A couple of TV casting stories of interest have surfaced today. First up, 21 Jump Street star Brie Larson has been tapped for a guest stint on the upcoming fourth season of Community. Larson joins an impressive list of actors set to appear in the new season, including James Brolin, Malcolm McDowell, and Matt Lucas (Bridesmaids). TV Line reported the news of Larsonâs involvement, but her role is being kept under wraps for now. Sheâll pop up during the showâs seventh episode, in which Dean Pelton plans a âSadie Hawkinsâ dance at Greendale. Naturally, Britta (Gillian Jacobs) plans her own âSophie B. Hawkinsâ dance in protest and completely misses the point.Hit the jump for a casting coup for the promising new FX serial killer drama pilot The Bridge. The fourth season of Community returns on October 19th at 8:30/7:30c.  For more on what to expect in the new season, check out our interview with Danny Pudi.Additionally, FX has tapped Academy Award nominee Demián Bichir (A Better Life, Weeds) to play the male lead in the new series The Bridge. The show is based on the Scandinavian series i Bron and centers on âtwo detectives from the United States and Mexico who must work together to hunt down a serial killer operating on both sides of the American-Mexican border.â Series creators Meredith Stiehm (Homeland) and Elwood Reid (Hawaii Five-0) noted that they wrote the pilot with Bichir in mind, and I have to say this sounds like an excellent bit of casting for what could potentially be an enthralling series.Diane Kruger is already set as Bichirâs counterpart, with Gerardo Naranjo (Miss Bala) onboard to helm the pilot. Production is set to begin next month.Read the press release below:
LOS ANGELES â October 8, 2012 â  Academy Award® nominee Demián Bichir has reached an agreement to play the male lead in the FX drama series pilot, The Bridge, which begins production next month.
Based on an international hit series, the pilot for The Bridge was adapted for American television by Meredith Stiehm (Homeland) and Elwood Reid (Hawaii Five-0).   Adapted from the Scandinavian series i Bron, The Bridge centers on two detectives from the United States and Mexico who must work together to hunt down a serial killer operating on both sides of the American-Mexican border. The Bridge is executive produced by Stiehm and Reid, alongside Carolyn Bernstein, Lars Blomgren and Jane Featherstone.  The Bridge is a co-production of Shine America and FX Productions.  Gerardo Naranjo will direct the pilot episode.
âWeâre huge fans of Demián Bichirâs work and are thrilled he is taking on the lead role in The Bridge,â said John Landgraf, President and General Manager, FX Networks.  âHe instantly raises the level of authenticity to the story and this is a true casting coup. To have the biggest movie star in Mexico choose his return to television for this project speaks volumes about the quality of the writing by Meredith Stiehm and Elwood Reid.â
Stiehm and Reid added, âGetting an actor of Demiánâs stature for The Bridge is truly a dream come true.  Demián's on-screen intensity and deep understanding of Mexico are huge assets to the show. We literally wrote the pilot with him in mind.â
In The Bridge, Bichir will play âMarco Ruiz,â a homicide investigator for the state of Chihuahua in Mexico. A family man, Marco is one of the last good men in a corrupt and apathetic police force that is outgunned by the powerful drug cartels. He's sharp, charming, and observant and painfully aware that his city is in a state of chaos. When a body is dumped on the bridge that spans the El Paso-Ciudad Juarez border, Ruiz is forced to work with his American counterpart, âDetective Sonya North,â (Diane Kruger) to try to solve the crime.
Bichir is a Mexican-born actor best known for his work in the award-winning film, A Better Life, for which he received an Academy Award nomination in 2012. He completed production on his starring roles in the feature films Machete Kills for Robert Rodriguez and The Heat for Paul Fieg, and he recently signed on to star in Richard Shepardâs feature Dom Hemingway opposite Jude Law. Bichirâs other work includes roles in the hit Showtime series, Weeds, Oliver Stoneâs 2012 film Savages and his portrayal of Fidel Castro in Che.