Joe Henderson and Ildy Modrovich, showrunners for Lucifer, divulged the details of Debbie Gibson's cameo in the series' Season 5B.
They recalled how Gibson was cast in an interview with Collider. Modrovich remembered that Tom Ellis was the source, saying "Tom had some connection to Debbie, and I think maybe it was, I don't know, an Instagram, I don't know what it was. He's like, 'We should ask Debbie Gibson,' and we did."
Ellis's suggestion turned into a positive experience for Lucifer's showrunners. Modrovich described what it was like working with Gibson, noting "...she was so game for anything we threw on her. She knew what song she was going to sing about an hour before she had to record it, and she just got in there and slayed it. She's a total pro, and so fun. And a great actress, by the way. I did not know that, but she's got very great comic timing."
Gibson launched her music career in the late 1980s, becoming a sensation with hits "Foolish Beat" and "Lost in Your Eyes." Her cameo on Lucifer allowed her to showcase her talents, as she appeared on the series' musical episode in the fifth season. Playing an overbearing mother of a high school football player, Gibson sang a rendition of The Police's "Every Breath You Take" with Ellis. The musical episode, titled "Bloody Celestial Karaoke Jam," has gone over so well with fans that the soundtrack is now available to stream and download.
However, Gibson isn't the only exciting newcomer to the series, as Dennis Haysbert joined the cast as Lucifer's father— God. The showrunners wanted Haysbert, but it took another one of Lucifer's stars, D.B. Woodside, to get him onboard. "He was like, we had a list, and on the list was Dennis Haysbert. It was like 'Whoa, what if we could actually get him?' And then we'd talked to D.B. [Woodside], and D.B. was like, 'Have you thought about Dennis?' And we're like, yeah, actually, he's at the top of our list. And then D.B.'s like, 'Well, I already talked to him.'," Henderson explained.
With the recent release of Season 5B, the end of Lucifer is on the horizon. The sixth season will not only be the last, but it will also be shorter than previous seasons. Season 6 has 10 episodes, just enough for the showrunners to provide the right ending to The Devil's tale. The fifth season concluded with a dramatic cliffhanger, seeing Lucifer in a new role in the universe.
Lucifer stars Tom Ellis as Lucifer Morningstar, Lauren German as Det. Chloe Decker, D.B. Woodside as Amenadiel, Rachael Harris as Dr. Linda Martin, Kevin Alejandro as Det. Dan Espinoza, Lesley-Ann Brandt as Mazikeen Smith and Aimee Garcia as Ella Lopez. Season 5B is now on Netflix.
Source: Collider