Wendell Pierce has joined the cast of the CBS reboot of “The Odd Couple,” a multi-camera comedy pilot that stars Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon as the titular pair.
Pierce, who is known for his work as Det. ‘Bunk’ Moreland on “The Wire” and jazz musician Antoine Batiste on “Treme,” will again play a cop — this time a neurotic one who frequents the game nights thrown by Perry’s Oscar Madison. If the pilot goes to series, this year will shape up to be a busy one for Pierce, who was recently cast in a recurring role on Showtime’s “Ray Donovan.”
He is repped by Paradigm and Essential Talent Management.
Perry, who penned the CBS Television Studios pilot with Joe Keenan, is exec producing with Eric Tannenbaum and Kim Tannenbaum and Carl Beverly and Sarah Timberman.
“The Odd Couple” originated as a theater production and was adapted into the 1968 Jack Lemmon-Walter Matthau feature film before seeing two runs on ABC, the first of which starred Tony Randall and Jack Klugman. The second, titled “The New Odd Couple,” went after a minority audience and starred Ron Glass and Demond Wilson. A femme-focused version of the play opened on Broadway in 1985 and starred Sally Struthers and Rita Moreno.
