Following a sharp drop in ratings last season, ‘Once Upon A Time’ is being completely rebooted for the upcoming seventh season. Lana Parrilla and Colin O’Donoghue will remain as Regina (Evil Queen) and Killian (Captain Hook) along with 
Robert Carlyle as Mister Gold (Rumplestiltskin). But Andrew J. West is stepping in as an older Henry. Alison Fernandez, who was introduced as Henry’s daughter Lucy last season returns as the show’s new focal character.
The majority of the main cast including Ginnifer Goodwin (Mary Margaret/Snow White), Josh Dallas (David/Prince Charming) and Jennifer Morrison (Emma Swan) have gone off to their happy endings. The show will take a time jump and returns to a new setting, Seattle, and a slew of new cast members.
Among them is Mekia Cox, who will portray Tiana, the titular lead character from ‘The Princess and the Frog’. (Her character will alternately be known as Sabine.)
Her mother, Eudora will be played by none other than Robin Givens, most recently seen as Mayor McCoy on The CW’s ‘Riverdale’. On that series, she plays the mother of famous comic book character Josie McCoy, known for fronting her band Josie and the Pussycats.
Eudora is described as “a loving mother to Tiana and benevolent noblewoman. Formerly wealthy, now facing financial disaster, she handles the transition with grace and inner moral strength.” Givens is only listed as a guest star not recurring, so she may only make one appearance.
On the other hand, Cox is a full series regular, joining along with Dania Ramirez as Cinderella (taking over for Jessy Schram, who portrayed the same character previously) and Gabrielle Anwar as Lady Tremaine (Cinderella’s mother).
Cox and Givens actually bumped into each other in an elevator at a hotel in Vancouver, where Givens is filming the second season of ‘Riverdale’.
Cox related the anecdote saying:
“I had come from the grocery store, and there was this woman waiting for the elevator, but I didn’t really see her. We got on the elevator and I turned and said, ‘Oh, hi! I know you.’ She was like, ‘Oh?’ I know I probably scared her. I was like, ‘I think you’re great.’ ‘Oh, thank you,’ and she looked at my grocery bags and she was like, ‘That’s normally me.’ I was like, ‘I need my own groceries, I can’t eat out every day.’ We had a fun little moment with each other and that was that. Then I came to set and found out she was going to be playing my mother, so when I re-met her, she was like, ‘It’s nice to meet you,’ and I was like, ‘Well, it’s re-meeting because I’m the girl from the elevator.’ She was as excited as I was at that time. She’s the sweetest woman, she’s very down to earth and it’s really awesome getting to work with her and play her daughter.”
Are you still enjoying ABC’s ‘Once Upon a Time’? How do you think this reboot will turn out?
Source: Entertainment Weekly
