Robert and Michelle King’s (The Good Fight, Evil) newest project will be coming to Spectrum subscribers. According to Deadline, Spectrum Originals has set a straight-to-series order for The Second Wave, a pandemic-themed limited series. The show will be produced by the King’s King Size production company along with Liz Glotzer (Friends with Benefits, Faster) and Brooke Kennedy (Pushing Daisies, Fringe).
The Second Wave will be a six-episode drama set in New York City as another outbreak of the coronavirus sweeps through the metropolis, via Deadline. The series will star Audra McDonald (The Good Fight, Beauty and the Beast), Taylor Schilling (Orange is The New Black, The Prodigy), and Steven Pasquale (American Son, Rescue Me). McDonald and Schilling will play neighbors both struggling to adapt to life under COVID and the additional obstacles they bring. McDonald is Rachel, a physician who is adjusting to seeing patients virtually while attempting to patch her relationship with husband Dr. Zack, played by Pasquale. Dr. Zack has his own ordeal as a CDC official who is straddling to keep his science and politics separate. Schilling is Lily who faces the extreme feat of reassuring her wall street clients their funds are still safe in her hands.
According to Deadline, production is set to begin next week through December 23. It will premiere on Spectrum’s on-demand service. The series is being co-produced by Spectrum and CBS Studios.
The Kings are currently readying production for the COVID-delayed second season of CBS’ Evil, starring Katja Herbers (Westworld, Manhattan) and Mike Colter (Luke Cage, Monsterland). According to Deadline, they are also producing the Showtime legal thriller Your Honor starring Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad, Malcolm in the Middle). It is set for a December premiere.
McDonald can be seen next in the Aretha Franklin biopic, Respect, via Deadline. She will also begin production on the fifth season of The Good Fight which is set to start once The Second Wave wraps up.
Schilling, best known for her Emmy-nominated role as Piper Chapman on Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black, stars in Hulu’s anthology horror series Monsterland. According to Deadline, she is part of the voice cast for AMC’s first animated drama series, Pantheon.
Pasquale last starred in the Broadway production of American Son with Kerry Washington (Scandal, Confirmation), according to Deadline. He later reprised the role in the Netflix film adaptation. He can be seen in the Showtime political drama The Comey Rule which chronicles the fallout between former FBI director Robert Comey and President Donald Trump.