Exclusive: Leslie Uggams On Filming Zombie Series ‘The Bite’ During Pandemic Times

Now playing on Spectrum is the new series, The Bite, starring six-time Tony winner and 2020 Tony nominee Audra McDonald, Taylor Schilling, Phillipa Soo, Steven Pasquale, Will Swenson, Leslie Uggams, Jackie Hoffman, Beth Leavel, Adam Heller, Rob McClure, Linda Emond, Ryan Spahn, and Michael Urie. The series premiered May 21 on Spectrum Originals.

THE BITE is co-produced by Spectrum Originals and CBS Studios and the series is created and written by Robert & Michelle King. The show is also produced by their production company King Size Productions with Liz Glotzer and Brooke Kennedy also serving as executive producers. 

THE BITE follows the lives of two neighbors Rachel (Audra McDonald, The Good Fight) and Lily (Taylor Schilling, Orange is the New Black) as they embark on unprecedented times when a deadly new strain of a virus arrives. Navigating the new normal in New York City, Rachel works from home juggling her many telemedicine clients and a shaky marriage to her husband Dr. Zach (Steven Pasquale, The Comey Rule) who has a prestigious job at the CDC miles away in Washington D.C. Meanwhile, Lily is upstairs trying to convince her Wall Street clientele that her very specific skillset is still just as valuable through a video screen as it was in person.

For Uggams, who plays Rachel’s mom Dr. Hester Boutella, she got to shoot her scenes in the confines of her own home with her tech-saavy daughter navigating her Zoom controls. Best known for her iconic role as Kizzy Reynolds in the television miniseries Roots, Uggams is also a Tony Award winner and gained further worldwide recognition with appearances alongside Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool and in a recurring role on Lee Daniels’ Empire series. She currently has a recurring role on NBC’s New Amsterdam. BlackFilmandTV.com’s Wilson Morales spoke with Uggams about her role in The Bite.