she notices how favorably the students respond.

Liz Friedlander is directing the pic.

Woodard, who's repped by William Morris, is also shooting the Universal Focus entry "42.4%." She appears in "Beauty Shop" and was recently seen in "The Forgotten" and "Radio."

Thesp's extensive longform TV projects include "A Wrinkle in Time," "Miss Evers' Boys," "Gulliver's Travels," and "Unnnatural Causes" with John Ritter. She's guested on "The Practice" and "Frasier."

[barwars]

Wisteria Lane is getting some color....


'Desperate Housewives' Welcomes Woodard
(Wednesday, April 13 09:44 AM)

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) Things are about to get shaken up on the show comic Steve Harvey once dubbed "Desperate White Women." Emmy winner Alfre Woodard is moving to Wisteria Lane for a regular part on ABC's "Desperate Housewives," beginning next season.
Specific details on Woodard's part are sketchy, but The New York Post describes the new character as a religious single mother who has to leave her old neighborhood become of some misdeed involving her son. Woodard's character will reportedly be introduced at the start of the 2005-06 season.

Although she's rarely been a network television regular, Woodard has quietly become one of the medium's most decorated actresses. Since 1984, she has earned 12 Emmy nominations, winning an impressive four trophies, mostly recently in 2003 for a guest spot on "The Practice." She has also won seven NAACP Image awards, a pair of Screen Actors Guild awards, a Golden Globe and an Independent Spirit prize, as awell as earning an Oscar nomination in 1984 for "Cross Creek."

The breakout hit of the 2004-05 season, "Desperate Housewives" averages 22.9 million viewers per week.

http://tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve...687|1|,00.html

[Brent88]

Old news...

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/...d.php?t=137224



Is it OK that I've never heard of her until this? I'm sure she'll fit in though.

[vashti1999]

Originally Posted by Brent88

Is it OK that I've never heard of her until this?

No, it's not ok. I hope you've at least heard of some of the things she's been in.

Radio (2003)
The Core (2003)
K-PAX (2001)
Love & Basketball (2000)
What's Cooking? (2000)
Funny Valentines (1999)
Down in the Delta (1998)
Brown Sugar (1998)
Miss Evers' Boys (1997)
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
Primal Fear (1996)
How to Make an American Quilt (1995)
The Piano Lesson (1995) (TV)
Crooklyn (1994)
Race to Freedom: The Underground Railroad (1994)
Blue Chips (1994)
Bopha! (1993)
Passion Fish (1992)
The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag (1992)
Grand Canyon (1991)
Scrooged (1988)
L.A. Law (1986)
Extremities (1986)
"St. Elsewhere" (1982)
Cross Creek (1983)

[spunkygirl]

Originally Posted by Brent88

Old news...

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/...d.php?t=137224



Is it OK that I've never heard of her until this? I'm sure she'll fit in though.

I merged the two threads

You've never heard of her?

[Brent88]

Originally Posted by vashti1999

No, it's not ok. I hope you've at least heard of some of the things she's been in.

Radio (2003)
The Core (2003)
K-PAX (2001)
Love & Basketball (2000)
What's Cooking? (2000)
Funny Valentines (1999)
Down in the Delta (1998)
Brown Sugar (1998)
Miss Evers' Boys (1997)
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
Primal Fear (1996)
How to Make an American Quilt (1995)
The Piano Lesson (1995) (TV)
Crooklyn (1994)
Race to Freedom: The Underground Railroad (1994)
Blue Chips (1994)
Bopha! (1993)
Passion Fish (1992)
The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag (1992)
Grand Canyon (1991)
Scrooged (1988)
L.A. Law (1986)
Extremities (1986)
"St. Elsewhere" (1982)
Cross Creek (1983)

Yes... I've heard of a bunch of those movies, just not her. I'm not as big of a TV freak as some others.

[Caffeine King]

I hadn't heard of her until I saw Beauty Shop (I had planned on sneaking into Sin City again.)

I thought she was Janet Du'Bois, the actress who played Willona on Good Times! IMO, she looks just like her!

I hope they have some other black neighbors move in so that it doesn't seem like their the token black family. I hate it when shows do that it's like "see we're not completely white!" They did it (from the reruns I've seen of it) on Knots Landing. It just annoys me for some reason.

[felicitylen]

I think that's what is going to happen.

[James"Thunder"Early]

Originally Posted by Caffeine King

They did it (from the reruns I've seen of it) on Knots Landing. It just annoys me for some reason.

I thought the Williams family on Knots Landing was good fit and it didn't seem like they were the token black family to me.

[barwars]

Originally Posted by Dr. Phillips

I thought the Williams family on Knots Landing was good fit and it didn't seem like they were the token black family to me.

They are obviously token in that you know exactly who he was talking about, when he never mentioned a name. Whether they are stereotypes or not is another thing.... but there are evidently tokens.

[Caffeine King]

Originally Posted by barwars

They are obviously token in that you know exactly who he was talking about, when he never mentioned a name. Whether they are stereotypes or not is another thing.... but there are evidently tokens.

no I wouldn't say they were sterotypes, they didn't act like any family from a sitcom that you'd see on say UPN or anything but they were the only black family that I saw on there (from the several reruns I've seen.)

I hope DH just doesn't go that way (to make them the token black family)

[barwars]

Originally Posted by Caffeine King

I hope DH just doesn't go that way (to make them the token black family)

I think they should. Not many black families live in the suburbs. I wonder how Bree will react.

[JT]

Don't forget, if it wasn't for Knots' token black family, we might have never heard of Halle Berry...

[EvaL]

I think she'll make a great addition to Wisteria Lane

[dandelion wine]

Should make things even more interesting around the neighborhood! I've always liked her and I'll be looking forward to her arrival. Bree's gonna spit, I'll bet.