Irish actor, writer and director, Eoin Macken is to play the male lead opposite Justified’s Natalie Zea in US network NBC's new "high concept" drama series La Brea.
La Brea stars Natalie Zea (Justified) as Eve, a mother whose family is ripped apart when a massive sinkhole opens in Los Angeles, separating her and her son from her estranged husband Gavin, played by Macken, and daughter (played by Zyra Gorecki). “When part of the family finds themselves in an unexplainable primeval world, alongside a disparate group of strangers, they must work to survive and uncover the mystery of where they are and if there is a way back home,” reads the official description.
Macken will play Gavin Harris, Eve’s recently estranged husband, a character described as full of swagger and charm. Macken has been cast as Gavin after Terriers‘ Michael Raymond-James was originally cast in the role but ran into scheduling conflicts due to pandemic-related delays. Macken has a good track record with NBC, having recently starred in the NBC Syfy/Netflix series Nightflyers, which was filmed in Limerick’s Troy Studios, and is also known for his role in the NBC medical drama The Night Shift.
David Applebaum will act as writer and executive producer on La Brea, with Avi Nir, Alon Shtruzman, Peter Traugott, and Rachel Kaplan of Keshet Studios also executive producing along with Ken Woodruff. Universal Television will produce. Appelbaum was most recently a co-executive producer on The Enemy Within which aired on NBC. He worked on the first six seasons of The Mentalist, eventually rising to co-producer. His other credits include co-executive producer on CBS’ Wisdom of the Crowd and supervising producer on NCIS: New Orleans.
La Brea was developed as a pilot for the Spring 2020 development season, but because of pandemic-related delays only received a series order in January 2021.
Macken most recently directed and co-wrote the film adaptation of Rob Doyle's acclaimed novel Here are the Young Men, due to be released in cinemas this year.
The Film features a strong cast of young acting talent including Charles Chapman (Game of Thrones, 1917), Finn Cole (Animal Kingdom, Peaky Blinders), Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen's Gambit, The Witch), Ferdia Walsh-Peelo (Sing Street, Vikings) and Travis Fimmel (Raised by Wolves, Vikings).
Here are the Young Men follows Matthew, Kearney and Rez, three trouble-making young guys that have just escaped the mundane clutches of secondary school and are readying themselves for a summer of hedonism and the impending uncertainty of post-school life. Already seemingly jaded by the 2003 Celtic Tiger Dublin that they see around them, their outlook flips when a young girl is knocked over by a car right before their eyes. This tragic event underpins their summer; their responses leading to drastic measures and destruction.
Here Are the Young Men screened at the Galway Film Fleadh last summer and is due for release later this year.
