Gender non-conforming drama Glamorous casts Ben J. Pierce as its lead
Openly gay actor Ben J. Pierce is set to play the lead in CW’s new drama Glamorous (Youtube/MissBenny).
Ben J. Pierce, who is openly gay, will play the lead role in a new drama Glamorous, about a gender non-conforming teen.
In The CW pilot, Pierce will play Marco, a gender non-conforming teenager who discovers their queer self through makeup and fashion.
The pilot for the potential series will be directed by Eva Longoria and stars Brooke Shields and Pierson Fodé alongside Pierce. If picked up, it would join The CW’s TV schedule later this year.
It will be 20 year old Pierce’s first lead role in a TV series.
He recently appeared as the first openly gay character on Netflix’s Fuller House, as well as on web series Guidance.
But—like Marco—Pierce is a prolific YouTuber, frequently discussing gender and identity on his channel.
The new star of Glamorous is also a singer-songwriter, producing music under the name Miss Benny.
https://twitter.com/Miss_Benny/status/1100521306745856002
His 2014 power anthem “Little Game” examines gender stereotypes, and has attracted over 16m views.
Another of his songs—”Boys Will Be Boys”—examines toxic masculinity and heteronormativity.
What is CW’s gender non-conforming drama Glamorous about?
The Hollywood Reporter describes Pierce’s character Marco as “an ambitious and creative gender non-conforming teenager who uses makeup and fashion to let his queer self bloom.”
“Marco’s life changes when an unplanned rant on YouTube bashing a cosmetics company for its shoddy product lands him a dream internship at the side of its founder and CEO, Madolyn (Brooke Shields),” THR reports.
Brooke Shields is set to play Madolyn, CEO of a cosmetics company. (Getty)
Pierson Fodé (Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List) has also been added to the cast as Chad.
The Hollywood Reporter describe Chad—an openly gay character—as “an ambitious alpha male who works at the cosmetics company his mother Madolyn founded and who styles himself as her heir apparent.”
Eva Longoria, Brooke Shields, and the rest of the team behind Glamorous
Eva Longoria is set to direct her first ever pilot with Glamorous, having directed multiple episodes of Black-ish and The Mick.
The pilot of Glamorous will be directed by Eva Longoria. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty)
The cast thus far includes Shields, Pierce, Fodé, and Jade Payton (iZombie).
It is written and executive produced by Jordan Nardino.
Damon Wayans Jr., Kameron Tarlow and Michael Rauch have all joined as executive producers.
