Shane Paul McGhie and Dasan Frazier will headline the Issa Rae HBO pilot, a half-hour comedy set in professional boxing, Deadline reported. HBO has ordered only the pilot, so the network will review the episode before deciding whether to make a full series.
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Who plays what in the Issa Rae HBO pilot
McGhie plays Menzel, a 28-year-old barber and aspiring sports manager who doubles as best friend to JB. Frazier plays JB, a 27-year-old up-and-coming boxer. The story follows the pair as ambition, insecurity and loneliness collide while they chase success in Las Vegas boxing.
HBO first announced the pilot order in late August. At that stage, reports described Menzel as 30; the casting announcement lists him at 28.
The team behind the show
Rae writes and executive produces the untitled project. Prentice Penny, who ran Insecure with her, will serve as showrunner and executive producer and will direct the pilot. Jax Clark executive produces for Rae’s Hoorae banner, alongside Jonathan Berry and Dave Becky of 3 Arts Entertainment.
The news adds to a busy stretch of TV casting. See our reports on the cast returning for “The Watcher” Season 2 and on Scott Foley joining “Shrinking” Season 4. For the bigger picture at HBO’s parent company, read whether an HBO Max and Paramount+ bundle is coming.
Rae’s track record with HBO
Rae co-created and starred in Insecure, which ended in 2021 after five seasons on HBO. She later created Rap Sh!t for HBO Max. The new pilot returns her to HBO with a different focus: male friendship and ambition, rather than the women at the center of Insecure.
That shift matters for how the show might land. HBO often uses pilot orders to test a concept and its leads together, which makes the chemistry between McGhie and Frazier central to whether the project moves forward.
What the two leads bring
McGhie’s credits include Poker Face, Abbott Elementary and Grey’s Anatomy. In the 2020 film The Last Shift, directed by Andrew Cohn, he played Jevon opposite Richard Jenkins. Frazier recently appeared in Netflix’s A Different World sequel series, which premiered in September. He will next recur in Delphi, Prime Video’s upcoming series set in the Creed universe from Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society. McGhie is represented by Innovative Artists Entertainment and ColorCreative. Frazier is represented by Paradigm, Tassell Talent Group and Fox Rothschild.
Issa Rae HBO pilot at a glance
- Format: half-hour comedy, untitled
- Status: pilot order at HBO, not a series order
- Leads: Shane Paul McGhie (Menzel) and Dasan Frazier (JB)
- Writer and executive producer: Issa Rae
- Showrunner and pilot director: Prentice Penny
- Setting: professional boxing in Las Vegas
What’s next for the pilot
No shooting start date, premiere window or additional casting has been announced. The next step comes after HBO screens the finished pilot and decides whether to order a series. HBO has not said when it expects to make that decision, and no timeline for filming has been shared publicly.
The path from pilot to series is not guaranteed, but it has worked for Rae before. HBO ordered a pilot of Insecure in 2015 and gave the show a series order later that year. A pilot order commits the network to one episode, so HBO keeps the option of passing, retooling the concept or moving ahead with a full season. For now, fans of Rae’s work will have to wait for word on production and a title.
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