Emmy-winning Regina King joins the cast of HBO's Leftovers

It looks like Regina King has one more thing to celebrate this week!

Sep 23, 2015

It looks like Regina King has one more thing to celebrate this week!

This post sponsored by HBO

Just days after the actress took the stage to accept her long overdue Emmy award, it has now been announced that she is joining the cast of HBO’s hit drama Leftovers.

King will be playing the role of Erika Murphy, the matriarch of a seemingly idyllic family that we later find out is shrouded in mystery and scandal. This isn’t the veteran actresses’ first time taking on a meaty role like this — but it does mark the show’s first foray into depicting a family of color.

According to the synopsis for the premiere, titled Axis Mundi, Kevin Garvey (Justin Theroux) will be uprooting his family and moving them from New York to Miracle, Texas, for a fresh start.

In Texas is where we meet Kevin’s new neighbors the Murphys; John (Kevin Carroll), Erika (Regina King), and their teenage children Michael (Jovan Adepo) and Evie (Jasmin Savoy Brown).

What’s refreshing is that the writers didn’t rely on tired black archetypes to move this narrative along. Erika Murphy is a wife, a mother and a doctor. She and her family are approached with the same nuance, quirkiness and complexities as any of the other characters on the show and even appear to be the cornerstone of the season’s story arc.

This is exactly the kind of authentic diversity that Viola Davis, Taraji P. Henson and many others in black Hollywood have asked the industry to show more of. If you’re looking for a smart drama with an otherworldly twist, Season Two of Leftovers premieres on Sunday, October 4th at 9 PM.

In the meantime, check out this in-depth clip about the Murphy’s and King’s debut below and click here for the show’s site.