Disney Television Discovers: Talent Showcase Unveils 2026 Class of Rising Performers

The Disney Television Discovers: Talent Showcase has unveiled its 2026 class of rising performers. For its 24th year, ten were selected from 42,000 actor submissions nationwide.

Led by the casting team behind ABC Entertainment, Hulu Originals, Onyx Collective and Freeform, the annual program aims to identify, mentor, and create industry exposure for emerging talent.

The new cast of performers is AJ Troup, Alexander Sanson, Eric Tabach, Jessica Damouni, Malia Munley, Mishka Yarovoy, Olivia Nikkanen, Renita Lewis, Sydney Winbush and Taha Mandviwala. They will star in “Death to My Twenties,” an original comedy ensemble piece from writer Brittani Nichols and based on characters by Austin S. Harris. 

In addition to returning as executive producer, Richard J. Lee will also direct this year’s piece. It follows a celebrity publicist who turns her milestone birthday into a carefully curated rebirth, but when a ritual takes an unexpected turn, the celebration spirals into a night of chaos and mystery.

The 2026 program will premiere in August with an in-person screening event for an exclusive industry audience of agents, managers, casting professionals and producers. Virtual screenings will also be available, introducing this year’s cast to an even broader range of industry leaders.

After narrowing more than 42,000 submissions from across the U.S. to 10 standout actors, casting executives work hands-on with the selected performers throughout the process, offering mentorship and creative guidance leading up to the annual screening event and beyond. To date, the team has produced more than 50 Talent Showcases and mentored over 600 actors.

For more than two decades, Disney Television Discovers: Talent Showcase has helped introduce the industry to a wide range of performers who have gone on to build successful careers across television, film, and theater.

Past participants include Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o (“12 Years a Slave”), Golden Globe winner Chadwick Boseman (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Black Panther”), Golden Globe winner Gina Rodriguez (“Jane the Virgin”), Tony Award winner Maleah Joi Moon (“Hell’s Kitchen”), Tony Award winner Ali Stroker (“Oklahoma”), Pedro Pascal (“The Mandalorian and Grogu”), Jesse Williams (“Grey’s Anatomy”), Randall Park (“Fresh Off the Boat”), Meghan Markle (“Suits”), Jermaine Fowler (“Coming 2 America”), Utkarsh Ambudkar (“Ghosts”), Dominique Fishback (“Swarm”), Laz Alonso (“The Boys”), Amanda Morrow (“Scrubs”), David Gridley (“Scrubs”), Poorna Jagannathan (“Deli Boys”), Saagar Shaikh (“Deli Boys”) and Carrie Ann Inaba (“Dancing with the Stars”).

Photo Credit: Felicia Ralph/Campbell J Parsons/Kyle Rothwell/Caitlin Fisher/Sam Pickart/Ken Yotsukura/April Blum/Dash Kolos/Matt Kallish/Mikki Schaffner/ABC