jabrams finds his latest leading lady!

Felicity gave us Keri and Scott.  Alias introduced us to Jennifer and Michael.  Next came Lost‘s Matthew and Evangeline, and most recently, Fringe‘s Josh and Anna.  And now we have … Boris and Gugu.

British actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw has been tapped to star in JJ Abrams’s upcoming Undercovers alongside Boris Kodjoe as married CIA operatives Samantha and Steven Bloom.  Perhaps best known (especially by me) as Martha Jones’s sister, Tish, in a smattering of Doctor Who episodes, Mbatha-Raw has more recently starred in other unknown-to-Americans film and TV projects, as well as portrayed the Ophelia to Jude Law’s Hamlet.

Of course, this pairing is notable because both lead actors are people of color.  (Kodjoe is Austrian, the son of a German mother and a Ghanaian father; Mbatha-Raw is English, the daughter of a British mother and a South African father.)  While it is now commonplace to see racial and ethnic minorities on television, these characters are usually supporting.  Think about Grey’s Anatomy, a show which prides itself on its diversity; while the cast is populated by actors of different backgrounds, the central romance of the show is Derek and Meredith, who are both very, very white.

We still know very little about the show’s premise, other than that the series focuses on this decommissioned spy couple who run a catering company until their services are requested by the CIA.  Jabrams suggested that becoming spies again might help reignite the spark in their relationship–and, damn, if those two don’t look like they could be sparkalicious together onscreen.

I’m going to resist making any “TARDIS Landing at NBC” comments for the time being, but rest assured that if another Doctor Who cast member (regular or otherwise) pilots up at the peacock (in addition to Ten himself, David Tennant), we’ll consider it a quorum and I will have been practicing my material.  Speaking of NBC pilots, this is obviously going to be an interesting development season.  With five extra hours to fill during the week, and having squandered fit-for-10:00 shows like Southland, NBC’s going to be picking up a LOT of pilots.  (They’re working on a lot now, so there will still be disappointing cuts.)  Undercovers still seems like a safe bet for a spot on the 2010-2011 schedule, but it’s by no means a done deal.  (More after the jump.)

Rounding out the cast is Gerald McRaney, who you probably know as, “Oh, that guy,” as the CIA boss man, Carlton Shaw, an operative who recruited the lead characters to the agency and now serve’s as their liaison.  Scroll through his IMDb profile and you’ll likely recognize a couple of his credits–a West Wing episode here and there, and he was on Jericho.

But what I most recognize him for is his starring role in Major Dad, the turn-of-the-nineties sitcom about a Marine Corps Major who marries a liberal journalist and adopts her three CRAZY daughters.  (No, I didn’t remember all of these details; I Wikipediaed.)  It’s one of the earliest shows I actually remember watching, along with Coach and Hanging With Mr. Cooper.

Here are the opening credits.  They make me feel sad that this is what television used to be, sad that television ISN’T like this anymore, and also very, very old.