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Exclusive: Adam Ray, who portrayed Jay Leno in Disney+’s Pam and Tommy and Vince McMahon in NBC’s Young Rock, has joined the cast of Kumail Nanjiani’s Hulu Chippendales biopic Immigrant.

The actor-comedian will play Larry the Emcee in the show that is being directed by Academy Award-nominee Ramin Bahrani and exec produced by Girls co-showrunner Jenni Konner.

Nanjiani is leading Immigrant as Somen ‘Steve’ Banerjee, the Indian-American entrepreneur and originator of Chippendales, who founded the male stripping dance troupe in the late 1970s before being charged with enlisting the aid of a former Palm Springs police officer in a plot to murder Chippendales’ rivals. He was found dead in his cell, having hanged himself, in 1994.

Pam and Tommy writer Robert Siegel is writing alongside Rajiv Joseph and Mehar Sethi and has enlisted Ray, who portrayed U.S. talk show host Leno in season one of Disney+’s...

Exclusive: Management and production company Thruline Entertainment has brought in longtime CBS talent executive Karen Church as senior manager.

Most recently SVP of Comedy Casting at CBS, Church, who left the network late last year, oversaw talent on some of CBS’ signature hits of the past two decades.

Church joined CBS in 1998 as Director of Movies and Miniseries after starting her career as an independent casting director. She shepherded the casting of more than CBS 50 telefilms a year before switching to comedy series where she rose to SVP. While at the network, Church oversaw the entire runs of Everybody Loves Raymond, Two and A Half Men, King of Queens, The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, 2 Broke Girls, Mom, Mike & Molly and Life In Pieces, among many others, as well as the pilots and multiple seasons of The Neighborhood, Young Sheldon, The Unicorn and Bob Hearts Abishola.

CBS Entertainment has promoted casting executives Karen Church and Fern Orenstein to the role of senior VP, casting. Both will report to Peter Golden, CBS’ executive VP in charge of talent and casting. “For over a decade, I’ve been fortunate enough to work side by side with Karen and Fern, two of the industry’s most talented casting executives,” Golden said in a statement. “Their relationships with casting directors, agents, managers, showrunners and executives are unparalleled, their knowledge of actors is immeasurable, and their passion, dedication and commitment are boundless.” Church, who joined CBS as a director of casting in 1998 and began working in comedy in 2000, handles casting of series-regular and guest star roles on “The Big Bang Theory,” “Two and a Half Men,” “2 Broke Girls," "Mom," and "The Millers," among others. Meanwhile, Orenstein handles casting long-form and event series, reality programming, and the network's original mobile content. She...

Karen Church and Fern Orenstein just landed new roles, as senior vice president, casting for CBS Entertainment. Church and Orenstein have both been promoted to the position, CBS's executive vice president, talent and casting Peter Golden said Thursday. Also read: CBS’ Les Moonves Sidesteps Ray Rice Scandal; Touts NFL's ‘Phenomenal Ratings,’ Rising Ad Rates Reporting directly to Golden, the pair join CBS casting senior vice presidents Lucy Cavallo in Los Angeles and Amy Herzig in New York. Church (pictured at left), was previously vice president, casting at CBS Entertainment, and will oversee the casting of series regular and guest-starring roles on CBS comedies.

Lisa Soltau was living in Seattle when her friend Bonnie Gillespie sent her a book she had written called "Casting Qs," a compilation of interviews with casting directors. "I read it and I absolutely loved all the aspects of the job," says Soltau. "I loved the entertainment industry and movies and television. The process of casting sounded wonderful."She called one of the two casting offices in Seattle and ended up working as an intern there for about six months. But the CD told her she should move to New York or Los Angeles if she really wanted to pursue a career in casting. "I picked L.A. because I had lived there once for about three years and I thought it would be easier to acclimate there," Soltau says. "Plus I wanted to work on 'Six Feet Under,' which was airing at the time.

Listed below are the studios and offices for network and cable television.ABCLos Angeles Offices: 500 South Buena Vista StreetBurbank, CA 91521-4651(818) 460-7777Los Angeles Casting: Keli Lee (Executive VP, Casting); Ayo Davis (VP, Casting), Claudia Ramsumair (VP of Casting), Sandi Logan (Executive Director, Casting), Randi Chugerman (Executive Director, Casting); Gene Blythe (Casting Consultant), Billy Murphy, John Villacorta (Managers of Casting), Karen Noble (Casting Coordinator).New York Offices: 77 West 66th StreetNew York 10023(212) 456-7777New York Casting: ABC157 Columbus Avenue, 2nd FloorNew York 10023.Rosalie Joseph, C.S.A. (VP, Casting), Marci Phillips, C.S.A. (Executive Director of Casting), Janet Murphy Butler (Executive Director of Casting & Talent Relations), and Justin Borgstahl (Coordinator).CBSLos Angeles Offices: CBS Television City7800 Beverly Blvd.Los Angeles, CA 90036(323) 575-2345Cbs Studios4024 Radford Ave.Studio City, CA 91604(818) 655-5000Los Angeles Casting: Peter Golden (Executive VP, Talent & Casting), Lucy Cavallo (VP, Casting), Fern Orenstein (VP, Casting), Karen Church (VP,...

Ann Donahue, one of the executive producers of CBS' CSI series franchise and showrunner of CSI: Miami, is set to talk about the casting process as keynote speaker during the Talent Managers Assn.'s "An Evening With CBS," to be held Tuesday at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood. The event, moderated by Robert J. Dowling, editor-in-chief and publisher of The Hollywood Reporter, also will feature a preview and discussion of CBS' new lineup. The panel discussions will include five senior casting executives from CBS: Peter Golden, executive vp talent and casting; Sheila Guthrie, senior vp talent and casting, network TV; Fern Orenstein, vp casting, movies and miniseries; Lucy Cavallo, vp casting, drama; and Karen Church, vp casting, comedy. Also involved in the panel discussion will be series casting directors including Risa Bramon-Garcia (CSI: NY), Lisa Miller Katz (CBS' Everybody Loves Raymond) and Molly Lopata (movies-of-the-week and miniseries). The event, which starts at 7 p.m., is open to TMA members, managers, agents, industry professionals and media. TMA is a 50-year-old nonprofit trade group that represents professional managers in the entertainment industry.