Jake McDorman Returns as Raymond in“ Aquamarine” TV Series, Kenzi Richardson Cast as Half-Mermaid Lead (Exclusive)

Thu, August 27, 2026 at 4:00 PM UTC

NEED TO KNOW

• Jake McDorman will return as Raymond in the new Disney+Aquamarinereboot pilot, PEOPLE can exclusively reveal

• Raymond now shares teen daughter Coral (Kenzi Richardson) with Aquamarine, who has gone missing

• McDorman, Richardson, Briella Guiza, Theodore Dalton and Annika Reese will be <a href="https://comicvibe.com/sex-criminals-ep-tze-chun-offers-new-bts-looks-at-series-production/” title=”Sex Criminals EP Tze Chun Offers New BTS Looks at Series Production”>series regulars, with Emma Roberts guest starring

Raymond is back!

This spring, Disney+ announced that a TV reboot of the 2006 movieAquamarineis in the works, with Emma Roberts set to guest star as her original character Claire Brown. Now, another original star, Jake McDorman, has officially joined the pilot’s cast, PEOPLE can exclusively reveal.

McDorman, 40, returns as lovable lifeguard Raymond, mermaid Aquamarine’s romantic interest in the original coming-of-age film. A series regular, Raymond is now the devoted single dad to his daughter with Aquamarine, Coral, who will be played by Vampirina: Teenage Vampirestar Kenzi Richardson.

Briella Guiza, Theodore Dalton and Annika Reese will also be regulars in the Disney+ series.

The Aquamarine reboot pilot follows Coral, who, after moving to “a dreamy seaside town,” starts “unraveling the truth behind her mother’s disappearance — and discovers her mother was a mermaid, awakening magical powers in Coral just as secrets beneath the waves threaten to surface,” according to an official logline.

In the reboot, Raymond is “struggling to navigate” Coral’s “growing independence while still mourning the loss of Aquamarine.”

Richardson, 14, plays Coral, the teen daughter of Raymond and Aquamarine. Coral is described as “a thoughtful and artistic teenager who discovers she is half mermaid and must navigate adolescence, identity and the absence of the mother she never knew.”

Guiza, who is known for her work on shows likeCriminal Minds and Matlock, stars as Coral’s friend Mia. The character is billed as an “edgy, funny and fiercely authentic best friend, whose intelligence, creativity and outsider confidence challenge Coral’s desire to fit in.”

Following in the footsteps of Arielle Kebbel — who played mean girl Cecilia Banks in the original movie — is Broadway actress Reese as Paige, the “sharp and stylish queen bee of the beach club.” “But she’s not your stereotypical mean girl,” an official character description teases. “Her tough exterior masks that there’s a lot brewing beneath the surface.”

Model-turned-actor Dalton rounds out the cast of series regulars as August, “a soulful and likable surfer whose easy charm and emotional depth draw Coral in, even as their connection is complicated by the beach club’s social dynamics.”

Aquamarine‘s original director Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum is returning to the director’s seat for the Disney+ reboot. She is also set to executive produce the series, along with Roberts, McDorman and original producer Susan Cartsonis.

Whether original stars Joanna “JoJo” Levesque or Sara Paxton, who played Aquamarine in the original movie, will appear in the Disney+ series is unclear.

Levesque, 35, previously told PEOPLE that she has had “preliminary conversations” regarding her potential involvement and was “really excited to see a script.”

Roberts, meanwhile, told PEOPLE she is “so excited for the new series,” and revealed that she “literally got choked up” while reading the pilot script. “I didn’t think I would have such an emotional reaction to it, but I definitely got a little teary-eyed,” the actress said.

McDorman opened up to PEOPLE about Aquamarine, which marked one of his first film roles, earlier this year, sharing that his relationship with the cult classic has “only changed for the better” over the years.

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The actor told PEOPLE he has “only grown more affectionate and more grateful and more happy to be involved” in the film since its release 20 years ago.

Reflecting on why the movie has developed such a cult following, McDorman said: “It wasn’t the typical, ‘Oh, she needs the approval of this guy or the entire structure of the plot collapses in on itself.’ It’s set up that way initially to make you think you’ve got this pegged and then turns that archetype inside out, which I think is really cool.”

Read the original article on People