Ana Ortiz to Star in Season 2 of Disney+’s Anthology Series “Goosebumps”

Posted on March 21, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Ana Ortiz is (goose)bumping up her television plans…

The 53-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress will star opposite David Schwimmer in the Disney+ anthology series Goosebumps for Season 2 as a series regular.

From Disney Branded Television and produced by Sony Pictures Television, the series is based upon R.L Stine’s bestselling Scholastic series. Each season features a new story, setting and cast. Season 2 will follow teenage siblings who discover a threat stirring, triggering a chain of events that unravel a profound mystery. As they delve into the unknown, the duo find themselves entangled in the chilling tale of four teenagers who mysteriously vanished in 1994.

Ortiz will play Jen, a dedicated police detective who remains rooted in her Brooklyn neighborhood after experiencing a tragic event that involved her friends in adolescence.

Nicholas Stoller and Rob Letterman developed the series and serve as executive producers, alongside showrunner Hilary Winston, Neal H. Moritz, Scholastic Entertainment’s Iole Lucchese, Pavun Shetty, Conor Welch, Scholastic Entertainment’s Caitlin Friedman and Erin O’Malley.

Ortiz broke out as Hilda Suarez on ABC’s hit comedy Ugly Betty, earning both American Latino Media Arts and Imagen Awards prizes for “Best Supporting Actress” for her portrayal as Betty’s (America Ferrera) sassy older sister.

Additional television credits include roles in Marc Cherry’s Devious Maids, The Mindy Project from Fox/Hulu, ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder, FX’s Over There and ABC’s Boston Legal, to name a few.

Most recently, Ortiz was a series regular on the Hulu series Love, Victor.

JoAnna Garcia Swisher Launches Production Banner THP Entertainment

Posted on March 19, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

JoAnna Garcia Swisher is hoping to bring more joy to the world…

The 44-year-old half-Cuban and part-Spanish American actress, producer, television host and entrepreneur is expanding her lifestyle platform The Happy Place with the launch of her production banner THP Entertainment, which she will co-run alongside longtime business partner and co-founder, Kate Gordon.

Garcia Swisher is known for her roles on Netflix’s Sweet Magnolias, ABC’s Once Upon a Time and Reba McEntire’s eponymous comedy series for the CW. Gordon is an entrepreneur with extensive experience in talent management, sports/media production, digital content creation and e-commerce product development.

Garcia Swisher and Gordon launched The Happy Place as a lifestyle digital and social media platform that celebrates the spaces, places and moments that bring joy and a sense of community to all visitors.

The site has reached close to a million subscribers and their social media accounts have reached over 4.8M in the last month alone, according to THP. The production banner is an expansion of the site’s book club THP Reads that will focus on bringing select stories to life through TV and film.

First up on the scripted slate is THP Reads March 2022 pick, Ladies of the House, produced with Black Label Media. The romantic drama will re-team Garcia Swisher with Sheryl J. Anderson, the creator/showrunner of Sweet Magnolias. Based on the novel by Lauren Edmonson, the series follows the wife and adult daughters of a Senator as they navigate the treacherous balance of personal and public lives after the Senator dies in compromising circumstances.

“The Happy Place is a destination where you come to be inspired and to feel connected through our mutual life experiences. We are constantly in awe of this inclusive community that embraces our desire to celebrate life’s moments, both big and small.” Garcia Swisher and Gordon said in a joint statement to Deadline. “THP Reads has become something that we enjoy together, month after month. It felt like a natural extension to bring this collective excitement surrounding books we read to life on screen in a way we can all be proud of and excited about.”

Swisher currently stars in Netflix’s Sweet Magnolias as ‘Maddie Townsend.’ The show is in production on its fourth season, and she will also return as the host of The Ultimatum: Queer Love. In film, she most recently starred in Vince Vaughn’s Christmas with the Campbells.

Brandon Larracuente Returning to ABC’s Medical Drama “The Good Doctor”

Posted on March 18, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Brandon Larracuente is heading back to the hospital…

The 29-year-old Puerto Rican actor is returning to ABC’s medical drama The Good Doctor.

Larracuente will be back to reprise his Season 6 character of Dr. Daniel Perez in one episode.

Meanwhile, Scandal alum Guillermo Diaz will appear in a guest spot.

Larracuente was introduced in Episode 2 of Season 6. Initially set to recur, he was quickly promoted to a series regular, with Daniel, a first-year surgical resident at St. Bonaventure Hospital, getting a major storyline involving a drug overdose that put him on probation.

