Troy Kotsur To Star In Disney+ Series About Deaf High School Football Team

Oscar-winning actor Troy Kotsur has locked a TV series role following his win of the supporting actor trophy for his performance in the AppleTV+ film CODA, which also won Best Picture at this year’s Academy Awards.

The show is based on the 2021 season of the California School for the Deaf Riverside football team. The CSDR team went undefeated for the whole season and participated in the Califonria State Championship.

Kotsur has signed on to play the coach of the Riverside Cubs, and will executive produce the series. Marlee Matlin, a prominent deaf actor who was the first deaf performer to win an Academy Award, is also attached to the series as an executive producer.

ABC Signature is partnering with CSDR and the California Department of Education to produce the series, so this adaptation will likely be filmed on the school’s very campus where this legendary undefeated streak began.

The series would be making an effort to hire deaf community members in key positions both in front of and behind the camera. So far, they have announced one deaf hire besides Kotsur and Matlin, and that is Jonh Maucere, who will act as a consultant and co-producer and was an alum of CSDR.

Kotsur began acting with the National Theatre of the Deaf in 1991 and collected some notable credits including short appearances on Scrubs, Criminal Minds and The Number 23 before his major breakout in CODA.

The actor actually has a second School for the Deaf sports drama film in development as well. He is starring in Flash Before the Bang, a story about the track team at Oregon High School for the Deaf winning a state championship in 1986.