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Orange is the New Black's Laverne Cox is making waves as she's just been tapped to co-star in a new CBS drama pilot as a transgender attorney.
The transgender actress' role as Cameron Wirth in Doubt is one that was specifically created for a transgender individual. The Hollywood Reporter describes Cox's character as a compassionate, competitive, smart and successful defense attorney who's also an Ivy League grad. "She's fierce, funny and the fact that she's experienced injustice first hand makes her fight all the harder for her clients," the trade publication reports.
Alongside of courtroom procedural drama, Wirth also develops a romantic relationship with a client who might just be guilty of a heinous crime. The script is penned by Grey's Anatomy's scribes and married couple, Tony Phelan and Joan Rater, so we can imagine a lot of twists and turns in the plot.
Cox's work in TV has led to some milestones for the transgender community. Her role as inmate Sophia Burset in Netflix's wildly successful Orange is the New Black was the first to ever land a transgender performer an Emmys nomination. The LGBT activist also hosted and executive produced, The T Word, an MTV documentary on the transgender youth that aired last October. Cox will guest star on an upcoming episode of Fox's The Mindy Project and reappear in her recurring role in the third season of Orange is the New Black.
She was also on TIME magazine's cover last May and talked about where America is right now in accepting transgender individuals:
We are in a place now where more and more trans people want to come forward and say ‘This is who I am.’ And more trans people are willing to tell their stories. More of us are living visibly and pursuing our dreams visibly, so people can say, ‘Oh yeah, I know someone who is trans.’ When people have points of reference that are humanizing, that demystifies difference.
