Anthony Anderson is returning to ABC for a new comedy titled Public Defenders.
The Howard University alumni will star and executive produce the upcoming pilot from 20th Television and Wonderland Sound and Vision. According to Variety, this announcement comes less than a year after Black-ish ended its eight-season run, in which Anderson received six Emmy nominations for lead actor in a comedy series.
In Public Defenders, viewers will follow four young public defenders struggling to keep up with their student loans, and the day-to-day work that they do in order to keep their clients out of jail. Along the way, they have to rely on one another to navigate their first defendants, the heavily flawed court system and a malfunctioning copy machine.
Anderson portrays Marshall, the public defenders’ boss. As the savvy veteran of the establishment, it’s his duty to mold these new lawyers into cutthroat defense attorneys. Although he is stern, it’s all for a good cause because he truly cares for all of his employees.
Created by Eddie Quintana, Public Defenders will have Liz Astrof as showrunner, with Randall Einhorn as its director. Both will also serve as executive producers alongside Quintana, Anderson, E. Brian Dobbins, Wonderland Sound and Vision’s McG, Mary Viola, and Corey Marsh.
The award-winning comedian can be seen hosting the ABC game show To Tell the Truth and is executive producer of the Black-ish spinoff, Grown-ish for Freeform. Last year, Anderson reprised his role as Detective Kevin Barnard on Law & Order and will star in Amazon’s Miraculous; in addition to the upcoming reality show Anthony Anderson and Mom: European Vacation, slated to air on E!