Octavia Spencer to Star in Fox’s Steven Spielberg Drama ‘Red Band Society’

Octavia Spencer has nabbed the lead role in Fox’s “Red Band Society,” Variety has confirmed.

Drama from ABC Studios and Amblin TV centers on a group of teens who meet as patients in the children’s wing of a hospital. They become unlikely allies and friends in this comedic youth-centered soap. Spencer will play Nurse Jackson, a nurse in the pediatrics ward who reeks of authority. She refuses to reveal any emotions on the job, believing that anything she feels is nothing compared to the real pain and trauma her young patients are going through.

Exec producers on “Red Band Society” include Margaret Nagle, Steven Spielberg, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank and Sergio Aguero. Fox has ordered a pilot for “Red Band Society” along with additional scripts, in line with Fox head Kevin Reilly’s plans to focus more on series development as opposed to merely pilots.

Spencer won an Oscar for her role in “The Help” and recently appeared in “Fruitvale Station.”

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