Karen Pittman (The Morning Show) and The Wire alum Wood Harris are set as leads opposite Michael Cooper Jr. and Lovie Simone in Forever, Netflix’s upcoming drama series from Girlfriends and Being Mary Jane creator Mara Brock Akil.
A reimagining of Judy Blume’s influential — and controversial — 1975 novel Forever… for a new generation, the series adaptation tells the epic love story of two Black teens, Keisha Clark (Simone) and Justin Edwards (Cooper Jr.) exploring romance and their identities through the awkward journey of being each other’s firsts, set in Los Angeles, 2018.
Pittman plays Dawn, a college-educated, top executive in corporate finance with an easy elegance that belies her loving but paranoid form of parenting, Justin’s (Cooper Jr.) mother Dawn might be strict at times, but it’s always out of love. She’s worked hard to give him the things he needs to succeed in life and wants him to make smart decisions.
Harris portrays Eric, a restauranteur with a high school and life degree, the more lenient parent who always plays referee, Justin’s (Cooper Jr.) father Eric knows that his son feels immense academic and athletic pressure to obtain a higher education and not mess up the head start his family has worked so hard to provide him. He has a good relationship with his son, and though he’s not as intense as his wife, he has a clear set of boundaries.
Brock Akil, who serves as showrunner, executive produces alongside Blume, Susie Fitzgerald, Erika Harrison, Sara White, Regina King, Reina King, and Shana Waterman. The project stems from Brock Akil’s overall deal at Netflix.
Pittman can currently be seen on Apple TV+’s The Morning Show, where she was part of this year’s SAG Award-nominated ensemble cast and also received a Critics Choice nomination for her role. She’ll also return for the upcoming fourth season. Her other credits include And Just Like That…, Yellowstone, The Americans, and Luke Cage. Her film roles include Detroit, Begin Again, and a starring role in Stephen Belber’s recent political drama What We Do Next alongside Corey Stoll. Pittman is repped by TalentWorks and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, et al.
Known best for his portrayal of Avon Barksdale in HBO’s The Wire, Harris most recently appeared as Spencer Haywood in HBO’s Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty. His other recent credits include Starz’s Black Mafia Family and Fox’s Empire. On the big screen, he was most recently seen in LeBron James origin story Shooting Stars and in a reprisal of his role as Tony ‘Little Duke’ Burton in Creed 3. Harris is repped by Gersh and Artists First.
