The CW PILOT
Dan Byrd, Adhir Kalyan, Amy Pietz, Lindsey Shaw, and Patrick Breen
Concept: A young high school student struggles with fitting in and being "cool" at his school in Wisconsin, when his neurotic mother decides to import him a friend through the school's foreign exchange program, only the student that arrives is a Pakistani muslim, not the English golden boy that they all expected.
Review: Awesome. This was a pleasant surprise. The cast is amazing and fun, all of which are in their first big series role. This show has a lot of heart and even a little spunk and wit thrown in for good measure. A perfect family-oriented series.
Dan Byrd. For being so young, I got a feeling that he had great comedic instincts. He's a versatile actor too (his performance in The Hills Have Eyes was impressive, and that's hard to do in a cheesy horror movie). Plus, he is in a awkward-looking teenager phase which is perfect for this series.
Adhir Kalyan. This newcomer was a gem. Sweet, endearing, and funny. Perfect for this role and really fun to watch.
Amy Pietz. I love her, and she was so good as the neurotic mom who's just looking out for her child, but in all the wrong ways. She first got my attention in a great episode of L&O:SVU, where she plays a lesbian mom accused of sexually abusing her daughter. She's a phenomenal actress and hilarious to boot.
Lindsey Shaw. For being the stereotypical "hot sister," I felt like she really brought something new and interesting to the role. It felt more real than most portrayals of such a character b/c she's not what you expect, but it works for her.
Patrick Breen. Funny guy for a funny role. Its always good to bring in someone with seasoned comedy chops that everyones else can play off of. I liked him as the dad here.
