‘Murder’: Teyonah Parris Cast As Female Lead In CBS Drama Pilot

Former Survivor’s Remorse star Teyonah Parris is set as the female lead in CBS drama pilot Murder, based on the BBC miniseries, from producer Dan Lin.

Written by Amanda Green, this new take on the investigative drama explores crime through the unique and often-conflicting perspectives of cops and killers, witnesses and victims, friends and family. Shot like a true-crime documentary, the series invites the audience inside the emotional journey of an investigation, allowing them to discern the truth and judge the suspects’ guilt or innocence for themselves.

Parris will play Det. Ayana Lake, a rising star in the NYPD whose keen intellect and quick, analytic mind are the keys to her success. But when she’s partnered with instinctive intuitive Det. Jack Garrity (not yet cast), styles and personalities sometimes clash.

Parris starred as Missy Vaughn on Starz’s Survivor’s Remorse, which ended its four-season run on Starz last fall, and recently recurred as Pamela Rose on Empire. On the film side, she’ll next be seen in Barry Jenkins’ If Beale Street Could Talk, adapted from the James Baldwin novel. She’s repped by APA, Vanguard Management Group and Fox Rothschild.

Lin Pictures’ Dan Lin executive produces Murder with Green; Lindsey Liberatore co-exec produces. Lin Pictures produces in association with Warner Bros. TV and CBS Television Studios.