Anika Noni Rose Lands Lead Role in CBS Pilot 'For Justice'

It has been announced that Anika Noni Rose has booked the lead role in the CBS crime drama pilot, For Justice. The show is being executive produced by writer and showrunner Rene Balcer, whose previous credits include the acclaimed crime procedural Law & Order. The pilot will be directed by Golden Globe nominated Ava DuVernay, who is seemingly unstoppable after directing the Academy Award Best Picture nominated Selma. It will also feature powerhouse actress Phylicia Rashad in a regular supporting role.

For Justice will focus on civil rights issues, and is loosely based on author James Patterson's crime novel, The Thomas Berryman Number. The TV series will follow Rose's character, an FBI agent within the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division. She is torn between the radical politics of her family and the demands of her professional family. Rashad will play another member of the Civil Rights Division, who also happens to be gay.



According to Indiewire's Shadow and Act blog, the pilot "promises to tackle present-day race-related events, like the several high-profile cases, including the riots in Ferguson, Missouri following the shooting of Michael Brown, and the accidental death of Eric Garner at the hands of NYPD cops, that sparked national debate on race relations in the USA."

There is no news on when or if the pilot is set to premiere, but this project sounds incredibly promising.

Will you tune into For Justice?