J.J. adds to his harem of lovely ladies!

Keri Russell, Jennifer Garner, Evangeline Lilly and Anna Torv have one thing in common - they were nobodies until J.J. Abrams cast them in Felicity, Alias, Lost and Fringe respectively. I think I'll add Zoe Saldana to that list as she was known to see but her name wasn't before Abrams put her in Star Trek ahead of her involvement with the groundbreaking Avatar.

It's not only because Abrams is one of the most original, prolific and revolutionary entertainment creators of the modern age that these ladies become so popular. Individually they're not only beautiful but capable of delivering outstanding dramatic performances which has collectively earned them dozens of awards and nominations. Now the time has come to add a new young lady to that auspicious list...

As you may know Abrams is in the process of creating Undercovers, a TV show that seems like a cross between The Bourne Identity and Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Abrams will bring his Alias and Mission Impossible experience to the fore in crafting a new entry in the high tech spy genre as his new series will follow spouses Samantha and Steven Bloom, as they work together as spies.

Gugu Mbatha-Raw [remember where you read that name first people] has been cast to play Samantha in the Undercovers pilot. The English actress might be familiar to Doctor Who fans, for her role as Tish, Martha Jones' sister. She's also appeared on the series Spooks so she's not stranger to the genre. Boris Surrogates Kodjoe has also been cast as Steven as has Gerald Major Dad McRaney as their CIA boss who recruited the couple and serves as the agency's liaison with them.

Abrams co-wrote the Undercovers pilot with Josh Reims and will be directing it as well – his first time directing a TV pilot since Lost. Bizarrely NBC are funding it after they shit-canned their own high tech spy show My Own Worst Enemy starring Christian Slater in 2008. I'm sure glad it'll be J.J. Abrams filling their primetime void after their recent monumental fuck-up.

Source: EW.com / Coming Soon.net