What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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T10 WHATS UP! May 29 - June 4, 2022 and fight to keep the people he cares for safe. Richards' first professional acting role came in 2012, when he portrayed Elijah Patterson in an episode of the web series "The Lyons Den," but it wasn't until 2016 that he began to ap- pear more regularly on the scene, with minor parts in an ep- isode of the drama "Greenleaf" and "24: Legacy." While he has most often appeared on the small screen, he briefly ap- peared in "A Bad Moms Christ- mas" (2017), which starred Mila Kunis ("That '70s Show") and Kristen Bell ("Veronica Mars"). That same year, he played young Lawrence in the made-for-TV movie "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" (2017), which counts Oprah Winfrey ("The Oprah Winfrey Show") among its cast. Richards can also count Jenni- fer Aniston of "Friends" fame among his eminent co-stars, as they both appeared in the Gold- en Globe-nominated film "Dumplin'" (2018). He also starred as Drew in the 2019 short film "Interlude," a 13-minute flick that won Best Short Film at the 2020 Rhode Island Interna- tional Film Festival. Later that year he also made an appearance as Daryl in an episode of the popular CBS sitcom "The Neighborhood." In "Tom Swift," Richards is joined by a stellar supporting cast, including Ashleigh Murray ("Riverdale") as Zenzi Fullerton, Tom's best friend; Marquise Vil- son ("Blindspot") as bodyguard Isaac Vega; April Parker Jones ("Jericho") as his mother, Lor- raine Swift; and LeVar Burton ("Star Trek: The Next Genera- tion") as Barclay, his trusted AI. Melinda Hsu Taylor ("Lost"), Noga Landau ("See") and Cam- eron Johnson ("Empire") serve as executive producers and writ- ers alongside "Nancy Drew" co- creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage. Directors in- clude Ruben Garcia ("Nancy Drew"), Michael A. Allowitz ("Dynasty") and Clara Aranov- ich ("Stranger Things: Spot- light"). Regardless of where Tom's quest leads him — to the para- normal or the mundane — it's clear that this fresh take on the character is in great hands with Richards, who put it best while talking to TVLine. "Tom gets to exist in all of his beauty and pride," Richards said. "He gets to grow up in a family with a legacy, to have endless possibilities in education and tech and inventing. He gets to re- alize himself for himself, and that's beautiful for anyone to see." Catch the series premiere of "Tom Swift" when it airs Tues- day, May 31, on CW. continued from page T2 A 'Swift' spinoff: 'Nancy Drew' crew stars in new CW series TV FEATURE 5 x 5 Tian Richards as Tom Swift in "Nancy Drew"