Laverne Cox Cast as Transgender Attorney in New CBS Pilot


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Laverne Cox’s star keeps rising—and rightfully so. The badass transgender advocate / actress has graced the cover of Time magazine, put Katie Couric in her place and became the first openly transgender actor to earn an Emmy nomination in her role on Orange is the New Black.  Next on the list, according to Deadline, is a role as a transgender attorney in a new CBS pilot called Doubt. The move would make her the first trans series regular on primetime TV played by an actual transgender actor. More from Deadline:

Cox is set to co-star in Doubt, from longtime Grey’s Anatomy executive producers Tony Phelan and Joan Rater, Timberman/Beverly and CBS TV Studios. It centers on a smart, chic, successful defense lawyer at a boutique firm who shockingly gets involved romantically with one of her clients who may or may not be guilty of a brutal crime. Cox will play Cameron Wirth, a fierce and funny, competitive and compassionate transgender Ivy League-educated attorney. The fact that she’s experienced injustice first hand makes her fight all the harder for her clients.

Deadline says producers set out to find a transgender performer for the role from start, so obviously they shot for the top. Congrats, Ms. Cox.