His original part eventually went to David Lyons. Burke had already been cast in the pilot in a co-starring role and had even filmed a scene when he got the promotion. Three years ago, production had started on NBC’s drama pilot Revolution with the lead role still open when the producers gave it to Billy Burke. While rare, the switcheroo is not unprecedented. Christa, a former soccer mom whose son died of cancer, is a newly minted, talented and dedicated doctor whose experience handling her son’s disease, coupled with her intuition and life experience, makes her see things that often escape her younger fellow residents. A decision was made to age up the Leanne character and age down Christa, with Somerville tapped to play the tweaked character. Leanne is described as the residency director in the ER, who is a force of nature and a force to be reckoned with. But I hear that the executives felt the Oscar winner had the gravitas they felt the role needed. It is not a conventional choice as Harden is 24 years older than Grace.
As part of the recasting process, the pilot’s producers and casting directors looked at other actresses in Leanne’s suggested age range (35). While that was going on, they also started thinking of Harden in the role. The lead in Code Black became vacant after the table read earlier this week when 31-year-old Maggie Grace, originally cast in the role, was released. Marcia Gay Harden, originally cast in the co-starring role of Christa, will now play the lead, Leanne. Bonnie Somerville has been tapped to replace Harden as Christa. EXCLUSIVE: There is a major casting change on the CBS medical drama pilot Code Black.