“Code Black” was just diagnosed with some major star power.
Rob Lowe is joining the cast of the CBS medical drama as a series regular for the second season, which premieres this fall.
Lowe will make his debut in the season premiere on Sept. 28. He will play Colonel Ethan Willis, a doctor in the U.S. Military’s prestigious Combat Casualty Care research program who has been pulled out of a combat hospital in Afghanistan and embedded at Angels Memorial to teach what the military has learned about combat medicine. His aggressive, rule-breaking style is greeted enthusiastically by Dr. Leanne Rorish (Marcia Gay Harden), but not by all the other doctors.
Along with Harden, Lowe joins the ensemble cast, including Luis Guzman, Melanie Chandra, Harry Ford, Benjamin Hollingsworth, Jillian Murray, Boris Kodjoe and William Allen Young.
Lowe’s casting is one of “Code Black’s” many changes, as the series heads into its sophomore season, and CBS retools the drama. Other cast changes include promoting Boris Kodjoe to a series regular for Season 2, and parting ways with Bonnie Somerville and Raza Jaffrey who both starred in the first season. A favorite of CBS execs, the network is hoping to find a larger audience for “Code Black,” and Lowe’s presence could surely boost the show.
During the 2015-2016 season, Lowe starred on Fox’s comedy “The Grinder” for which he received a Golden Globe nomination. The well-liked series was canceled after one season, freeing up his schedule and allowing him to join “Code Black.”
A television staple, Lowe famously starred on “The West Wing,” “Parks and Recreation” and “Brothers & Sisters.”
“Code Black” returns with Season 2 on Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 10 p.m.
