Briefs: Eva Marcille’s new drama; Wil Wheaton at SCAD; Jessica Walter’s ‘Archer’ character’s face model

Eva Marcille gives that look anybody gives Marlo Hampton when she says something outrageous and NeNe Leakes quickly mocks Marcille for what she just said.

Eva Marcille gives that look anybody gives Marlo Hampton when she says something outrageous and NeNe Leakes quickly mocks Marcille for what she just said.

Eva Marcille, a radio host and former “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” castmate, is starring in a new drama called “All the Queen’s Men” shooting at Tyler Perry Studios.

It’s part of the studio’s new scripted development arm, Pitch Black Development, headed by Michelle Sneed, the president of production and development for Tyler Perry Studios. Unlike shows such as “The Haves and the Have Nots” and “The Oval,” this series is not from the mind of Perry himself. Rather, it’s based on a popular book “Ladies Night’ written by Christian Keyes, who is a writer for the series.

BET+ originally committed to eight half-hour episodes but upped it to ten one-hour episodes. Additional filming has begun.

“All the Queen’s Men” is set in Club Eden, the fictional home to the hottest and most sensual male exotic dancers in the country.

Marcille plays “Marilyn ‘Madam’ DeVille,” a fierce businesswoman at the top of her game in the nightclub industry and surrounded by a band of trusted employees who are down to make sure that she is successful. But Madam discovers more money and more power means more problems. Could living in this dangerous, unpredictable world eventually cost her her life?

The show is set to debut on the streaming service this summer.

Marcille, a model and reality star, came to Atlanta a few years ago and is married to lawyer Michael Sterling. She was part of the cast of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” seasons 11 and 12. In early 2020, she joined the Rickey Smiley Morning Show, heard locally on Classix 102.9.

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Wil Wheaton will be in Atlanta to shoot a new Amazon Prime eSports show "GameMaster." CR: CBS

Credit: CBS

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Credit: CBS

Wil Wheaton, known best for his role as Wesley Crusher on “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” will receive a special Spotlight award at SCAD’s upcoming all-virtual GamingFest April 9 and 10.

He is also host of an upcoming Amazon Prime eSports show, “GameMaster,” and was Sheldon Cooper’s nemesis on “The Big Bang Theory.”

The festival will also feature a panel with members of the AppleTV+ series “Mythic Quest,” a discussion of special effects in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, screenwriting for games and a SCAD collaboration on a family-friendly animated game called “Zoelie.”

Tickets for $40 to the public are available at scad.edu.

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Atlanta resident Kathleen Cohen was the model for Mallory Archer on the animated show "Archer" and voiced by the late Jessica Walter. DAVID COHEN

Credit: David Coeh

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Credit: David Coeh

Beloved actress Jessica Walter (”Arrested Development,” “Trapper John M.D.”) died last week at age 80 in her sleep.

One of her most notable roles was not as a live-action person. Rather, Walter provided the voice of Malory Archer, lead spy Sterling Archer’s sardonic, tough-talking mom in the long-running Atlanta-produced animated series “Archer” on FX and FXX.

But viewers may notice that Malory Archer doesn’t actually look like Walter. Rather, the creators early on decided to find a model who actually appeared tougher.

Actress Jessica Walter attends the Netflix "Arrested Development" season five premiere in Los Angeles, California, on May 17, 2018. (Lisa O'Connor/AFP via Getty Images/TNS)

Credit: TNS

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Credit: TNS

Enter Atlanta’s own Kathleen Cohen, who was doing some modeling and got a call from her agent around 2009.

She was told to do a modeling gig for an hour for a few hundred dollars. She had no idea what it was about. “They had me put on a black wig and had me do all these different facial expressions,” she said. When she asked them what it was for, they just said it was for an adult animated series.

“I didn’t think much of it,” she said. “A year later, the show came out. It was kind of freaky seeing my face in it.”

She said she doesn’t sound anything like Walter, but her husband would occasionally bring it up in conversations and fans of “Archer” would then recognize her and want a selfie.

Cohen was not upset when she heard she was selected because how she looked matched Malory Archer’s verbally caustic persona. And though she never met Walter in person, she did get an autographed photo of her cartoon self signed by Walter.