EXCLUSIVE: Blu Hunt (The New Mutants) and Reno Wilson (Good Girls) are set as leads and Maximiliano Hernandez (Avengers: Endgame), Dawnn Lewis (Veronica Mars reboot), Derek Phillips (Blood of Zeus), Courtney Dietz (Beast Beast) and Troy Kotsur (The Mandalorian) also have been cast as series regulars in Fox pilot The Last Police, an adaptation of Ben Winters’ sci-fi mystery novel The Last Policeman.
Written and directed by Killen, in The Last Police, as an asteroid races toward an apocalyptic collision with Earth, a small-town police detective (Hunt) believes she’s been chosen to save humanity, while her cynical partner (Wilson) can’t decide what he’ll enjoy more: her delusional failure, or the end of the world itself.
Wilson portrays Detective David Duran. He’s a drinking, smoking, unshaven wreck with a badge who, following a devastating personal tragedy unrelated to the asteroid, views the rest of his days alive as a penance and openly embraces the prospect of the world’s end. When they’re partnered in the pilot, he’s amused by what he considers Mackenzie’s delusions of grandeur, and her positivity only stokes his cynical fatalism.
Hunt plays Detective MacKenzie Ward. She’s a sharp young police detective who as our story begins has decided to end her life on her own terms rather than wait for the Earth’s annihilation in its impending collision with an asteroid. When her suicide attempt fails, she attributes her survival to being chosen for a special purpose, and going forward she’s a relentless ambassador for optimism and hope in a world with an ever-shorter supply of both.
Lewis portrays Chief Sharon Ward. A counterpoint to the escalating chaos in her city and around the globe, she’s the calm and collected police chief to whom Mackenzie and Duran report, struggling to maintain law and order with only a skeleton staff of remaining officers. Off the clock, she’s contending with complicated questions about her marriage, her religion, and what to prioritize as the end draws near.
Phillips is Detective Reg Butler. Another of Chief Ward’s remaining officers, Butler is looked at somewhat askance by his colleagues thanks to his greater enthusiasm for hobbies like collecting military memorabilia than for diligent police work. In fact, Butler’s assertion of his identity during these last months has resulted in him going nowhere without his prized vintage bayonet.
Hernandez portrays Detective Alvaro Diaz. A former minor-league ballplayer from Cuba who segued to law enforcement when he first became a father, Diaz was a contented family man before news of the asteroid hit. Since that revelation he’s become a mess, openly weeping at his desk and distracted by savoring every moment he has left with the wife and children he loves more than anything.
Dietz will play Beth Hubbard. This striking young uniformed officer catches Mackenzie’s eye at the key crime scene in the pilot. Her chemistry with Mackenzie portends a connection that will prompt Hubbard to confront issues surrounding her identity, family, and faith before she runs out of time.
Kotsur will portray Gus Severnson. He’s a deaf, grizzled mountain man living in semi-isolation on the outskirts of the city, where he’s been taking in the many dogs abandoned by their owners for howling nonstop in anticipation of the asteroid. He’s never gotten along with his son-in-law Duran, but he’d like to change that before the end, if only because he knows it’s what his late daughter would have wanted.
Fox Entertainment and 20th Television will produce with Chapter Eleven’s Killen, Scott Pennington, Winters and Anonymous Content exec producing.
Native American actress Hunt’s recent credits include The New Mutants, Netflix series Another Life and ABC’s Stumptown. She’s next set to star in the film Fathers & Prophets based on the Dave Eggers novel. Hunt is repped by A3 Artists Agency, Luber Roklin Entertainment and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.
Wilson, known for his role as Officer Carl McMillan on CBS’ Mike and Molly, recently finished production on NBC’s Good Girls, starring opposite Christina Hendricks. On the film side, he’ll be seen in Tyson’s Run, set for release in 2022. He’s repped by A3 Artists Agency and Brian Medavoy at MoreMedavoy Management.
Lewis was last seen in the Veronica Mars reboot on Hulu and will be returning as Tina Turner’s mother, Zelma, when Tina: The Tina Turner Musical returns to Broadway later this year. She is repped by Artists & Representatives.
Phillips can next be seen in the film To Leslie opposite Andrea Riseborough and Allison Janney and he is currently the lead in the Netflix animated series Blood of Zeus. He’s repped by TalentWorks and Cohn/Torgan Management.
Hernandez’s TV credits include TNT’s The Last Ship, FX’s The Americans, Audience Network’s Mr. Mercedes and Amazon’s Hand of God and features such as Sicario, Avengers: Endgame and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. He will soon be seen recurring in CBS’s SEAL Team. He’s repped by Pakula/King & Associates and Vault Entertainment.
Dietz was most recently seen in Sundance feature Beast Beast produced by Alec Baldwin. She will next be seen starring opposite Pedro Correa in independent feature My Dead Dad which is set to premiere at Woodstock Film Festival this fall. Dietz is repped by TalentWorks, Atlanta Models & Talent, Stride Management and Hayes Robbins of Goodman, Genow, Schenkman.
Deaf since birth, Kotsur was a lead in the 2021 feature CODA, which was awarded Best Ensemble Cast at Sundance. His TV credits include The Mandalorian, in which he guest-starred and also choreographed an adapted form of sign language for the series. On stage, he appeared in the Tony Award winning run of Big River on Broadway and in the 2015 LA Drama Critics Circle Award nominee Spring Awakening. Kostur is repped by Mark Finley, Metric Talent & Literary Management.