Chopra to play love interest of an FBI agent in the series.
AB Wire
WASHINGTON, DC: Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra, who has been living in the US for a few months in preparation for her debut on network television, will be seen in the ABC pilot ‘Quantico’.
The series centers on a group of young FBI recruits, all with specific reasons for joining, who battle their way through training at the Quantico base in Virginia. As the drama intercuts between their hidden pasts and their training, it also flashes forward to the near future, where one of the recruits will turn out to be a sleeper terrorist responsible for the most devastating terrorist attack on U.S. soil since 9/11, reported The Hollywood Reporter.
The NBC drama ‘Believe’ star Jake McLaughlin will play Ryan, an athletic, charming, smart, direct guy who hooks up briefly with Alex (played by Chopra) when the two meet on a flight to Washington, D.C., and who winds up not being the veteran returning home he claims to be.
The cast includes Aunjanue Ellis, Dougray Scott, Tate Ellington, Graham Rogers, Johanna Braddy and Yasmine Al Massri.
Josh Safran (Gossip Girl) will pen the script and exec produce the ABC Studios and Mark Gordon Co. drama alongside Mark Gordon and Nick Pepper. Marc Munden will direct the pilot, the Hollywood Reporter said.
Chopra, who will shuttle between India and the US, to complete her Bollywood film schedules and the pilot, was quoted by Variety as saying: “I took a leap of faith when (ABC head of casting) Keli Lee asked me to join the ABC family, and I’m so excited to be a part of the pilot for ‘Quantico’ alongside an incredibly talented cast and production team.
Chopra has also an interest in releasing a music album later this year in the US, as she has already cut three singles, which have got considerable hits on YouTube, though to not much critical acclaim.
Chopra’s debut on ABC marks yet another Indian-origin actor joining the throng of network and cable series which keeps America engaged during prime time on weekdays.
In the recent past, a burgeoning number of Indian-origin actors have carved a niche for themselves on popular series on American television.
The actors include Parminder Nagra in ER and The Blacklist, and who will play a new role in the forthcoming ABC pilot ‘The Kingmakers’; Kal Penn in House and How I Met Your Mother, Dev Patel in Newsroom, Sakina Jaffrey in House of Cards, Annet Mahendru in The Americans, Kunal Nayyar in Big Bang Theory, Mindy Kaling in The Office, Aziz Ansari in Parks and Recreations, Senthil Ramamurthy in Heroes and Covert Affairs, Anil Kapoor in 24, Archana Panjabi in The Good Wife, Poorna Jagannathan in House of Cards Season 3 and Criminal Justice, Nimrat Kaur and Suraj Sharma in Homeland; Hannah Simone in New Girl, Adhir Kalyan in Rules of Engagement, Danny Pudi in Community, and Reshma Shetty and Rupak Ginn in Royal Pains.