American Crime Season 2 Adds Shameless Star Emily Bergl

Publish date: 2024-08-18

“American Crime” is continuing to build out the cast for its second season, adding “Shameless” star Emily Bergl as a recurring character.

Season two of the ABC show will revolve around a crime set in the high school basketball world when a student accuses several players on a championship team of sexually assaulting him, and then taking photos and posting them online.

The storyline will allow the creative team to explore issues of social economics, education, as well as sexual orientation, Ridley told Variety.

Bergl will play Lillah Tanner, the mother of Eric Lupton (played by Joey Pollari), a basketball player from a working class family who’s attending school on a scholarship. Lillah’s family becomes embroiled in the fallout of alleged sexual assault.

“We’ve had a lot of success bringing in talent with varied backgrounds,” said exec producer John Ridley of Bergl’s casting. “Emily’s done Broadway, television … and being able to get her coming off of ‘Shameless,’ the timing for us was just right. Our show really lives on being able to present as many voices as possible, and Emily simply adds to them.”

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Bergl joins an ensemble of new and returning actors, including newcomers to the anthology series: “Bond” girl Stephanie Sigman and Andre Benjamin. Felicity Huffman, Timothy Hutton, Richard Cabral, Lili Taylor and Elvis Nolasco, who all starred in the first season, will be back in new roles.

Hutton, who is nominated for an Emmy for his work on “Crime” — one of the 10 nominations earned by the series — will play the basketball coach, and Huffman, who also received a nom, will play the headmistress of the private school.

“American Crime” is set to bow midseason on ABC.

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