Nadine Velazquez to Star in ABC’s Pilot “Queens”

Posted on March 9, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Nadine Velazquez is hoping to become television royalty…

The 42-year-old Puerto Rican actress will star opposite Brandy, Eve and Naturi Naughton in ABC’s hour-long pilot Queens, from Zahir McGhee, Sabrina Wind and ABC Signature.

In Queens, written by McGhee and directed by Tim Story, four estranged and out-of-touch women in their 40s — Naomi (Brandy), Jill (Naughton), Brianna (Eve) and Valeria (Velazquez) — reunite for a chance to recapture their fame and regain the swagger they had as the Nasty Bitches – their ’90s group that made them legends in the hip-hop world.

Velazquez plays Valeria, aka Butter Pecan. Better known in the 90s as Puerto Rican rapper, Butter Pecan, Valeria is the fourth member of the hip-hop group, the Nasty Bitches. Valeria wasn’t an original member, added by the groups’ manager, Eric, for her effortless star quality. It worked. The ladies catapulted into superstardom with a number-one record and iconic video. Valeria quickly became the face of the group, ruffling the other members’ feathers along the way. But she could care less. She’s not here for friends, she’s here to win. Valeria is an ambitious and ruthless hustler with cunning charm born out of a difficult childhood. When we catch up with her twenty years later, she’s the only member of the group still in the limelight. Valeria hosts The Shade — America’s top-rated morning talk show. So, Valeria has no reason to reunite with the group when the opportunity arises. However, when her blind ambition trips her up, Valeria considers turning back to the only family she’s ever had: the Nasty Bitches.

Pepi Sonuga co-stars in the pilot. ABC Signature, part of Disney Television Studios, is the studio.

Velazquez wrote and is set to star/produce La’Tina, a series in the works at Showtime from Will Smith’s Westbrook Studios and Frankie Shaw’s Our Lady Productions.

She’s best known for her breakout lead role as Catalina on NBC’s My Name Is Earl. She co-starred in the History series Six and in Universal’s Ride Along 2.

Her series credits also include major roles on FX’s The League, the CW’s Hart of Dixie and TNT’s Major Crimes.

ABC Orders Pilot for Matt Lopez’s Latinx Family Drama “Promised Land”

Posted on February 22, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Matt Lopez’s promise continues…

The Latino screenwriter’s hourlong Latinx family drama Promised Land has secured a pilot order at ABC.

Previously known as American Heritage, the project is an epic, generation-spanning drama about two Latinx families vying for wealth and power in California’s Sonoma Valley.

ABC bought the project pre-emptively with a put-pilot commitment last year.

Lopez, who has written feature films including Bedtime Stories, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and Race to Witch Mountain, writes and executive produces.

ABC Signature is the studio.

Lopez created the NBCUniversal International drama series Gone, starring Chris Noth, which aired on WGN America in the U.S. He also is adapting Helen Cresswell’s young-adult novel Moondial into an ambitious time-travel drama for Fulwell 73. On the feature side, he’s writing a new Father of the Bride film for Warner Bros. revolving around a Latinx family, a first for the franchise.

Hulu Gives Green Light to Chris Estrada’s Half-Hour Comedy Pilot “Punk Ass Bitch”

Posted on February 6, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Chris Estrada has a bitchin’ new project…

Hulu has given the green light to Punk Ass Bitch, a half-hour comedy pilot starring the up-and-coming Latino comedian and produced by ABC Signature.

Written by Estrada and Corporate creators Jake Weisman, Matt Ingebretson and Pat Bishop, Punk Ass Bitch is based on Estrada’s comedy and reflects his Latino identity.

It is inspired by Estrada’s life in South Central Los Angeles and nearby Inglewood, where, by his own recollection, he spent his formative years running from loose pit bulls, getting robbed, and geeking out over comic books and punk rock.

The series centers on Julio Lopez (Estrada), a punk-ass bitch with a heart of gold who goes out of his way to help everyone but himself. Inspired by the life and stand-up comedy of star, co-creator and real-life punk ass bitch Estrada, the cinematic half-hour comedy explores Julio’s attempts to better his community, overcome his codependency issues with his family and navigate working class life in South Central.

Estrada executive produces with Fred Armisen,

The pilot, which is already casting, will be directed by Bishop, who directed all episodes of the Comedy Central series Corporate.

Estrada was recently named an “UpNext” Comedian to Watch by Comedy Central and a “Top 10 Comic to Watch” by Time Out LA. He recently performed in a half-hour comedy special Entre Nos for HBO Latino.

Disney+ Releases First Look at Emilio Estevez’s Original Series “The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers”

Posted on January 30, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Here’s a first look at Emilio Estevez’s mighty new project…

Disney+ has released the teaser trailer for its hockey-themed follow-up series The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, starring the 58-year-old part-Spanish American actor.

