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'Empire' Flops Overseas as Foreign Viewers Resist Hollywood's Diversity Push
[HOLLYWOODREPORTER] Driven by the ratings success of shows with mainly nonwhite casts — Empire, Black-ish and Fresh Off the Boat — along with political pressure to make shows better reflect their diverse audience, American TV outlets increasingly are greenlighting series that feature black, Asian and Latino leads. Fox's 24: Legacy, a reboot of the Kiefer Sutherland series, stars Corey Hawkins, famous as Dr. Dre from Straight Outta Compton. CBS has Rush Hour, based on the action movie franchise, starring Jon Foo and Justin Hires, and has cast Sarah Shahi, a former NFL cheerleader of Persian and Spanish ancestry, as Nancy Drew in its reboot of the lily-white mystery franchise."It's color-blind casting," says Sony Pictures TV casting director Dawn Steinberg. "There used to be a time when it had to be written that way to look for an actor with a specific ethnicity. Now it's just who is the best actor for the role." But when trying to sell overseas, American shows are finding the color barrier is still there. Why? Insiders say it's because international audiences have yet to truly embrace diversity on the small screen. "These shows are a reflection of our society, but [they are] not a reflection of all societies," says Marion Edwards, president of international TV at Fox. Posted by: Fred 2016-03-31 |
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