‘The Neighborhood’ Casts Amber Stevens West for Final Season

The Neighborhood’s cast is expanding for its eighth and final season.

Deadline reports that Amber Stevens West has joined the CBS sitcom in a key recurring role.

Appearing opposite Sheaun McKinney, Stevens West will portray Mercedes, a high-drama, high-maintenance, fabulous, and self-absorbed star of Trophy Divas of Brentwood. She is all about herself. Mercedes has hired Malcolm (McKinney) to ghostwrite her romance novel, but she’s worried it’s not smutty enough to please her fan base. When she’s not out in public, Mercedes is much more grounded and a savvy businesswoman, “not the monster she plays on TV.”

CBS announced in March that The Neighborhood would be ending after its upcoming eighth season, which premieres on Monday, Oct. 13. Created by Jim Reynolds, the series also stars Cedric the Entertainer, Max Greenfield, Tichina Arnold, Marcel Spears, Hank Greenspan, Beth Behrs, and Skye Townsend. While the network will not be moving forward with a spinoff centering on McKinney and Spears’ characters, it seems like the final season will still be doing quite a lot with Malcolm, and likely Marty as well.

In The Neighborhood Season 8 premiere, “Welcome to the New Normals,” the Johnsons and Butlers “face big changes and unexpected challenges as Tina discovers a new passion, Malcolm navigates work and family boundaries and Courtney takes a major step with Marty. Meanwhile, Dave’s tech experiment backfires and Gemma’s parenting plan goes awry.”

Stevens West is best known for her roles as Ashleigh Howard on the ABC Family drama Greek, where she met husband Andrew J. West, Maxine on NBC’s The Carmichael Show, and Claire Davis in the short-lived CBS sitcom Happy Together. Other credits include The Amazing Spider-Man, 22 Jump Street, Love Jacked, 90210, Criminal Minds, Ghosted, Run the World, and Krapopolis.

As of now, it’s unknown when Amber Stevens West will be appearing on The Neighborhood, but more information should be released soon, especially once the season premieres. The Neighborhood’s eighth and final season airs on Monday, Oct. 13 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS, streaming the next day, where all seven seasons are currently available. The series will be followed by new workplace comedy DMV, so fans will soon be able to kick off their weeks with some big laughs. FBI and Watson will round out Monday nights beginning Oct. 13.