Laverne Cox Cast in CBS Pilot Doubt

The transgender actress will play a trans character in the legal drama.

Dawn Ennis

The Advocate's news editor Dawn Ennis successfully transitioned from broadcast journalism to online media following another transition that made headlines; in 2013, she became the first trans staffer in any major TV network newsroom. As the first out transgender editor at The Advocate, the native New Yorker continues her 30-year media career, in which she has earned more than a dozen awards, including two Emmys. With the blessing of her three children, Dawn retains the most important job title she's ever held: Dad.

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Dawn Ennis

February 12 2015 1:45 PM EST

November 05 2017 10:19 PM EST

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Laverne Cox is breaking new ground on TV once again. The actress who scored an Emmy nomination for her role on Netflix's Orange Is the New Black and made history by being the first transgender cohost on The View has been cast in a pilot for a new CBS series.

Doubt is a legal drama competing for a slot on CBS's fall schedule and, if picked up, would be the first series to feature a regular trans character played by a trans actor on a prime-time show on that network.

Cox, 30, was cast as Cameron Wirth, described by Variety as a defense attorney with an Ivy League education who is transgender and no stranger to having to fight for her rights.

Variety says the character is as "competitive as she is compassionate. She's fierce, funny and the fact that she's experienced injustice first hand makes her fight all the harder for her clients."

According to TV Guide, which is owned by CBS, the lead character in Doubt is a female lawyer who becomes romantically involved with one of her clients, who may or may not be guilty of a brutal crime. The lead role reportedly has not yet been cast.