to audition more actors with disabilities for all of its programming. The pledge acknowledges that “disability is central to diversity, that the disabled community comprises the largest minority in our nation, and that people with disabilities face seclusion from the entertainment industry.”
The disability advocacy organization Ruderman Family Foundation recognized this disparity and put out a call to Hollywood to to audition more actors with disabilities to provide a more authentic representation of disabled people. CBS is not only the first network to sign this pledge, but also gained the foundation’s “Seal of Authentic Representation” for casting the actor Daryl Mitchell, who uses a wheelchair, as Agent Patton Plame in their series “NCIS: New Orleans.