Audra McDonald joins CBS pilot 'The Ordained'

Sunday March 3, 2013 10:26 AM By Kirthana Ramisetti

Photo credit: Getty Images | Audra McDonald, 2012 Tony Awards nominee for Best Actress in a Musical for "The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess."

Audra McDonald, the five-time Tony Award winner who lives in Croton-on-Hudson, has been cast in the the CBS drama pilot “The Ordained.” The series centers on a character from a wealthy, powerful family who leaves the priesthood to join a top New York law firm. According to Deadline, the actress will play Althea, a senior litigator who works at the firm. 

If “Ordained” gets picked up, the series would mark McDonald’s first full-time return to television since leaving “Private Practice” in 2011. (The series ended its six-season run earlier this year.)

If you can’t wait to see McDonald back on the small screen, the actress will make a guest appearance on an upcoming episode of the hit CBS drama “The Good Wife” as a former classmate of lead Alicia Florrick, played by Spring Valley native Julianna Margulies. McDonald’s episode will air March 10.

McDonald is just the latest actor with Hudson Valley ties to score a project during pilot season.

J.B. Smoove, best known for his star-making turn on “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” has landed a role on Will Arnett’s untitled comedy pilot. Deadline reports that the actor, who was raised in Mount Vernon, will play the friend of Arnett’s character, a recently divorced man whose parents are experiencing marital problems. 

Felicity Huffman, a Bedford native, has top billing in the Fox pilot "Boomering." According to Deadline, the drama will have the former "Desperate Housewives" star playing Margie Hamilton, a "spy and master of disguise" in a family of assassins working for the federal government.

Dave Annable, a Suffern native and former Walden resident, is part of the ensemble comedy "Joe, Joe and Jane." TVLine is reporting that the former "666 Park Avenue" star plays a ladies' man, and one of the guys named Joe. Jane will be played by "Army Wives" star Sally Pressman. Bonus fact: The show's written by two more dudes by that name — Joe Port ("The Office") and Joe Weissman ("Just Shoot Me").

Annable already seems psyched about the project, if a recent Twitter post is any indicator.

First day of rehearsals on Joe, Joe & Jane! Sooooo funny!!Such a great group of people involved from top to bottom! #sitcomsrock

— Dave Annable (@DaveAnnable10) February 20, 2013

Those aren't the only pilots with a Hudson Valley connection. Last month, Fox approved "Sleepy Hollow," a modern-day thriller inspired by Washington Irving's spooky tale set in Westchester County.

With Chris Serico

Tags: Croton-on-Hudson , Mount Vernon , Audra McDonald , J.B. Smoove , Bedford , Felicity Huffman , Suffern , Walden , Dave Annable , TV