Over the weekend, Naturi Naughton, who appeared as rapper Lil' Kim in 'Notorious' and in 'Lottery Ticket' with Bow Wow, was cast in an upcoming NBC drama pilot called 'Playboy.'

Along with Amber Heard, who will star with Nicolas Cage in the upcoming 3-D film 'Drive Angry,' Naughton will star in the series, which is set in the Playboy Club in Chicago in 1963, states Variety.

There's an increasing number of black actors landing choice roles on daytime soaps. And they're not serving anyone, playing anyone's best friend or struggling in secondary roles.

From the Hubbard family on ABC's 'All My Children,' the Evans clan on 'One Life to Live' and the Winters family on 'The Young and the Restless,' the actors have primary parts and are showcasing their skills.

Take Julia Pace Mitchell, who plays the feisty Sofia Dupre on 'Y&R,' the former right-hand woman to billionaire Tucker McCall and fiancée of Malcolm Winters.

In the few months that Mitchell has been on the show, she's shown toughness and vulnerability. Her performance has garnered an NAACP Image Award nomination for outstanding actress in a daytime drama series. And we are rooting for her.

Last Night, BlackVoices.com attended the opening of Matthew Lopez's 'The Whipping Man,' which stars two-time Emmy Award winner Andre Braugher, Jay Wilkison and Andre Holland at the Manhattan Theater Club at New York City Center.

Directed by Tony Award winner Doug Hughes, the play is about a Jewish Confederate soldier returning to his ruined family home, where he is greeted by the only ones watching the place -- two former slaves who were raised as Jews.

As the three men reunite to celebrate Passover, and recall the exodus from Egypt in light of their own new liberties, they uncover a tangle of secrets -- ties that bind them together might ultimately cost each man his freedom.

It's becoming a war of words between Oscar winner Halle Berry and her ex, Gabriel Aubry, in the custody battle for their daughter, Nahla.

While Berry recently stated that she has "serious concerns for her daughter's well-being while in the care of her father for any extended period of time and is prepared to take all necessary steps to protect her," Aubry shot back with his own statement.

"While Gabriel is disappointed in Halle's decision to falsely malign him publicly and for her own purposes, he refuses to be pulled into her dispute over a canceled film production," his rep said in the statement.

"Gabriel also refuses to air their issues in the press as he believes this may ultimately harm their daughter. The fact is that Gabriel is a caring father who shares custody of Nahla."

Tony Award nominee and NCAAP Image Award winner Sanaa Lathan will play the title role of Vera Stark in Lynn Nottage's new play, 'Be the Way, Meet Vera Stark.'

The New York native recently starred as Maggie the Cat in the West End revival of 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.' Her previous theater credits include: Beneatha Younger in 'A Raisin in the Sun' with Sean Combs, for which she received a Tony nomination.

This world-premiere comedy will also feature the previously announced Stephanie J. Block, Daniel Breaker, Kimberly Hebert Gregory, Kevin Isola and Tony Award-winner Karen Olivo.

Airing tonight, Jan. 31, on Lifetime TV is 'Taken from Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story,' starring Oscar-nominated actress Taraji P. Henson.

Sean Baek, Drew Davis, Terry O' Quinn and Beverly Todd co-star in the film.

The film follows Rubin's 2008 rescue of her 7-year-old son, Kobe. Kobe had been the subject of a custody dispute between Rubin and her ex-husband, a South Korea native. In the summer of 2007, after a visit to his father's Brooklyn, N.Y., apartment, Kobe was whisked away to South Korea.

Tichina Arnold will join Rita Moreno and Robert Walden in TV Land's comedy pilot 'Happily Divorced,' starring Fran Drescher, states Deadline.com.

Based on her real life, Drescher plays a woman who re-enters the dating world after finding out that her husband is gay. It focuses on how she juggles her relationship with her current boyfriend and ex-husband post-divorce. Moreno and Walden will play her parents, while Arnold stars as Drescher's best friend.

Arnold, a native of Queens, N.Y., is known for her roles as Pamela James on the Fox sitcom 'Martin' and the family matriarch Rochelle on the UPN/CW sitcom 'Everybody Hates Chris,' which ended its run in 2009 after four seasons.

HBO has released the trailer to their upcoming film, 'Sunset Limited,' starring Samuel L. Jackson and Tommy Lee Jones.

Based on the play of the same name by eminent Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Cormac McCarthy, 'The Sunset Limited' is directed and executive produced by Tommy Lee Jones, written by McCarthy, produced by Barbara A. Hall, and is an HBO Films presentation of a Javelina Film Company production.

Within recent days, casting of ABC's rebooted series 'Charlie's Angels' has started to take shape, with the hiring of Annie Ilonzeh and most recently Dania Ramirez.

Ironically, both ladies appeared together in an episode of HBO's 'Entourage,' where they played employees of Turtle, played by Jerry Ferrara.

Produced by Sony Pictures TV and Drew Barrymore's Flower Films, 'Charlie's Angels' is a modern take on the Angels set in Miami and centers on a new trio of young and sexy private eyes -- Kate, Abby and Marisa -- working for a wealthy mystery man.

Things are going well for 'The View's co-host Sherri Shepherd these days.

Besides working with a fab group of ladies on the long-running ABC daily show, having a recurring role on NBC's '30 Rock,' and becoming engaged to television writer Lamar Sally over the Christmas holidays, the Chicago native is set to co-star opposite Christine Taylor in TV Land's untitled Terri Minsky comedy pilot, states Deadline.com.

Set at Rip City Cola, a regional beverage manufacturer and distributor in Oregon. When a young, Ivy League-educated New York woman (played by Taylor) takes over as the boss, the entire office is shaken and unsure of what happens next.

Shepherd will play the Rip City Cola office drama queen, who, like the others, is curious about the new CEO, and very nervous about the fact that someone's going to be fired.