Oscar winner moves to small screen for Spielberg-produced kids-in-hospital dramedy
In the oft-cited modern "Golden Age" of television, it's not as surprising as it perhaps once was to see a recent Oscar-winner make the move to the small screen. But that doesn't mean 2012 Best Supporting Actress Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer - for The Help - made the decision to head up the cast of buzzy new dramedy Red Band Society lightly.
"I got really tired of being a sex symbol so ... " she jokes.
"It was the best pilot I've ever read, and I've read quite a few through the years and they get really, really boring. It's not every day that you get great material." Executive produced by Steven Spielberg, Red Band Society concerns several kids of various ages whose ailments force them to stay long term at a paediatric hospital. This grants them entry to the titular group, designated by the maroon bands that adorn their wrists. Spencer plays their firm-but-fair charge nurse.
Despite the pedigree of the talent involved, it was never going to be the easiest sell.