ABC's Thirtysomething sequel has added a third actor to the ensemble that will star alongside the original show's returnees.
Patrick Fugit (Almost Famous, USA's Treadstone) will play Ethan Weston, the son of Nancy (Patricia Wettig) and Elliot (Timothy Busfield), in Thirtysomething(else). He joins Odette Annable and Chris Wood in the sequel, which will focus on the adult children — now in their 30s themselves — of the original show's characters.
Ethan is a brilliant musician who refuses to compromise his principles in order to succeed, and also a recovering drug addict with a lifelong history of depression. He now has a baby with his girlfriend, Kat. Neither of them are really ready to be parents and often leave the baby with Nancy and Elliot when they travel to gigs. Ethan is determined to stay sober and takes offense when Nancy accuses him of using again, but it's not clear if he's telling the truth.
Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick, who created Thirtysomething, are writing and executive producing the sequel; Zwick will also direct the pilot. The original series ran from 1987 to 1991 and won 13 Emmys, including one for best drama series in 1988, along with acting honors for Wettig, Busfield and Melanie Mayron.
Harris, Olin, Wettig and Busfield are all set to reprise their roles, and the sequel has already opened a writers room and is "gearing up for series," ABC Entertainment president Karey Burke told reporters at the Television Critics Association press tour in January.
Thirtysomething(else) comes from ABC Studios and MGM TV, which produced the original series. Along with Wettig and Busfield, Ken Olin and Mel Harris are set to reprise their roles.
Fugit's credits also include Cinemax's Outcast and feature films Gone Girl, First Man and We Bought a Zoo. He's repped by Gersh and Levin-Brown Management.
Deadline first reported the casting.
