Deon Cole(black-ish,The Harder They Fall) has signed on to lead upcoming BET+ original seriesAverage Joe, which will hail fromRobb Cullen(Cop Out) andMcG(Charlie’s Angels).Deadlinewas the first to report the news. The series has a cast contingent script-to-series order, which means that the series (not just a pilot) will be ordered once some top names sign on to the project. Cole is undeniably a step in that direction.
The plot forAverage Joeis as follows:
“Set in The Hill district of Pittsburgh and inspired by Cullen’s life, ‘Average Joe’ follows blue-collar plumber Joe Washington (Cole) who discovers his recently deceased father lived a secret, second life and stole millions of dollars from dangerous people just before he died. Now those people think Joe knows where it is. A bloody and violent confrontation triggers a chain of events that force Joe and his close-knit circle of family and friends out of their very average and mundane lives into a life or death race against time to find the truth and the millions.”
Cole is perhaps best known to audiences for bothBlack-ishand spinoff seriesGrown-ish. There, he plays Charlie Telphy, a co-worker and best friend toAnthony Anderson’s Dre Johnson. His role as Charlie is an excellent showcase of Cole’s comedic chops and it will be interesting to see what he brings toAverage Joe.
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Per the synopsis,Average Joewill be a dark comedy, and an action director like McG has the resume to bring a series like that to life. It’s a bit of a new direction for Cole, who has primarily stuck to comedies. However, he did recently appear inJeymes Samuel’s Netflix westernThe Harder They FalloppositeIdris ElbaandJonathan Majors. He also will soon appear inKenya Barris’s featureYou PeoplewithEddie MurphyandJonah Hill, as well as next year’sThe Color Purple, which will adapt the musical version of the material. Alfonso is the character Cole will play, which is a small but pivotal role.
BET+ is the streaming, on-demand extension of the BET Network which first launched in late 2019. The platform has put forth eight series so far, with three of those being dramas.Tyler Perryoversees several of the programs, which includeRuthless,All the Queen’s Men,First Wives Club, andThe Ms. Pat Show. There are also unscripted series on the service, which include the docuseriesAmerican Gangster: Trap Queens.
With Cole signing onto the series,Average Joeshould be moving into production soon.
