Christina Milian Replacing Naya Rivera In Starz Drama ‘Step Up’

Starz announced on Monday that Christina Milian will replace Naya Rivera as Colette in the  Step Up TV series.

“I am so excited to join the Step Up family,” Milian said. “I know I have massive shoes to fill. Naya was incredible. I hope to honor Naya, her family, friends, and fans with a great performance.”

Rivera played Colette through the show’s first two seasons and was set to reprise her role in the upcoming season. The showrunners considered the show’s highly serialized nature and the fact that Collette is such a central character to the storyline before making the decision. The decision to recast the role came with the support of the cast, producers, and Rivera’s family.

According to Deadline, the series began filming in Atlanta this month. The first two seasons aired on YouTube, but Starz will re-air both seasons starting Friday, March 5, on all platforms.

Along with Milian’s addition, the series will see Ne-Yo’s return as Sage Odom. Regulars Faizon Love (“Uncle Al”), Jade Chynoweth (“Odalie”), Carlito Olivero (“Davis”), Terrence Green (“Rigo”), Eric Graise (“King”), and Kendra Oyesanya (“Poppy”) are also set to return. It was previously announced that Tricia Helfer (“Erin”) would join the cast as a series regular.

Rivera, 33, went missing while boating with her son on Lake Piru in California last summer. Her body was discovered a couple of days later.

“Naya’s death was a terrible loss to our world that we will, frankly, never stop mourning,” said creator and executive producer Holly Sorensen. “It was almost impossible to consider there could be someone so graceful and loving who could both help us honor our loss while also bringing a deep reservoir of talent to our show, in so many areas. Christina is an exceptional human and a dazzling performer, and we are so happy she has joined our family.”