Presidential 'Event' brings Blair Underwood to NBC

Jason Ritter stars in the multiple POV thriller

By HitFix Staff Thursday, Mar 4, 2010 2:19 AM

Blair Underwood

Credit: Dan Steinberg/AP

Ask millions of women if they'd vote for Blair Underwood as President and you'd probably hear a lot of "Yes" answers. NBC agrees.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Underwood is set to play the President of the United States in "The Event," from writer Nick Wauters.

The plot focuses on an ordinary guy (Jason Ritter) who finds himself attempting to unravel a conspiracy to assassinate the president. The story is told through a number of different points of view. Sound a bit like any given season of "24"? Yeah, perhaps.

The trade paper notes that Underwood would be the the second black president on a major U.S. TV series after Dennis Haysbert on the first season of "24," which is wrong both because David Palmer wasn't president in the first season of "24" (though he was president by the following season) and because David Palmer's brother Wayne inexplicably became president in Day Six of "24."

Underwood, whose most recent TV credits include "Dirty Sexy Money" and "The New Adventures of Old Christine," earned Golden Globe nominations for his work on both "In Treatment" and "L.A. Law."