Grey’s Anatomy actress lands the lead in Roswell reboot

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Jeanine Mason made her debut on television screens in 2009, when she was a competitor on So You Think You Can Dance. Since then, she has had a steady stream of acting roles in TV series, TV movies, and some features, racking up more than 30 credits. At this point, she might be best known for playing a character on the latest season of Grey's Anatomy, Dr. Sam Bello.

Now Mason has landed a role that could turn out to surpass all of her others. That is, if the pilot goes anywhere. The dancer-turned-actress, who is of Cuban descent, has been cast as the lead in the pilot for the CW's new version of the 1999 – 2002 series Roswell, which is being described as "a reboot with an immigration twist".

Directed by Julie Plec from a script by Carina Adly MacKenzie, the pilot will begin with Mason's character reluctantly returning to her tourist trap hometown of Roswell, New Mexico. She is 

Liz Ortecho, a jaded biomedical researcher and the daughter of undocumented immigrants, is haunted by a tragic incident.  She discovers a shocking truth about her teenage crush who is now a police officer: He’s an alien who has kept his unearthly abilities hidden his entire life. She protects his secret as the two reconnect and begin to investigate his origins, but when a violent attack and long-standing government cover-up point to a greater alien presence on Earth, the politics of fear and hatred threaten to expose him and destroy their deepening romance.

The Roswell property has its roots in the book series Roswell High, written by Melinda Metz.

This new pilot is being executive produced by Plec and MacKenzie, along with Lawrence Bender and Kevin Kelly Brown of Bender Brown Prods and Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank of Amblin TV.