Isabella Gomez has been cast in the lead role on the HBO Bax reboot of Head Of The Class. The series is based on the multi-cam sitcom of the same name that aired on ABC between 1986 and 1991. The show focused on a group of talented students at the fictional Millard Fillmore High School in Manhattan and their unorthodox history teacher Charlie Moore (Howard Hesseman).
As reported by Deadline, Isabella Gomez will topline the Head of the Class Reboot pilot for HBO Max. Her casting comes as a gender swap for the follow-up, as it was Hesseman who played the main character in the original series.
While Gomez has been tapped to fill in for Hesseman, her character in the reboot is drastically different from the latter's dedicated Charlie Moore. Gomez will play Alicia Adams, a quick-witted, candid high-school teacher, who - as a student - was a big-time grade enthusiast and had the world figured out for herself. But in a twist of events, she ends up teaching a bunch of whizzes without any real experience. Alicia draws from her new job experience and urges the students to focus on living life more than their grades, much to their dismay.
The cancellation of One Day At A Time is a missed opportunity for fans who had long waited to see Gomez's Elena Alvarez evolve into the person who realizes that grades aren't everything. Alicia's background makes Gomez the perfect casting for the role. Hesseman's Charlie Moore was undoubtedly the heart of the original series. But with his character being gender-swapped, it is evident that the Head of the Class reboot is trying to spruce things up a bit, and it's not just attempting to cash on the original show's popularity.
Source: Deadline