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EXCLUSIVE: Callan Farris (Kings, Gabby Duran & the Unsittables) and Arjun Shah (A Charlie Brown Christmas, stage production) have joined the CBS multi-cam comedy pilot Zarna, alongside lead Zarna Garg, who co-writes and co-executive produces with Darlene Hunt.
Zarna centers on the eponymous heroine Zarna (Garg), a proud immigrant woman raising her American-born kids on Indian values. But now that they’re getting older, it’s time to focus on her American dream.
The story reflects Garg’s own story as an immigrant from India who moves to the U.S. as a teenager. After getting BA and JD degrees, she spent 16 years as a stay-at-home mom before her children encouraged her to try stand-up, launching her comedy career.
The project also stars Rizwan Manji as Kishore, a successful Wall Street investor and Zarna’s husband of more than 20 years and Chandni Shah as Asha, a freshman at Columbia University and the eldest daughter of Zarna and Kishore.
Farris will play Neil, the eldest son of the family who is a high school sophomore while Shah will play his younger brother Suneet who is in seventh grade.
Hunt, who serves as showrunner, and Garg executive produce Zarna with Mindy Kaling and Jessica Kumai Scott via Kaling International; Howard Klein via 3 Arts; as well as Kevin Hart, Bryan Smiley and Mike Stein for Hart’s Hartbeat. Warner Bros. Television is the studio.
In his nine years as an actor, Farris has calculated credits in film, TV, animation and theater. He starred in the horror feature Grimcutty for Hulu and worked opposite Halle Berry and Daniel Craig in Kings and Joaquin Phoenix in Mike Mills’ C’mon, C’mon. On the small screen, he played the lead in the debut episode of the Apple TV+ anthology series Circuit Breakers. His series regular roles include Disney’s single-camera sci-fi comedy Gabby Duran & the Unsittables, Disney Junior’s Emmy-nominated animated series The Rocketeer, and pilots for ABC, CBS, and NBC. He has guest starred in numerous shows, notably Grey’s Anatomy, Roseanne, The Conners, SEAL Team, and Fuller House.
Farris is repped by Coast-to-Coast Talent Group and Protege Entertainment.
At 12 years old, Shah’s credits extend across acting, theatre, dance, guitar, and piano. In 2020, he made his debut as Linus in A Charlie Brown Christmas, a production staged during the pandemic. Since then, he has performed in over 20 productions, portraying popular characters such as Aladdin, Charlie Bucket, Oliver Warbucks, Mowgli, Kurt von Trapp, Michael Banks, and the White Rabbit. Next, he will take on the role as the Baker in Into the Woods Jr., at North Texas Performing Arts–Plano. Beyond the stage, Shah co-produces a YouTube channel with a friend, covering political news and history. He is represented by Brave Artists Management.
