Justin Hires, who has had bit parts in 21 Jump Street, Stomp the Yard and Key & Peele, has taken the second lead in CBS and Warner Bros. TV's Rush Hour pilot. He will take on the role of Carter, originated by Chris Tucker in the 1998 Rush Hour movie. The studio decided to go with two relatively unknown actors to headline the show, also casting Jon Foo, best known for the video adaptation Tekken, in the Jackie Chan role of Lee.

Justin Hires reportedly beat out quite a few well known actors for the role of Carter, though none of the other hopefuls were mentioned by name. The studio wanted to go with unknowns, as they felt the roles were too closely associated with Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. Jon Turteltaub, known for the National Treasure franchise, will helm the pilot and is an executive producer, alongside writers and executive producers Bill Lawrence and Blake McCormick.

Like the movie, the Rush Hour TV pilot will center on Lee, a serious by-the-book Hong Kong police detective who is assigned a case in Los Angeles and forced to work alongside Carter, a flamboyant member of the LAPD who has no interest in his partner's new case. Carter is described as an 'irreverent and wildly confident bad-boy detective, a maverick who uses unorthodox methods to get things done, often causing the top brass to look the other way.'

Justin Hires had to abruptly cancel a three-day Austin engagement where he was the featured player in an Affion Crockett show to secure his role in Rush Hour. The actor and comedian was also cast in the MTV pilot Ken Jeong Made Me Do It, which he is still participating in. Though, Rush Hour is now the priority.