5 fresh faces to watch this fall
This season’s crop of new television shows features plenty of familiar stars, including David Boreanaz, Edie Falco, Kyra Sedgwick and the entire cast of “Will & Grace.” But there are also plenty of fresh faces to keep an eye on, as well. Here are five performers who are stepping up into the prime-time spotlight this fall with a chance to experience breakout success: Iain Armitage “Young Sheldon” (CBS)
Sure, the adult Sheldon Cooper gets a large share of the laughs on “The Big Bang Theory.” But truth be told, he also often gets on our nerves. So did we really need his Mini-Me model?
Perhaps we do. Armitage, 9, instantly won us over as an inquisitive little brainiac with a thing for bowties. Something tells us we’ll be watching this cute — and ultra talented — kid for a long time.
Where we’ve seen him before >> As Ziggy Chapman in HBO’s “Big Little Lies.” Brandon Michael Hall “The Mayor” (ABC)
On this buzzy comedy, the Juilliard-trained Hall plays a rapper who becomes the mayor of his fictional Bay Area city after a publicity stunt gone wrong.
It’s Hall’s biggest role to date and he nails it with spot-on comic timing and charisma to spare. And, yes, when it comes to rapping, he definitely has skills.
Where we’ve seen him before >> As Julian on TBS’ “Search Party.” Nathalie Kelley “Dynasty” (The CW)
The Peruvian actress has some big stilettos to fill, assuming the role of Cristal, the character played by Linda Evans in the original 1980s sudser (Spelled “Krystle” back in the day).
Savvy and sly, she’s pretty darn good at being bad. And obviously, Kelley has the right amount of sex appeal to catch Blake Carrington’s eye. Of course, over time, she’ll have to prove that she can hold her own in ferocious cat fights.
Where we’ve seen her before >> As Neela in the 2006 film “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift” and as Sybil in the final season of The CW’s “The Vampire Diaries.” Natalie Alyn Lind “The Gifted” (Fox)
Lind actually booked her first on-screen job at the age of 4, working alongside her mother on the popular prime-time soap “One Tree Hill.”
And though her resume is dotted with several other TV shows, Fox’s taut action thriller is the first time she has been a main cast member (as Lauren Strucker) on a network series. Fortunately, she’s a standout who lives up to the show’s title.
Where we’ve seen her before >> As Silver St. Cloud in Fox’s “Gotham” and as Dana Caldwell on ABC’s “The Goldbergs.” Christina Ochoa “Valor” (The CW) There will be a lot of testosterone flowing through TV’s military
dramas this fall, but Ochoa stands out in this series as Warrant Officer Nora Mandani, the first female member of an elite helicopter pilot squad called the Shadow Raiders. She doesn’t just want to prove that she belongs, she wants
to be the best.
Ochoa, a native of Spain, possesses the dramatic chops the role requires, bringing the right mix of grit, intensity and vulnerability to the screen.
Where we’ve seen her before >> As Renn on TNT’s “Animal Kingdom”
and as Grace D’Argento on the NBCand SyFy series “Blood Drive.”