‘Rise’: Stephanie J. Block & Mark Tallman Set To Recur In NBC Drama Series
Tony-nominated Stephanie J. Block (Falsettos) and Mark Tallman (Single Ladies) are set for recurring roles in new NBC drama series Rise, from former Friday Night Lights showrunner Jason Katims and Hamilton producer Jeffrey Seller.
Written by Katims and starring Josh Radnor, Rise was inspired by the story of groundbreaking high school drama teacher Lou Volpe as chronicled in the book Drama High. In the series, when dedicated teacher and family man Lou Mazzuchelli (Radnor) sheds his own self-doubt and takes over the school’s lackluster theater department, he galvanizes not only the faculty and students but the entire working-class town.
Block will play Patricia, Simon’s mother, a devout Catholic who ends up at odds with her husband over their son’s involvement in a controversial high school play. Tallman will portray Detrell Thorne, Robbie’s successful dad. He has a beautiful young wife and oozes charm. He revels in Robbie’s QB1 status but is single-minded about the teen getting a football scholarship, creating tension between father and son.
