{"id":461058,"date":"2026-06-04T18:59:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T18:59:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/461058\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T18:59:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T18:59:08","slug":"disney-television-discovers-talent-showcase-reveals-2026-performers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/461058\/","title":{"rendered":"Disney Television Discovers: Talent Showcase Reveals 2026 Performers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tEXCLUSIVE: The Disney Television Discovers: Talent Showcase<\/a> is returning for its 24th\u00a0year with a new class of rising actors.<\/p>\n

\n\tLed by the casting team behind ABC Entertainment, Hulu Originals, Onyx Collective and Freeform, the annual program continues its mission of identifying, mentoring and creating meaningful industry exposure for emerging talent. <\/p>\n

\n\tSelected from 42,000 submissions nationwide, this year\u2019s 10 actors will star in Death to My Twenties, an original comedy ensemble piece from writer\u00a0Brittani Nichols\u00a0and based on characters by\u00a0Austin S. Harris.\u00a0Richard J. Lee\u00a0returns as executive producer and will also direct this year\u2019s piece.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe 10 selected performers are\u00a0AJ Troup, Alexander Sanson, Eric Tabach, Jessica Damouni, Malia Munley, Mishka Yarovoy, Olivia Nikkanen, Renita Lewis, Sydney Winbush\u00a0and\u00a0Taha Mandviwala.<\/p>\n

\n\tDeath to My Twenties follows a celebrity publicist who turns her milestone birthday into a carefully curated rebirth, but when a ritual takes an unexpected turn, the celebration spirals into a night of chaos and mystery.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe 2026 program will premiere in August with an in-person screening event for an exclusive industry audience of agents, managers, casting professionals and producers. Virtual screenings will also be available.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOne of the most rewarding parts of our work is identifying exceptional talent early and creating meaningful opportunities to help launch their careers,\u201d said Felicia Joseph, SVP of Talent and Casting, Disney Entertainment Television. \u201cIn recent years, our team has sharpened its focus on casting for a global audience, and we believe this year\u2019s cast reflects that commitment through their undeniable artistry, rich cultural perspectives, and distinct comedic voices.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tCasting executives work hands-on with the selected performers throughout the process, offering mentorship and creative guidance leading up to the annual screening event and beyond. To date, the team has produced more than 50 Talent Showcases and mentored over 600 actors.<\/p>\n

\n\tFor more than two decades, Disney Television Discovers: Talent Showcase has helped introduce the industry to performers who have gone on to build successful careers across television, film and theater. Past participants include\u00a0Academy Award\u00a0winner Lupita Nyong\u2019o (12 Years a Slave), Golden Globe\u00a0winner Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey\u2019s Black Bottom, Black Panther), Golden Globe winner Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin),\u00a0Tony Award winner Maleah Joi Moon (Hell\u2019s Kitchen),\u00a0Tony Award winner Ali Stroker (Oklahoma),\u00a0Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian and Grogu),\u00a0Jesse Williams (Grey\u2019s Anatomy),\u00a0Randall Park (Fresh Off the Boat),\u00a0Meghan Markle (Suits),\u00a0Laz Alonzo (The Boys),\u00a0Jermaine Fowler (Coming 2 America),\u00a0Utkarsh Ambudkar (Ghosts), Dominique Fishback (Swarm), Laz Alonso (The Boys), Amanda Morrow (Scrubs), David Gridley (Scrubs), Poorna Jagannathan (Deli Boys), Saagar Shaikh (Deli Boys) and Carrie Ann Inaba (Dancing with the Stars).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE: The Disney Television Discovers: Talent Showcase is returning for its 24th\u00a0year with a new class of rising…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":461059,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[233833,156,111,139,69,437],"class_list":["post-461058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-disney-television-discovers-talent-showcase","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=461058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461058\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/461059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=461058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=461058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=461058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}