Coming off a two-season stint as the female lead in Fox’s crime drama series Rosewood, Jaina Lee Ortiz has been tapped for a starring role — believed to be a female lead — in ABC’s upcoming Grey’s Anatomy spinoff series. The 10-episode drama, which follows a group of heroic firefighters, hails from Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes’ Shondaland.
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Set in a Seattle firehouse, the spinoff, slated for a midseason launch, is being written by Grey’s executive producer/co-showrunner Stacy McKee. From the captain to the newest recruit, the show revolves around the brave men and women who risk their lives and their hearts both in the line of duty and off the clock.
The lead characters are expected to be introduced in an episode of Grey‘s Anatomy this fall before the offshoot series launch midseason.
McKee executive produces the spinoff with director Paris Barclay and Shondaland’s Rhimes and Betsy Beers for ABC Studios and studio-based Shondaland.
Ortiz had been in demand since she became available in May when Fox canceled Rosewood after two seasons, fielding major series casting as well as talent holding deal offers.
Ortiz has taken an unusual TV route that has involved no bit episodic parts. Her very first TV casting was a series regular in Chris Carter’s 2014 Amazon pilot The After, which was picked up to series. While the series ultimately did not get produced, Ortiz quickly landed the female lead opposite Morris Chestnut in the 2015 Fox drama pilot Rosewood, which also went to series. While wrapping the second season of Rosewood, she booked a major recurring role on the current second season of the USA drama series Shooter opposite Ryan Phillippe, which is now airing.
Ortiz also starred in the independent features Misfire and Laid Out and can be seen on the web series The Shop. She is repped by WME and Link Entertainment.
This news first appeared here: https://deadline.com/2017/07/greys-anatomy-spinoff-jaina-lee-ortiz-cast-the-lead-abc-1202136085/
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