Jenni Girtman/Atlanta Events PhotographyA former gladiator is returning to the small screen.
Columbus Short has booked his first major TV role since exiting Scandal in April 2014.
E! Online can exclusively reveal that Short has joined the cast of Fear Files, the second installment of TV One's original horror film franchise.
In the short film Fear, which will premiere in Friday, March 13, Short will play City Councilman Harvey Jordan, whose plan to build a football stadium in a low income neighborhood causes friction to erupt within the community. And after a deadly fire removes the last resident standing in the way of his project, people begin to question if the death was an accident or a murder planned by the Councilman. While the truth begins to haunt Jordan, he must charm Kelisia Waters (Erica Hubbard), a determined reporter in order to sway the media attention away from him.
Short's exit from the ABC hit series came just after the season three finale, which found his character Harrison's life in jeopardy (It was revealed he was killed in the season four premiere). "At this time I must confirm my exit from a show I've called home for 3 years, with what is the most talented ensemble on television today. I would like to first thank Shonda Rhimes for the opportunity to work with such an amazing cast," Short said in a statement released by his publicist.
Following his legal issues and substance abuse battle, Short revealed during an interview in December that he was" "really ready to get back to work. As far as Shonda's shows, I would love nothing more to go back to Scandal. It's my family."
After the success of the first trilogy, TV One decided to pick up three new films, including For the Love of Lockwood Too, a sequel to For the Love of Lockwood, as well as Fire, and Mama's Boy, which stars Robin Givens.
"Buoyed by the positive viewer and social media response to the inaugural airing, we are pleased to be able to deliver another installment of this compelling and entertaining series," Cathy Hughes, Radio One founder and chairperson, said in a statement. "Delving deeper in to the horror genre helps fulfill TV One's mission of super-serving the Black audience with a wide variety of programming genres to reflect the diversity of content Black viewers crave."
Fear, and the rest of the Fear Files trilogy, will premiere on Friday, March 13 at 8 p.m. on TV One.