Miles Heizer to Star as Gay Marine in Netflix Dramedy From Norman Lear; Vera Farmiga, Max Parker Also Cast

Netflix is giving Miles Heizer new marching orders.

The streamer has greenlit The Corps, a 10-episode, 1990-set dramedy starring the 13 Reasons Why and Parenthood actor as a bullied gay high school student who joins the Marine Corp with his straight BFF (played by newcomer Liam Oh, pictured). As the duo “plunge into boot camp, where the landmines are both literal and metaphorical, they join a platoon of young men on a harrowing journey of transformation,” per the official logline.

Further complicating matters: Oh’s character, Ray McCaffey, is the son of a strict Marine father.

The series — which is inspired by Greg Cope White’s memoir The Pink Marine and counts TV legend Norman Lear among its exec producers — also stars Bates Motel matriarch Vera Farmiga as Barbara Cope, the chameleon-like mother of Heizer’s Cameron Cope, and Vampire Academy‘s Max Parker as Sgt. Sullivan, a more seasoned gay marine who sees himself in Cameron and tries to prepare him for the real-world war he’ll face beyond boot camp.

The ensemble also includes Vampire Diaries‘ Zach Roerig as Sgt. Knox, Stargirl‘s Joy Osmanski as Ji-Yeong, In the Dark‘s Ana Ayora as Capt. Fajardo, First Kill‘s Dominic Goodman as Nash, Vampire Academy‘s Kieron Moore as Slovacek and Grease: Rose of the Pink Ladies‘ Johnathan Nieves as Ochoa.

Rounding out the cast are Cedrick Cooper, Angus O’Brien, Nicholas Logan, Rico Paris, Blake Burt, Logan Gould, Brandon Tyler Moore, Ivan Hoey Jr., and Anthony Marble.

In addition to Lear, EPs for The Corps (which Netflix notes is a “working title” and. therefore, likely to change) include Andy Parker (showrunner/writer), Brent Miller, Rachel Davidson and Scott Hornbacher. Peter Hoar (The Last of Us, The Umbrella Academy) will direct the first episode.