Freeform has made its first casting announcements for upcoming comedy Besties. Set to star in the series are American Idol winner Jordin Sparks (Sparkle), The Real O’Neals alum Matt Shively, and newcomer Brooks Brantly.
Sparks will play ambitious overachiever Becca, who is shaken by the news that the woman she thought was her mother actually isn’t, while Shively will portray former athlete Matt, a bar manager who can’t get past his glory days. Brantly, meanwhile, will be seen as Becca’s brother Todd.
From Casey Johnson and David Windsor (The Real O’Neals), as well as Ranada Shepard (Born Again Virgin), with Kenya Barris (Black-ish) executive producing, Besties follows Becca and her newly discovered half-sister Jesi, as they’re thrown into each other’s lives by an online genetics test and have to figure out how to go from strangers to sisters.
While this is her first series regular television role, Sparks has previously appeared on the likes of Zoe Ever After and CSI, while Shively’s television credits include The Resident, Santa Clarita Diet, and True Jackson, VP.
Besties is part of an upcoming scripted slate for Freeform that includes family comedy Everything’s Gonna Be Okay, a Party of Five reboot with an immigration twist, and Pretty Little Liars spinoff Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists.
