The CW’s reboot of ‘Roswell’ has added several new cast members. They join Jeanine Mason who was cast as the series lead, Liz, last month. The new take on ‘Roswell’ comes from ‘The Originals’ executive producers Carina Adly MacKenzie and Julie Plec and now we see that they will continue their working relationship with ‘The Originals’ star Nathan Parsons. Parsons plays Jackson on ‘The Originals’. On ‘Roswell’, he will play Max, a charismatic leader and Roswell police office, concealing the fact that he is an alien with superpowers. This was the same role that Jason Behr played on the original ‘Roswell’ series which aired on The WB and UPN before those two networks merged into The CW. As such, he will be the series male lead. Parsons may also be recognized for portraying Godot on ‘Bunheads’, James on ‘True Blood’, Ethan on ‘General Hospital’, and Nick Branson/Jack on ‘Once Upon A Time’.
The series has also added Lily Cowles, Tyler Blackburn, Heather Hemmens, Michael Trevino and Michael Vlamis. Cowles will portray Isobel, “the polished and restrained woman who wasn’t meant for small-town life, but she lives it with all the grace and enthusiasm she can muster in order to keep her true origins a secret.” This was the part that Katherine Heigl played on the original. Cowles portrayed Germaine Healy on the CBS series ‘BrainDead’.
Vlamis portrays “the troubled but brilliant Michael, who survived a violent childhood and is now secretly driven to find a way to escape Earth and the humans who have failed him, to return to a mysterious home he’s never known.” This was the role portrayed by Brendan Fehr on the original. Vlamis costars on an online sketch comedy series ‘VlamCarter’ with Andrew Carter.
Blackburn plays military veteran Sgt. Alex Manes, who is returning home after serving in the Middle East. It sounds as though he might be suffering from some post-traumatic stress disorder. “After experiencing his fair share of psychological and physical trauma and aims to adhere to his father’s expectations, abandoning his dreams and the possibility of a future with the man he loves.” This role was played by Colin Hanks on the original series, but the character’s last name was Whitman. Blackburn is probably best known for playing Caleb Rivers on ABC Family’s ‘Pretty Little Liars’ and its spinoff ‘Ravenswood’. He also played Peter Pan on the series ‘Wendy’.
Hemmens portrays Maria, “Liz’s fun, free-spirited former best friend and social media maven who is oblivious to the realities of Roswell.” Majandra Delfino appeared in this role in the original. Hemmens costarred on comedy series ‘Hellcats’ and on Tyler Perry’s ‘If Loving You Is Wrong’. She has also appeared on ‘The Haves and the Have Nots’, ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, ‘The Vampire Diaries’ and the upcoming ‘Yellowstone’.
Michael Trevino portrays Kyle Valenti. “Kyle is popular and the son of the town sheriff, but he begins to question his charmed life after learning some horrible things that have happened in his family’s past.” Nick Wechsler played this role on the original. Trevino is best known for playing Tyler Lockwood on ‘The Vampire Diaries’ and ‘The Originals’. He has also starred on ‘Cane’, ‘The Riches’ and ‘90210’, and appeared on several shows such as ‘CSI’, ‘CSI: Miami’, ‘CSI: NY’, ‘The Mentalist’ and more.
So far, The CW has only ordered a pilot, so ‘Roswell’ may or may not make it to air. Check back for updates!
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, TV Line