Larracuente departed at the end of Season 6 after Daniel was put on pain medications following a car crash and headed back to his family in Texas for recovery treatment.

Diaz will guest star as Man/Carl/Jesus. A mysterious man shows up to the hospital to donate his kidney to a complete stranger, but his reasoning causes Jordan to question his ability to give informed consent.

Starring Freddie Highmore as Dr. Shaun Murphy and Richard Schiff as Shaun’s mentor Dr. Glassman, main cast also includes Fiona Gubelmann as Dr. Morgan Reznick, Will Yun Lee as Dr. Alex Park, Christina Chang as Dr. Audrey Lim, Spara as Lea Dilallo, Bria Samoné Henderson as Dr. Jordan Allen, Noah Galvin as Dr. Asher Wolke and Modu as Dr. Jared Kalu.

The Good Doctor is produced by Sony Pictures Television and ABC Signature, a part of Disney Television Studios. David Shore and Liz Friedman are executive producers and co-showrunners.

Known for his roles in Bloodline, 13 Reasons Why and Party of Five, Larracuente will next star in the Prime Video drama series On Call from Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television.

Known for his starring role as Scarface in the cult classic film Half-Baked, Diaz played Huck on ABC’s Scandal. He also appeared on Showtime’s Weeds, Chappelle’s Show for Comedy Central, and he recently was a series regular on ABC’s United We Fall.

Belissa Escobedo to Star in Reba McEntire’s Still-Untitled NBC Comedy Pilot

Posted on March 18, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Belissa Escobedo has lined up her next project…

The 25-year-old Latina actress and Blue Beetle star has been cast in Reba McEntire in her as-yet-untitled NBC multi-cam comedy pilot.

The project is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.

The pilot follows Bobbie (McEntire) who inherits her father’s restaurant and is less than thrilled to discover that she has a new business partner in the half-sister she never knew she had.

Escobedo stars as Bobbie’s sister Isabella, an enthusiastic 20-something, who has studied psychology and loves to analyze people. She is thrilled to start working at the tavern and is full of “great” ideas about how to bring it to life.

Escobedo’s star continues to rise following two major roles in DC Entertainment/Warner Bros’ Blue Beetle, where he portrayed the titular character’s (played by Xolo Maridueña) sister Milagro, and Disney’s Hocus Pocus 2 where she popped off the screen—no easy task when you’re starring opposite Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy, who returned as the Sanderson sisters.

Additional credits include the ABC dramedy The Baker And The Beauty alongside Carlos Gomez, Lisa Vidal and Victor Rasuk; Ryan Murphy’s FX anthology series American Horror Stories, the Catherine Hardwicke-directed Quibi limited series Don’t Look Deeper and the American High films Sex Appeal (Hulu) and Sid Is Dead.

Mariel Molino to Star in CBS‘ Young Gibbs Drama “NCIS: Origins”

Posted on March 17, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Mariel Molino is celebrating her origins…

The Mexican American actress will star as the female lead opposite Austin Stowell in CBS‘ Young Gibbs drama NCIS: Origins, a prequel to the venerable procedural, which has a straight-to-series order for the 2024-2025 broadcast season.

Narrated by Harmon, the CBS Studios-produced show begins in 1991, years prior to the events of NCIS, and chronicles Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ younger years.

In the prequel, Gibbs (Stowell) starts his career as a newly minted special agent at the fledgling NIS Camp Pendleton office where he forges his place on a gritty, ragtag team led by NCIS legend Mike Franks.

Molino will play Special Agent Lala Dominguez, a former Marine who navigates her 1990s male-dominated field with a steely resolve and a dark sense of humor. When a tormented Leroy Jethro Gibbs joins her team, the ensuing story between these two enigmatic outsiders is filled with sparks and turns that will keep the audience guessing.

This is a new character to the NCIS universe who has not been featured on the mothership series. In the NCIS timeline, the prequel takes place in the aftermath of the murder of Gibbs’ first wife and their daughter.

Mark Harmon and his son Sean Harmon, who portrayed Gibbs in flashbacks on NCIS and was a driving force behind the prequel, executive produce alongside David J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal who are co-writing the premiere episode and serving as co-showrunners.

Origins is one of two newly greenlighted extensions of CBS Studios’ ever-growing NCIS franchise, along with an Europe-set Tony & Ziva spinoff starring Michael Weatherly and Cote De Pablo for Paramount+. They join the mothership series, now in its 21st season, NCIS: Hawai’i, now in Season 3 and the franchise’s first international installment, NCIS: Sydney.

