Amber Riley & Taye Diggs Join ARIEL Animated Series Inspired By THE LITTLE MERMAID

Broadway, film and television stars Taye Diggs (“Rent”) and Amber Riley (“Glee”) will voice King Triton and Ursula in “Disney Junior’s Ariel,” an animated musical series for preschoolers inspired by the beloved story of “The Little Mermaid.”

Disney has also announced that Mykal-Michelle Harris (“Raven’s Home”) has been cast in the lead role of Ariel.

The series follows 8-year-old mermaid princess Ariel as she and her friends embark on fun-filled, action-packed underwater adventures throughout their Caribbean-inspired fairytale kingdom of Atlantica and beyond.

In addition to Harris, Diggs and Riley, the series stars Elizabeth Phoenix Caro (“The Christmas Chronicles”) and Cruz Flateau (“SuperKitties”) as Ariel’s friends Lucia and Fernie, respectively, and Gracen Newton (“Puppy Dog Pals”) as Flounder.

“Disney Junior’s Ariel” will premiere in 2024 on Disney Junior and Disney+.

Taye Diggs is known for his roles in the Broadway musicals Rent and Hedwig and the Angry Inch, the TV series Private Practice (2007-2013), Murder in the First (2014-2016), and All American (2018-), and the films How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998), Brown Sugar (2002), and The Best Man (1999) and its sequel, The Best Man Holiday (2013).

Amber Riley is best known for her portrayal of Mercedes Jones on the Fox comedy-drama series Glee (2009–2015). In December 2015, she portrayed Addaperle, the Good Witch of the North, in NBC's live performance of The Wiz.

In 2016, Riley originated the lead role of Effie White in the West End debut of Dreamgirls. She won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical and Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Musical Performance in 2017 for her work.