Two of the most beautiful actresses in black Hollywood are getting a bit animated with their next gigs.
Sanaa Lathan and Nia Long are on board for 'The Cleveland Show,' a spin-off of the popular very adult-friendly animated series 'The Family Guy.'
Earlier this week, casting was announced for the show, which will center around the character Cleveland Brown – which is voiced by white actor Mike Henry.Lathan, who starred in films such as 'Brown Sugar' and 'Love & Basketball' will play Cleveland's wife, Donna, while Long, who starred in last season's ABC drama series 'Big Shots,' will voice the character of rebellious stepdaughter Roberta.
Set to debut next year, 'Cleveland' follows the Browns as they move to Cleveland's Virginia hometown and encounter neighbors including a "redneck" named Lester, a family of bears and a British family enamored with the Victorian era.
In a colorblind casting move, black actor Kevin Michael Richardson will play the part of Lester.
"Clearly, the idea was just to make an ethnically diverse show in front of and behind the camera, which we are," and to create a largely African-American cast for the Brown family, Fox network programming chief Kevin Reilly told reporters during a Television Critics Association meeting this week.
2008 BET Awards
LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 24: Humanitarian Award Recipient Quincy Jones poses in the press room at the 2008 BET Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on June 24, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 24: Rapper Nelly poses in the press room at the 2008 BET Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on June 24, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 24: Singer Anthony Hamilton poses in the press room at the 2008 BET Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on June 24, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 24: Singer Ashanti poses in the press room at the 2008 BET Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on June 24, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 24: Rapper Nelly (L) and singer Ashanti pose in the press room at the 2008 BET Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on June 24, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 24: Rapper Nelly (L) and singer Ashanti pose in the press room at the 2008 BET Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on June 24, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 24: Rapper Nelly (L) and singer Ashanti poses in the press room at the 2008 BET Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on June 24, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 24: Singer Ashanti poses in the press room at the 2008 BET Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on June 24, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 24: Singer Ashanti poses in the press room at the 2008 BET Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on June 24, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 24: Singer Ashanti poses in the press room at the 2008 BET Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on June 24, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
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1. Interesting that a white person voices a black character and a black person voices a white redneck. I love Family Guy so it's a no-brainer that this will also be a hit.
jclark23323@gmail.com at 3:05PM on Jul 17th 2008