Molino, who was born in California, splits time between Los Angeles and Mexico City.

She started her career acting in Spanish-language projects, including the telenovela Papis Muy Padres, Amazon’s comedy series El Juego De Las Llaves and thriller drama series La Negociadora. She has also appeared on Netflix’s Narcos: Mexico and Luis Miguel: The Series.

Molino most recently starred in the Freeform thriller series The Watchful Eye and in the ABC family drama Promised Land. On the film side, Molino was be seen in upcoming features The Shade and Dead Man’s Switch.

Elvis Nolasco to Appear on HBO‘s Untitled Brad Ingelsby Task Force Project

Posted on March 12, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Elvis Nolasco last landed his next role…

The Dominican American actor will appear on HBO‘s Untitled Brad Ingelsby Task Force Project.

Nolasco, who starred in Godfather of Harlem, is among a roster of new recurring actors for the series that includes Raphael Sbarge, Mickey Sumner, Brian Goodman and Colin Bates.

Nolasco plays Freddy Frias, the savvy and ruthless captain of Philadelphia’s largest drug trafficking organization.

Others previously cast include Tom Pelphrey as Robbie; Emilia Jones as Maeve; Thuso Mbedu as Aleah; Raúl Castillo as Cliff; Jamie McShane as Perry; Sam Keeley as Jayson; Fabien Frankel as Anthony; Alison Oliver as Lizzie; Owen Teague as Peaches; Dominic Colón as Deric “Breaker,” and Levieva as Eryn.

A crime drama based on an original idea from Ingelsby, creator of hit HBO miniseries Mare of Easttown, the show is set in the working class suburbs outside of Philadelphia, where Ruffalo’s Tom heads a Task Force to put an end to a string of drug-house robberies led by an unsuspecting family man.

Ingelsby is writing the show and executive producing alongside Jeremiah Zagar and Salli Richardson-Whitfield (who also direct), R

Currently starring on MGM+’s Godfather of Harlem, Nolasco has also starred on ABC’s American Crime, recurring on All American, David Makes Man, She’s Gotta Have It, Claws and more.

In addition to Sundance drama Roxanne Roxanne, he’s been seen in such Spike Lee films as Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, Oldboy and Clockers.

Tatyana Ali to Appear on Season Three of ABC’s Hit Comedy Series “Abbott Elementary”

Posted on March 11, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Tatyana Ali is heading to the classroom…

The 45-year-old half-Afro-Panamanian American actress and singer will appear on season three of ABC’s hit comedy series Abbott Elementary.

Ali, best known for her roles on NBC’s The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and CBS’ long-running soap opera The Young and the Restless, is among a list of recently announced guest stars/recurring stars that includes Lana Condor, Keegan-Michael Key, Cree Summer and Karan Soni.

It’s been a star-studded season on the Emmy-winning series.

During Sunday’s post-Oscars special episode, Bradley Cooper made a special appearance, while Season 3 kicked off in February on a high note with guest appearances from Philadelphia Eagles players Jalen Hurts, Brandon Graham and Jason Kelce.

The series has also previously had guest appearances from Taraji P. Henson, Ayo Edebiri, Vince Staples and Leslie Odom Jr.

Abbott Elementary takes place in a predominantly Black Philadelphia public school. Quinta Brunson, who created the series, plays Janine Teagues, an optimistic second-grade teacher who makes it her mission to help enrich her students’ lives while also managing her own personal life.

Tyler James Williams, Janelle James, Lisa Ann Walter, Chris Perfetti, William Stanford Davis and Sheryl Lee Ralph also star.

Hemky Madera Signs with Stewart Talent

Posted on March 6, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Hemky Madera has new representation…

The 47-year-old Dominican American actor has signed with Stewart Talent for representation.

Madera is best known for his work as a series regular in USA Network’s Queen of the South across the drama’s five seasons. Madera worked closely alongside Alice Braga starring as her character Teresa Mendoza’s loyal right-hand man and ride-or-die, Pote Gálvez. The series is an adaptation of Telemundo’s hit telenovela La Reina del Sur starring Kate del Castillo as Teresa.

Most recently, Madera reunited with Queen of the South co-showrunner Dailyn Rodriguez on Season 2 of the hit Netflix series The Lincoln Lawyer, which Rodriguez co-showruns and executive produces alongside Ted Humphries. Madera played Agent Felix Vasquez.

His additional television credits include HBO’s Perry Mason, The Mandalorian for Disney+, Netflix’s Kaleidoscope, ABC’s The Good Doctor, IFC’s Brockmire, Showtime’s Weeds and Acapulco for Apple TV+, among others.

