Kal Penn has secured a major new television role, which will reunite him with David Shore, the creator of House. Shore is working with Breaking Bad’s Vince Gilligan on Battle Creek and the Harold & Kumar star will play a key role in the new project.
Back in September, CBS wasted no time in putting in a series order for Gilligan’s first original project since Breaking Bad ended. The project was first developed at CBS in 2002, but failed to go forward. The new version is a Sony TV and CBS TV co-production with Shore as showrunner.
CBS put in a 13-episode commitment to Battle Creek and it would likely premiere during the next TV season. Deadline, which first reported Penn’s casting, notes that the plot centers on a police detective and an FBI agent teaming up to solve crimes in Battle Creek Michigan. Penn isn’t slated to play the main detective, but will play another one who is uneasy about working with an FBI agent.
Penn’s last series was also for CBS. He appeared in the short-lived comedy We Are Men with Tony Shalhoub. Penn also had a recurring role on How I Met Your Mother and worked for the White House.
image courtesy of CBS