Greg Berlanti's USA Series Political Animals Adds Roger Bart And Dan Futterman

The cast of USA’s upcoming 6-episode drama Political Animals is already looking really good, with Sigourney Weaver and Carla Gugino on board to star. Two more actors have joined the series, both of which have some experience with TV dramas.

Written by Greg Berlanti, Political Animals stars Weaver as Elaine Barrish, the recently divorced former First Lady and current Secretary of State who’s trying to keep her life and her family together. Gugino is set to play a “hungry DC journalist.” According to Deadline, actors Roger Bart and Dan Futterman have joined the cast in recurring roles in the drama.

Roger Bart, who Desperate Housewives fans may recognize as George Williams, and more recently, Revenge viewers know for his role as Mason Treadwell, is set to play Barry Harris, the Chief of Staff to the new President Garcetti. He’s described as weaselly, and “politely despises” Elaine. I have no trouble picturing Bart in such a role. Meanwhile, Futterman’s set to play Alex Davies, the Bureau Chief of the Washington Journal. He’s also a love interest to Gugino’s Susan Berg.

Futterman’s relatively recent TV roles include Related and Judging Amy. Going back further, he was in The Birdcage, however I will probably always associate him for playing the sweet, out-doorsy older step-brother Josh in the 1992 film Big Girls Don’t Cry... They Get Even, a comedy about a dysfunctional family stuck together on a camping trip. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of chemistry he has with Gugino.

Kelly West
Assistant Managing Editor

Kelly joined CinemaBlend as a freelance TV news writer in 2006 and went on to serve as the site’s TV Editor before moving over to other roles on the site. At present, she’s an Assistant Managing Editor who spends much of her time brainstorming and editing feature content on the site. She an expert in all things Harry Potter, books from a variety of genres (sci-fi, mystery, horror, YA, drama, romance -- anything with a great story and interesting characters.), watching Big Brother, frequently rewatching The Office, listening to Taylor Swift, and playing The Sims.