Mandy Moore to star in CBS drama pilot ‘The Advocates’

Less than a week after making her exit from an ABC comedy pilot Pulling, Mandy Moore has been cast as the female lead opposite Southland’s Ben McKenzie in the CBS drama pilot The Advocates. Written by Bruno Heller and directed by David Nutter, The Advocates, centres on lawyer Shannon Carter (Moore) and ex-con Henry Bird (Ben McKenzie), an unlikely pair who team with one another as “victim advocates”. The two are determined to do everything they can, going to the very edge of the law, to right wrongs and fight for the underdog.

Moore’s character, Shannon, was once a high-powered Assistant District Attorney, but after she makes a shocking discovery about her past and learns she has a connection to an unjustly incarcerated man, she becomes a victim’s advocate. Moore has mostly focused on films during her acting career, but has had numerous guest roles in shows such as Scrubs, Entourage, Grey’s Anatomy and How I Met Your Mother. Moore also lended her voice for the role of Mara on the Disney animated television series Tron: Uprising.

Moore exited ABC’s pulling pilot after writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky “moved the character in a different direction.” The role Moore left abandoned has since been filled by 30 Rock actress Kristen Schaal.