Blindspotting has added to its cast just as the new series starts production in both Oakland and Los Angeles. Helen Hunt, Benjamin Earl Turner, Atticus Woodward, Jaylen Barron, and Candace Nicholas-Lippman are joining Cephas Jones on the series which is based on the film of the same name.

Starz revealed more about the cast additions to Blindspotting in a press release.

“Starz announced today it has started production for Blindspotting, the television series inspired by the provocative and critically-acclaimed Lionsgate film from Rafael Casal (Bad Education, The Good Lord Bird) and Daveed Diggs (Snowpiercer, Hamilton an American Musical, Black-ish). Casal will lead Blindspotting as showrunner. Produced by Lionsgate Television, the eight-episode, half-hour series will be shot in Oakland and Los Angeles.

Recording artist Benjamin Earl Turner, Atticus Woodward (Shameless), Jaylen Barron (Free Rein, Shameless) and Candace Nicholas-Lippman (Good Trouble) have been cast as series regulars alongside series star and Emmy Award®-winner Jasmine Cephas Jones (#Freerayshawn, Hamilton an American Musical). Casal will also reprise his character Miles in a recurring role for the series.

“Diggs and I are thrilled to continue our partnership with Lionsgate by expanding the Blindspotting world as a series on STARZ,” Rafael Casal said. “This story, the incredible cast and the production are a dream. We are making the kind of show we have long hoped to see on television, centered around just some of the amazing kinds of characters the Bay Area has to offer.”

“Figuring out a way to bring The Bay to life in a half-hour comedy space has been so rewarding,” Daveed Diggs adds. “Ultimately, this is a story about how a broken prison system affects all of us and, like the film, we’re using comedy to talk about very real systemic effects in the country with the largest prison population in the world.”

As for the casting of Hunt, Casal said the following about her addition:

“It is such an honor to have Helen Hunt in this series. We became friends after she tweeted about her love of the film and we have long looked for a project to do together. She has been our first choice for the character Rainey since we dreamed this show up.”

A premiere date for Blindspotting on Starz has not been revealed.

What do you think? Do you plan to check out Blindspotting once it arrives?