Ashley Tisdale To Star In CBS Comedy Pilot, Chris Egan In ABC’s ‘Beauty & The Beast’

EXCLUSIVE: High School Musical alumna Ashley Tisdale has been cast as a lead in CBS’ untitled Louis CK/Spike Feresten multicamera comedy pilot, an ensemble of young people trying to achieve their creative dreams in these tough financial times. Tisdale will play Petra, the beautiful and sarcastic assistant to a vintage clothing designer struggling to carve out her niche in New York. Louis CK and Spike Feresten wrote the pilot, an update of a script the two originally penned 13 years ago. BermanBraun, Universal TV and CBS TV Studios are producing. Earlier this development season, Tisdale was attached to star in and executive produce a semi-autobiographical multicamera comedy at ABC penned by David Holden. Tisdale, repped by CAA and manager Bill Perlman, starred on the CW drama Hellcats last season.

Chris Egan (Letters To Juliet) has become the first actor cast in ABC’s drama pilot Beauty And The Beast, a fantasy re-imagining of the classic Beauty and the Beast tale wherein an embattled princess, Grace, discovers an unlikely connection with a mysterious beast. Egan, repped by WME and Anonymous Content, will play one of the leads, Grace’s fiance Gorrick, who is her father’s most trusted soldier. The casting stems from the former Kings star’s talent holding deal with ABC. Last year he toplined another drama pilot for the network, Poe. Yves Simoneau is directing Beauty And The Beast from a script by Jon Steinberg for ABC Studios and Gary Fleder’s Mojo Films. The ABC Beauty And Beast is yet to lock in the two title roles while the CW pilot of the same name, based on the 1980s series, recently cast Kristin Kreuk as Belle.

Comments (44)

  • Egan’s agent better monitor the scripts Matt Damon is attached to. If any of them have a younger brother character, this kid’s a shoo-in.

    Comment by ONEandDONE — Tuesday February 21, 2012 @ 7:19pm PST  Reply to this post
    • Wow. Brilliant insight. Really. OneandDone, you are a genius. Einstein I say, and i said! Blown away O&D, Buh-LONE-away! I mean, really, ‘Oh and the Dee’ you are an amazing man. An absolute Twat you are. A total Player, ‘Oooo slash da-Dee’!

      Comment by Two and Likely Not Finished — Tuesday February 21, 2012 @ 7:40pm PST  Reply to this post
      • Easy, gunslinger.

        I’m sure an intellectual spitfire like yourself isn’t so rotten from cynicism that he’d fail to understand that all I said was that Egan is a Damon look-alike.

        If I had written that as insight from a superagent, then yes… I’d be a twat. Not unlike the guy who pounces on innocuous internet posts in the guise of a witty goofball, when the very act itself stinks of a miserable, ineffectual douchebag.

        Comment by ONEandDONE — Tuesday February 21, 2012 @ 9:24pm PST  Reply to this post
        • LOL. I thought he was just joking, but your comeback made me LOL.

          Comment by Sareeta — Wednesday February 22, 2012 @ 4:52am PST  Reply to this post
  • OMG haha, totally agree, he resembles Matt Damon so much! :P

    Comment by Miriam — Tuesday February 21, 2012 @ 7:35pm PST  Reply to this post
  • So so so proud and happy for Ashley! I love her so much, she’s one of my longtime role models! I will stick with her until the end of this show! Gosh, she’s amazing, love her so much. <33

    Comment by Miriam — Tuesday February 21, 2012 @ 7:36pm PST  Reply to this post
  • Ashley Tisdale? Of the failed CW’s Wildcats? If she can’t have a hit on a network with a demo who might know who she is how can she have one on a network geared towards grandparents? The show itself sounds like a ‘Friends’ knock-off…hence why it first existed 13 years ago…but maybe their thinking it would pair well with 2 Broke Girls(?). Still it’s high time that folks realize that the actors from ‘High School Musical’ are NOT stars and don’t have drawing power. Zac Efron has potential but Tisdale isnt going to be a name.

    Comment by JJ — Tuesday February 21, 2012 @ 7:40pm PST  Reply to this post
    • Yeah.. she may be from the failed CW drama, but hence the DRAMA. Ashely Tisdale has always starred on comedies and if you’ve watched her on HSM or Suite Life of Zack and Cody or maybe even Phineas and Ferb you would see that she has some decent comedic chops and can hold up with the other comedians in the broadcast world. I know comedic wise, she’ll do her thing.

      Comment by Idol Rules — Tuesday February 21, 2012 @ 10:17pm PST  Reply to this post
    • She’s not the lead, she’s something like fifth on the breakdown. The show won’t ride on her.

      Comment by Moxie — Wednesday February 22, 2012 @ 7:54am PST  Reply to this post
  • Awww so happy for ash..congrats baby..you is my blondie always :) )

    Comment by @Rafaellbuzz — Tuesday February 21, 2012 @ 7:44pm PST  Reply to this post
  • I still miss Kings! NBC messed up!

    Comment by Blah — Tuesday February 21, 2012 @ 7:57pm PST  Reply to this post
    • Great! You had to remind me!

      Comment by dee123 — Wednesday February 22, 2012 @ 1:34am PST  Reply to this post
  • Is Egan’s character an oomph loompa? sweet child needs to lay off the spray-tan.

    Comment by elliott — Tuesday February 21, 2012 @ 8:00pm PST  Reply to this post
  • I love ashley tisdale

    Comment by jugga — Tuesday February 21, 2012 @ 8:00pm PST  Reply to this post
  • Congratz on your new production Ash! I’ll offer you a part in Hunting the Alien Hunter if you would consider casting me as an extra or something in your show. Thanks! ~Dave

    Comment by David Ligon — Tuesday February 21, 2012 @ 8:24pm PST  Reply to this post
  • Am hapi 4 Ashley..gud luck wit da film..lve u nd I knw ul make ur fans vry proud!!

    Comment by salome — Tuesday February 21, 2012 @ 8:33pm PST  Reply to this post
    • My God, I must be getting old. I can’t figure out if this poster really meant to write this, or it’s a joke.

      If it’s a joke…haha.
      If this is a serious post…ugh. Let me know how things work out for you at DeVry.

      Comment by Anonymous — Tuesday February 21, 2012 @ 11:38pm PST  Reply to this post
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