'For The People' Showrunner Explains Why Britt Robertson's Role Was Recast

Britt Robertson keeps things classic in a sheer lace dress during the Disney ABC Winter TCA 2018 Party on Monday night (January 8) in Pasadena, Calif.

The 27-year-old actress stepped out for the reception after speaking about her new series, For The People, with co-stars Jasmin Savoy Brown, Ben Rappaport, , Rege-Jean Page, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Anna Deavere Smith, Wesam Keesh, Susannah Flood, Hope Davis, Ben Shenkman and executive producer Shonda Rhimes.

During the panel, Paul William Davis explained race was not a factor in recasting former lead Britne Oldford and giving the part to Britt.

“It really wasn’t [a factor], because it wasn’t like we moved from Britne to Britt. We moved through a tracking period, looking at other actresses. And part of it was just redefining the role of Sandra. She plays a little bit differently than she did in the original version,” Paul shared.

He added, “There was discussion with the network about the creative direction of the show. And so in the context of that, I ended up rewriting things. We also decided, just in the nature of the chemistry, that we would recast.”

For the People will premiere on Tuesday, March 13th on ABC.