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Exclusive: Before Emmy nominee Harris Yulin died on June 10, he had been cast in a leading role in MGM+’s upcoming comedy series American Classic, starring opposite Kevin Kline, Jon Tenney, and Laura Linney. Now, the role of Linus Bean will be played by Len Cariou.

Additionally, Sean Dino Johnson, Johnny McKeown, Phillip Johnson Richardson, Billy Eugene Jones, Andrea Jones-Sojola, Yaegal T. Welch, Joseph Morales, Matt McGrath, and Terry Walters will appear in recurring roles.

From co-creators Michael Hoffman and Bob Martin, American Classic is an 8-episode series that centers on Broadway star and notorious narcissist Richard Bean (Kline), who suffers a spectacular public meltdown and returns to his hometown and the family-run theater where he first became aware of his brilliance. When he arrives, he is shocked to discover that his father Linus Bean (Cariou), the former artistic director, has lost a step and that the once-respected theater,...

What would’ve been Lauren Smith-Fields’ 24th birthday celebration was instead a day of protest to demand answers and justice in her mysterious death. Today, approximately 100 family, friends, and activists gathered together in front of the Bridgeport, Connecticut, police department to march to the Margaret E. Morton Government Center, where they chanted “Happy Birthday, Lauren” and “Black Women Matter.”

“My daughter was a daddy’s girl,” Smith-Fields’ father, Everett Smith, said to the crowd. “To lose your daughter, your only daughter, your baby girl at the ripe age of 23 years...

Unlike many of the other upcoming musical movies, the just-announced Hamilton film isn't a re-cast, adapted movie. Instead, it's a theatrical release of a filmed performance on Broadway! So, does this mean creator and original star Lin-Manuel Miranda will appear in the movie? No need to wait for it - the answer is yes.

Way back when Hamilton was a new Broadway phenomenon in 2016, the show's creative team decided to film the musical before the original cast departed. "We're filming the original cast before I go. We Got You," Miranda tweeted back then, adding in a second tweet, "What are we doing with that footage? No idea. Throwing it in a vault at Gringotts for a bit probly. But we're getting it."

In that original cast, of course, Miranda played the title character, Us Treasury Secretary and Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. The cast also included Leslie Odom Jr., Daveed Diggs,...