Sterling K. Brown and Gabrielle Union have been cast in the all-Black Friends script reading hosted by Zoom Where It Happens with Brown starring as Ross and Union as the host. Brown’s most recent work includes Black Panther, The Predator, The Rhythm Section, and family-favorite television show This Is Us. Gabrielle Union has been leading the cast of L.A.’s Finest, which takes place in the Bad Boys universe, and has most recently starred alongside Jamie Foxx in Sleepless. Zoom Where It Happens recently did an all-Black Golden Girls reimagining and the reactions were positive.
According to Variety, Salli Richardson-Whitfield will be directing. Brown and Union will join Ryan Michelle Bathe, Uzo Aduba, Aisha Hinds, Kendrick Sampson, and Jeremy Pope to round out the cast. While little is known about what episode the group will be tackling, we do know that, in addition to Brown as Ross, Pope will play Chandler, Aduba will play Phoebe, Bathe will play Rachel, and Hinds will play Monica. While it hasn’t been confirmed, Sampson is likely playing Joey. It seems that they might be taking inspiration from Jay-Z’s music video for his song “Moonlight.” In the music video, the characters from Friends are all reimagined as Black twenty-something New Yorkers and that is what this reading will tap in to as well. The reading will be in support of When We All Vote in order to stir up voter registration and participation.
This reading seems like an interesting way to subvert common casting practices and not only will it help shine a light on voting registration, it could show that there are many types of audiences and that diversifying a show could capitalize on that. Outside of that, the reading is filled with both industry veterans and up-and-comers which also makes for an exciting watch because it allows audiences to be surprised by the interplay of actors they don’t normally see that often. If the reading is a hit, we might see a Friends remake or reimagining sooner than people ever thought. The reading will be taking place Tuesday, September 22, between 6 and 7 PM, and an RSVP is required to watch online.