On the film side, he played Mr. Delmar in Spider-Man: Homecoming. His other big-screen credits include Muzzle (2023) alongside Aaron Eckhart; Bad Hombres (2023) co-starring Thomas Jane and Luke Hemsworth; Satanic Hispanics (2022) as Vampiro; The Happy Time Murders (2018); and Rango (2011).

The New York-born actor began his career in the theater in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and continued on the stages of The Big Apple.

His credits include Inverse Theater’s production of Icarus and Aria and the New York Spanish Repertoire’s production of Feast of the Goat.

He continues to be represented by Luber Roklin for management and attorney Peter Sample.

Nina Lopez-Corrado Among New Directors for Season 2 of HBO’s “The Last of Us”

Posted on February 27, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Nina Lopez-Corrado is preparing for her own Last hurrah…

The Latina producer/director is among the directors set to helm season two of HBO’s acclaimed drama series The Last of Us.

Lopez-Corrado, who directed episodes of Perry Mason, is one of four new directors to board the post-apocalyptic zombie drama series, along with

Mark Mylod (Succession), Stephen Williams (Watchmen) and Kate Herron (Loki).

They join returning directors Peter Hoar, who was Emmy nominated for helming Season 1’s poignant Episode 3, “Long, Long Time,” as well as The Last Of Us co-creators, executive producers and showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann who will once again take on directing duties too.

It’s unclear whether any of the seven helmers will direct multiple episodes; Season 1 consisted of nine episodes helmed by seven directors.

In addition to directing multiple episodes of Perry Mason and The Nevers at HBo, At HBO, Lopez-Corrado’s other credits also ABC’s A Million Little Things, on which she served as producing director.

In its first season, The Last of Us earned 24 Emmy nominations, winning eight trophies.

Production on Season 2 is slated to begin next month in Vancouver.

Gabito Ballesteros Earns First No. 1 on Billboard’s Tropical Airplay Chart with Prince Royce-Collab “Cosas de la Peda”

Posted on February 21, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Gabito Ballesteros is celebrating a Billboard first…

The 24-year-old Mexican singer-songwriter and record producer’s collaboration with Prince Royce, “Cosas De La Peda” rises to the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Tropical Airplay chart as their first partnership advances from the runner-up slot to lead the February 24-dated list.

That translates into a 24th No. 1 for Prince Royce, while Ballesteros scores his first champ on first try.

“Cosas De La Peda,” Mexican slang for “drunken times,” lifts 2-1 on the tropical radio ranking with by a 37% gain in audience impressions, to 6.2 million earned in the U.S. during the February 9-15 tracking week, according to Luminate.

The track trades places with Marc Anthony’s “Punta Cana” which drops 1-2 with an 11% dip in impressions, to 5.2 million.

Prior to its release, “Cosas De La Peda” received its fair share of promotion. The Bronx-born singer premiered the song live for the first time, with Ballesteros, during Calibash festival at the Crypto Arena in Los Angeles on January 12. Plus, a performance on ABC’s Good Morning America followed on January 17.

With “Peda,” Royce collects his 24th No. 1 on Tropical Airplay, continuing with the third-most leaders since the chart’s inception in 1994. Only two soloists stand ahead him: Marc Anthony with 36 No. 1s and Victor Manuelle with 29. Here’s an updated look at the artists with the most No. 1 hits on the almost three-decade-old ranking:

36, Marc Anthony
29, Victor Manuelle
24, Prince Royce
18, Romeo Santos
14, Elvis Crespo
14, Gilberto Santa Rosa
13, Jerry Rivera
12, Juan Luis Guerra 440
11, India

Ballesteros, who seasoned “Peda” with his corridos tumbados flair, lands a first No. 1 on the Tropical Airplay —and on any airplay ranking— thanks to the bachata tumbada. The Mexican producer first landed a No. 1 on a Billboard chart as a producer of the two-week champ “Lady Gaga,” with Peso Pluma and Junior H (last September).

Elsewhere, “Cosas De La Peda” flies 26-11 on the overall Latin Airplay tally. It bests Ballesteros’ previous No. 37 entry with “La Pelinegra,” with La Adictiva, last October.

“Cosas De La Peda” is one of 23 songs from Royce’s latest seventh full-length album, Llamada Perdida, released February 16 through Sony Music Latin; it has not entered any Billboard charts yet. The song was produced by Edgar Barrera and Luis Miguel Gómez Castaño, better known as Casta.

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