John Stamos Joins Cast of ABC's 'Raisin in the Sun'

According to the Hollywood Reporter, TV and stage star John Stamos has signed on to the cast of the upcoming TV version of "A Raisin in the Sun."

As previously announced, ABC will air a TV adaptation of Lorraine Hansberry's groundbreaking 1959 play, starring much of the cast of the hit 2004 revival, next year.  With Sean "P. Diddy" Combs as Walter Younger, Phylicia Rashad as his mother Lena, Audra McDonald as his wife Ruth and Sanaa Lathan as his sister Beneatha, "A Raisin in the Sun" will also feature Stamos as Carl Linder, who attempts to keep the African-American family from moving into a middle-class, white neighborhood.

A Raisin in the Sun "tells the story of a family living and struggling on Chicago's South Side in the 1950s. It is a fiercely moving portrait of people whose hopes and dreams are constantly deferred. The Washington Post hails it as 'one of a handful of great American plays – it belongs in the inner circle, along with Death of a Salesman, Long Day's Journey Into Night and The Glass Menagerie,'" stated earlier press notes on the TV film, which will be directed by Kenny Leon (who helmed the revival), with Paris Qualles adapting Hansbury's play.

Stamos has appeared on Broadway in the revivals of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Cabaret and Nine.  The actor, who shot to fame as "Full House"'s suave Uncle Jesse, currently appears on "ER."  His other TV and film credits include "Jake in Progress," "Friends," "Thieves," Femme Fatale and Party Monster.  He will next star in the upcoming A&E movie "Wedding Wars."

"A Raisin in the Sun" will begin shooting soon in Toronto.  It will be produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, whose string of hits includes Chicago, "Me and My Shadows," and the TV adaptations of "Cinderella" and "Gypsy."  They are also the producers of the upcoming Hairspray movie.