The new series, a follow-up to The Mighty Ducks film franchise about some underducks from the 1990s, is back for a new generation.

The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers will premiere on March 26 on the streamer.

The 10-episode original from ABC Signature stars Lauren Graham, young Brady Noon and Estevez — reprising his role as Coach Gordon Bombay from the 1992 movie and its 1994 and 1996 sequels.

Joining the team are Maxwell Simkins, Swayam Bhatia, Luke Islam, Kiefer O’Reilly, Taegen Burns, Bella Higginbotham and DJ Watts.

The setting is present-day Minnesota, and the Mighty Ducks have evolved from scrappy underdogs to an ultra-competitive, powerhouse youth hockey team. After 12-year-old Evan Morrow (Noon) is unceremoniously cut from the Ducks, he and his mom, Alex (Graham), set out to build their own team of misfits to challenge the cutthroat, win-at-all-costs culture of today’s youth sports. With the help of Coach Bombay, they rediscover the joys of playing just for love of the game.

The original movie spawned not only two sequels but an NHL team, which was christened the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 1993 and now is known as the Anaheim Ducks.

Steve Brill, creator, writer and executive producer of all Mighty Ducks films, co-created and executive produces the new series. Michael Spiller directs and also executive produces, with James Griffiths serving as director/EP on the pilot.

Estevez is an EP on Game Changers.

Camille Guaty to Appear on ABC’s “The Rookie”

Posted on January 8, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a rookie moment for Camille Guaty…

The Puerto Rican and Cuban American actress is set to appear in a multi-episode arc on ABC’s The Rookie.

Guaty will play Sandra De la Cruz, a businesswoman with nefarious connections who has been the target of a murder attempt.

Her character will be introduced in the Sunday, January 17 episode titled “La Fiera.”

Created by Alexi Hawley, The Rookie stars Nathan Fillion as John Nolan, the oldest rookie at the Los Angeles Police Department.

The series, which also stars Mekia Cox, Alyssa Diaz, Richard T. Jones, Titus Makin, Melissa O’Neil and Eric Winter, is produced by Entertainment One (eOne) and ABC Signature.

Guaty is known for her starring role on VH1’s dramedy series Daytime Divas, where she played Nina, an award-winning journalist and one of the five co-hosts on the popular talk show, “The Lunch Hour.”

She can most recently be seen guest starring on The Good Doctor, as well as in Netflix film Nappily Ever After, directed by Haiffaa Al Mansour, and A Futile and Stupid Gesture, a biopic on Doug Kennedy, the man who started National Lampoon, where Guaty plays his wife.

Mark Consuelos Developing “Pine Valley,” the Primetime Version of ABC’s Beloved Soap Opera “All My Children”

Posted on December 28, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Mark Consuelos is returning to his soap opera roots…

ABC is in early development on Pine Valley, a primetime version of the network’s beloved daytime drama All My Children, with the 49-year-old half-Mexican actor and his wife Kelly Ripa executive producing alongside Andrew Stearn and filmmaker Robert Nixon, son of the late AMC creator Agnes Nixon.

In the All My Children followup, written/executive produced by Leo Richardson, a young journalist with a secret agenda comes to expose the dark and murderous history of a town named Pine Valley only to become entangled in a feud between the Kane and Santos families. The series explores all the secrets that come with the Kane and Santos family names.

Kane was one of AMC’s founding families, with Erica Kane (Susan Lucci) becoming one of television’s most popular characters. Ripa and Consuelos, who played Hayley & Mateo Santos on the original series, executive produce via their Milojo Productions alongside the company’s Albert Bianchini. Stearn executive produces through his Andrew Stearn Productions. The company is based at ABC Signature, which is the studio on the project.

Pine Valley will feature a new generation of characters and some old favorites. There are currently no deals in place with original cast members, but the plan is to invite a number of them to make an appearance, with Ripa and Consuelos also possible making a cameo.

Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children aired for 41 years on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011, originally in a half-hour format before expanding to hourlong episodes in 1977. The series was set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictional suburb of Philadelphia, which is modeled on the actual Philadelphia suburb of Rosemont.

Pine Valley plans to continue the original series’ legacy of tackling difficult issues and being inclusive. AMC was the first series to comprehensively address the Vietnam War and to have a character undergo a legal abortion. The soap also featured a transgender storyline a decade and a half ago.

As it will be in primetime, Pine Valley will have a heightened tone and will wink to the daytime soap genre similar to how the CW’s Jane the Virgin paid homage to telenovelas.

