“Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” actress Paula Patton is making her way to the small screen. She’ll topline ABC’s “Somewhere Between.” The drama, which is based on a Korean format, has scored a 10-episode pickup from the network, The Hollywood Reporter confirms.
Set to debut this summer, “Somewhere Between” follows Laura Price (Patton), a talented news producer who “knows her daughter Serena is going to be murdered. She doesn’t know who the murderer is or why she’ll be killed, but she knows exactly when it will happen, where, and how,” THR writes. “Despite this, all of her attempts to keep her daughter safe fail, and Serena’s fixed, unmovable, terrifying fate keeps her directly in the path of her killer.”
Stephen Tolkin (“Brothers & Sisters”) will pen the script and is serving as executive producer along with Ivan Fecan (“Kim’s Convenience”) and Joseph Broido (“Some Assembly Required”). “Thunderbird Entertainment will produce in association with ITV Studios America, with ITV Studios Global Entertainment handling international distribution,” THR writes.
While Patton has worked in TV, including guest stints on “Single Ladies” and “Law & Order: Special Victim’s Unit,” “Somewhere Between” will mark her first series regular role. Her film credits include “Warcraft: The Beginning,” “About Last Night,” and “Precious.”
“My whole life I hated the idea of ‘biracial,’” Patton has said. “I found it so offensive because a lot of times when people said that, it was to disassociate themselves with being Black, which we all know is a struggle. My mom who is white was always adamant about telling me, ‘You’re Black. There is no other box to check off.’ I always thought of myself that way, and I didn’t like the idea of biracial because of how people behaved […] But now, my mind is beginning to change because we all have so many cultural backgrounds, and it depends on where you heart space is. After all, my mom is a part of who I am.”
According to a report from Dr. Martha Lauzen and The Center for the Study of Women in Television & Film, “broadcast network programs became more racially and ethnically diverse in 2015–16, with Black female characters achieving a recent historical high.” Seventeen percent of female characters were Black.
While TV is gradually getting more inclusive, it has a long way to go, especially when it comes to hiring women of color to play protagonists in series as opposed to supporting characters. Whether Patton specifically identifies as biracial or black, “Somewhere Between” marks a welcome addition to the TV landscape, and especially because it sounds super addictive.
