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Mason Cook (Ray) has made quite an impact on film and television, most recently receiving a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series for his guest starring role on the Emmy Award-winning show The Haunting Hour. Cook made his television acting debut as Casey, a cardiac asthmatic patient on ABC's hit drama Grey's Anatomy, at the age of 9. In 2012, he landed the coveted lead role of Eddie Munster in the 2012 critically acclaimed re-imagining of cult television classic The Munsters, called Mockingbird Lane. While promoting the special, Mason made a hilarious appearance as a guest of Ellen. And he played the role of Sean Bean's son in the first season of the hit series Legends. His numerous television appearances include recurring roles on The Middle, Raising Hope and The Goldbergs, as well as memorable guest-starring roles on The Night Shift, Grimm and New Girl. He has also appeared on Desperate Housewives, Criminal Minds, Hot in Cleveland and Victorious. Last year, Cook starred in the original production of If There Be Thorns, the movie adaptation of the third installment in the popular Flowers in the Attic book series.

Micah Fowler (JJ) is thrilled to be part of the amazing cast and crew of Speechless. Micah credits his love for acting to his older sister, Kelsey, who is a veteran Broadway actress. Micah made his television debut on an episode of Blue's Clues when he was nine and later appeared on several episodes of Sesame Street. At age 15, Micah made his feature film debut, playing the role of Barry in Jason Reitman's 2013 movie, Labor Day, opposite Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin.

Kyla Kenedy (Dylan) is most recognizable from her breakout role on the international hit show, Walking Dead in which she played the character Mika throughout season 4 and 5. Kyla most recently filmed the independent feature Love Is All You Need?, opposite Jeremy Sisto and Briana Evigan. Kyla has appeared on Rizzoli & Isles, CSI and The New Normal, for which she was nominated for a young artist award for Best Actress in a Guest Starring Role. Kyla will next be seen in multiple roles on the upcoming Nickelodeon sketch program Mack and Beef. In addition, she just wrapped filming a recurring guest star role on The Night Shift, playing a girl with Cystic Fibrosis.

Cedric Yarbrough (Kenneth) is best known for his revered role of Deputy S. Jones on the hit cable series Reno 911. Cedric has been making people laugh for years, with past television credits for the Minneapolis native include The Goldbergs, Crazy Ex Girlfriend, Ballers and The Soul Man. For years he has appeared on the big screen, including recent feature film The Boss, opposite Melissa McCarthy. Other credits include The 40 Year Old Virgin, Meet the Fockers, Get Smart, Four Christmases and Sundance favorite Black Dynamite.

Pilot Plot:

"Pilot" (airs Wednesday, September 21 at 8:30PM ET/PT)

Maya DiMeo moves her family to a new, upscale school district when she finds the perfect situation for her eldest son, JJ, who has cerebral palsy. While JJ and daughter Dylan are thrilled with the move, middle son Ray is frustrated by the family's tendencies to constantly move, since he feels his needs are second to JJ Soon, Maya realizes it is not the right situation for JJ and attempts to uproot the family again. But JJ connects with Kenneth, the school's groundskeeper, and asks him to step in as a his caregiver, and Ray manages to convince Maya to give the school another chance.

Analysis:

Speechless is a show that fits the ABC comedy brand very well. It's unique and a different take on the family comedy. The show is about the family trying to settle into a "perfect" fit for JJ, who has cerebral palsy. What the family realizes is that nothing is perfect, even if Maya (played well by Minnie Driver) wants it to be. They can keep moving all they want, but there will always be a hurdle, and this family will realize they can overcome anything. What I like about this comedy is they take a sensitive subject and they don't let this turn into a show about a kid with cerebral palsy, they make it about a family just trying to fit in. Everyone in the family has a lot to do in the pilot and they all deliver on laughs. We can learn a thing or two about cerebral palsy of course, too. No matter who race, size, religion, and now disability, the ABC comedies have one thing in common: funny!

As I said earlier, the entire family does pretty well in the pilot. We are sucked into this family right from the start. No real introduction is needed on who is who. Even the people at the new school where the kids attend are funny, especially the groundskeeper Kenneth. He will have a certain bond with JJ it seems. The pace of the show is fast and witty, and I think it will keep this up for future episodes. The cast, especially Minnie and the two boys (Micah and Mason), are standouts in this show. John Ross Bowie is also very good and doesn't need his Elmer Fudd style Big Bang Theory voice on this show to be funny. He really doesn't talk that way in real like folks! I am excited to see what Dylan will do in future episodes, as I think she can be just as good as JJ and Ray. It's a great family.

Another ABC family comedy success. This will fit like a charm in between The Goldbergs and Modern Family. Back in the early 90s on ABC there was a family drama with a kid with cerebral palsy (the amazing Life Goes On) and that was awesome as well, but now we have a fun family comedy that will show us another dimension. It's got a great timeslot and should do very well, I think. It's probably going to be the highest rated comedy of the season. The Good Place on NBC should do well as well, but it has a tougher task and will have to find an audience, while this show is part of a great comedy brand. So far we have reviewed three comedies, and they are all different and actually pretty good. It's a good start to the new comedy class and this show is perhaps at the top of the class. You may not be able to read JJ's lips, but read my lips (or words in this case), this show delivers and is flat out funny!