Mark Consuelos to Develop TV Series Based on Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Horror Thriller Novel “Mexican Gothic”

Posted on August 11, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Mark Consuelos is going goth…

Hulu has put in development Mexican Gothic, a drama series based on Silvia Moreno-Garcia‘s bestselling horror thriller novel, from the 49-year-old half-Mexican American Spanish-born actor/producer and Kelly Ripa’s Milojo Productions and ABC Signature, where the company has had a deal.

Milojo acquired the rights to develop the fantasy fiction novel for television in a competitive situation.

Published by Del Rey in June, Mexican Gothic follows Noemí Taboada, a young socialite who travels to the Mexican countryside and the mountains of Hidalgo in hopes of rescuing her cousin, who has recently married into a reclusive mining family, after receiving a frantic letter in the mail. Noemí seeks to unveil the family’s violent and menacing secrets, but her confidence is quickly threatened and there may be no escaping the walls of her strange, new home.

Ripa previously recommended the book to her Instagram followers, calling it “Sublime horror for your summer reading. So good i bought the hard copy and the download to read in the dark.”

Moreno-Garcia will executive produce with Milojo’s Ripa, Consuelos, and Albert Bianchini.

“We feel like we hit the literary jackpot, and cannot wait to bring Silvia’s gorgeous writing to life, together with Hulu,” Ripa said.

Born in Mexico and now residing in Vancouver, British Columbia, Moreno-Garcia is the best-selling author of Gods of Jade and Shadow, Certain Dark Things, Untamed Shore, and other works.

Additionally, Moreno-Garcia has edited several anthologies, including the World Fantasy Award-winning, She Walks in Shadows.

“I am excited to see the novel come to life and to meet the talented, diverse crew and cast members that will take us on this journey,” Moreno-Garcia said.

Hulu Renews Rhenzy Feliz’s “Marvel’s Runaways” for 10-Episode Third Season

Posted on March 25, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

There’s more runaway time for Rhenzy Feliz…

Hulu has renewed Marvel’s Runaways, starring the 21-year-old Dominican American actor, for a third season.

The new season of the series, from showrunners/writers Josh Schwartzand Stephanie Savage, Marvel Televisionand ABC Signature, will consist of 10 episodes, down from the 13-episode order for the first and second seasons.

In Season 3, Runaways plans to reportedly focus on the kids, so the actors playing parents who were series regulars are being reduced from all shows produced to factual series regulars – 7 out of 10.

“We are so excited to tell more Runaways stories and are so grateful to Marvel, Hulu, our amazing cast and crew and of course our passionate audience,” said Schwartz and Savage. “Season three will be a magical time on Runaways, as we deepen our connection to the Marveluniverse. We are honored to continue to play in the sandbox created by Brian K Vaughnand Adrian Alphona.”

In addition to Feliz, who portrays Alex Wilder, the series also stars Ariela Barer, Allegra Acosta, Lyrica Okano, Virginia Gardnerand Gregg Sulkin.

Acosta to Star in Marvel Television’s Drama Pilot “Runaways”

Posted on February 3, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Allegra Acosta is ready to runaway…

The 14-year-old Latina actress has been cast in Marvel Television’s Runaways, a drama pilot based on the fan-favorite Marvel Comics books.

The pilot, from Gossip Girl creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, Marvel Television and ABC Signature, would premiere on Hulu.

Created by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona, Marvel’s Runaways centers on six diverse teenagers who can barely stand one another but who must unite against a common foe – their parents.

Acosta will portray Molly Hernandez, the youngest and most innocent member of her friend group, who is known for her peppy positivity and a deep yearning to belong.

In addition to Acosta, the cast will include Rhenzy Feliz, Lyrica Okano, Virginia Gardner, Ariela Barer and Gregg Sulkin.

Additional cast will be announced later.

Acosta’s credits include 100 Things to Do Before High School and Just Add Magic.

Cruz Cordova Cast in Showtime’s Comedy Pilot “SMILF”

Posted on October 28, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Ismael Cruz Cordova has landed a mother of a gig…

The 29-year-old Puerto Rican actor has joined the cast of Showtime’s comedy pilot SMILF.

Frankie Shaw will write, direct and star in the project, which is based on her film, which won the Short Film Jury Award at the Sundance Film Festival last year.

Set in Boston, SMILF takes a raw look at a single twentysomething (Shaw) whose desires for relationships, sex and a career collide with the realities of being a young single mother.

Cruz Cordova is set to portray Rafi, a 28 year old man-child and recovering addict who is trying to navigate the new world of being a good ex-boyfriend to Brigette (Shaw) and baby daddy to his 2-year old son Larry.

Cordova plays boxer Hector Campos on the current fourth season of Showtime’s Ray Donovan and has a role in Hulu’s drama pilot Citizen.

He next appears in Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk for director Ang Lee.

The SMILF pilot will be produced by ABC Signature as a co-production with Showtime.

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