VH1 announced today that rapper, actor and entrepreneur Tip “T.I.” Harris will join the cast of “The Breaks” in a recurring role. Based on the critically acclaimed original TV movie that aired earlier this year, the new scripted series is slated to premiere January 2017.

Harris will portray Paul Anders, a powerful lawyer who comes to Barry Fouray’s (Wood Harris) defense after a public scandal.

Inspired by “The Big Payback,” a narrative history of the hip-hop business written by journalist Dan Charnas, “The Breaks” is executive produced by Seith Mann (“The Wire,” “The Walking Dead,” “Homeland”) and John J. Strauss (“Mozart in the Jungle”).




The original film which aired on VH1 in January to much fanfare, followed three young friends fulfilling their hip hop dreams in New York City in 1990. The series will continue to explore their triumph and heartbreak trying to make their mark in a new and complex hip hop culture.

Harris’ acting credits include “Ant-Man,” “Get Hard,” “House of Lies,” and “Roots,” and he stars in the upcoming “Sleepless” alongside Jamie Foxx. His highly rated series “T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle” just completed its fifth season on VH1.

He joins a cast that includes: Afton Willamson, Wood Harris, Mack Wilds, Antoine Harris, David Call, Evan Handler, Melonie Diaz, Sinqua Walls and Ali Ahn, with Teyana Taylor and Gloria Reuben as recurring characters.

Mann, Charnas, Strauss, Bill Flanagan and Darren Goldberg are executive producers on “The Breaks.” Maggie Malina, Chris McCarthy and Amy Doyle will serve as executive producers for VH1.