Rosie Perez signed for Geena Davis pilot

They've done the right thing at CBS in casting -- at least it seems right. Brooklyn native Rosie Perez will play Lorna, Geena Davis' cop partner on the force in Exit 19. I say it's the right thing, and good casting, because Lorna is supposed to be a Brooklyn girl. You can't get more authentic than Rosie Perez. She's a New Yorker through and through. In Exit 19, with Geena cast as a cop who works in the city while raising two kids in Long Island, the work atmosphere will likely seem a lot more realistic with Perez as her partner. If they can muster up the chemistry of a Cagney & Lacey, they'll be well on their way to a success. Of course, with Rosie all of five feet, one and a half inches and Geena a statuesque six feet, they're going to look like Mutt and Jeff.

Rosie also has the acting credentials to go with the attitude. Recently on TV, she was excellent in HBO's Lackawanna Blues (2005), and on the big screen, she was an Oscar-nominee for Fearless (1994). Her credits also include Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing and the sports comedy, White Man Can't Jump. She played Woody Harrelson fiery paramour in that film, one with a dream to someday hit the jackpot on Jeopardy. The film has one of the funniest TV scenes every put in a movie, when Rosie as Gloria finally makes her dream a reality.

In addition to Rosie Perez, Ramon Rodriguez and Amy Farrington have also been cast in Exit 19. Rodriguez, who was Renaldo in The Wire, has been slated to be a street-wise fellow cop and office flirt who who works with Gloria and Lorna. Amy Farrington, a sitcom regular who's been in many CBS shows -- The King of Queens, Two and a Half Men, Still Standing, Yes, Dear and The Adventures of Old Christine -- will be appearing in the show as Geena's neighbor in the 'burbs.
Tags: Brooklyn, Cagney Lacey, CagneyLacey, CBS, Exit 19, Exit19, Geena Davis, GeenaDavis, HBO, Lackawanna Blues, LackawannaBlues, Mutt and Jeff, MuttAndJeff, New Yorker, NewYorker, Rosie Perez, RosiePerez, The Wire, TheWire, Woody Harrelson, WoodyHarrelson