Charisma Carpenter Starring in Audible Original Story “Slayers: A Buffyverse Story” with Fellow Buffy Alums

Posted on September 16, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Charisma Carpenter will slay another day…

The 53-year-old part-Spanish American actress and several of her fellow Buffy the Vampire Slayer series co-stars are returning for an Audible original story, “Slayers: A Buffyverse Story,” set in the same world as the original show.

The new story will focus on Spike (James Marsters) as the protagonist and premieres on October 12.

In addition to Marsters and Carpenter, returning cast members include Anthony Head, Juliet Landau, Emma Caulfield Ford, Amber Benson, James Charles Leary and Danny Strong.

The scripted original picks up 10 years after the events of the 2003 finale. Per the official description, “Since then, Spike (Marsters) has gone deep undercover in Los Angeles, convincing the forces of darkness that he’s back to his evil ways. When his cover is compromised by sixteen-year-old Indira Nunnally (Laya DeLeon Hayes), Spike finds himself on baby-slayer-sitting duty once more. While he attempts to track down a watcher for his eager new protégé, their paths collide with the veteran Slayer of a parallel reality where Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) never existed… a reality where Cordelia Chase (Carpenter) is the one-and-only Slayer. She needs Spike’s help with a classic big bad terrorizing her world… his old flame, Drusilla (Landau).”

In a statement, Masters said he’s excited to be back in the “Buffy” universe, “as we take listeners on a familiar but unexpected journey chock full of horror, passion and mischief,” hoping for both old and new fans.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer originally aired from 1997 to 2003. The show was adapted from the film of the same name starring Kristy Swanson.

Slayers is written by Benson and Christopher Golden; it was directed by Benson, Golden and Kc Wayland. The cast will reunite for a panel on Friday, October 13 at 1:30pm, at New York Comic Con.

Raul Esparza to Star in FX’s Pilot “The Answers”

Posted on January 23, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Raul Esparza has all the answers…

The 52-year-old Cuban-American stage, screen and voice actor and singer will star in FX’s hour-long pilot The Answers, the network’s adaptation of Catherine Lacey’s novel.

In addition to Esparza, the series regular cast will include Lucy Hale, Krys Marshall, Melanie Field, Pallavi Sharda and Kine Kunutu in the project from Sorry for Your Loss creator Kit Steinkellner, Dopesick creator Danny Strong, Requiem for a Dream director Darren Aronofsky and 20th Television.

They join previously announced male lead David Corenswet.

The story, which has drawn comparisons to The Handmaid’s Tale, is set in the near future, where a heartbroken young woman, Mary (Hale), joins an enigmatic experiment that promises to hack love, but after moving into an idyllic, secluded location with her fellow female participants, she and the other women start questioning what’s really happening in the experiment, and why they’ve all been tasked with dating the same mysterious man, Christopher Skye (Corenswet).

Esparza plays Dr. Crowe; Marshall portrays Ellis; Field is Dani; Sharda plays Ash and Kunutu is Nic.

Steinkellner wrote the pilot and executive-produces. Strong and Aronofsky executive produce with Mandy Safavi with Danny Strong Productions and Ari Handel and Elizabeth Gesas with Aronofsky’s Protozoa Pictures.

Gillian Robespierre will direct and executive produce the pilot. 20th Television, a part of Disney Television Studios, is the studio.

Guillermo del Toro to Receive ‘Hall of Fame Award’ During Final Draft Awards

Posted on January 27, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Guillermo del Toro has earned a spot in the Final (Draft)…

The 57-year-old Mexican Oscar-winning filmmaker will be among the honorees for screenwriting excellence at the 17th annual Final Draft Awards, which will be presented in a virtual ceremony on March 16.

del Toro will be honored alongside Jane Campion, Nicole Holofcener, Danny Strong, Jeymes Samuel, and Ashley Lyle & Bart Nickerson.

del Toro, whose current film is Nightmare Alley, will be presented with the Hall of Fame Award, honoring a writer whose body of work has had a profound influence on the industry.

The inaugural Trailblazer Award will go to Oscar-winning filmmaker Campion who is currently winning much acclaim for her latest film The Power of the Dog; the honor recognizes a writer whose career exudes excellence and who consistently tells compelling and bold stories.

Two Storyteller Awards will be presented recognizing writers who consistently maintain a level of excellence and surpass expectations. Academy Award nominee Holofcener will receive the Storyteller Award (Film) for The Last Duel, on which she collaborated with stars Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Two-time Emmy winner Strong will receive the Storyteller Award (TV) for the limited series Dopesick, currently streaming on Hulu. Additionally, Final Draft will present two New Voice Awards recognizing rising and vital talents in the industry: The New Voice Award (TV) to Lyle and Nickerson, the husband-and-wife writer-producer team behind Showtime’s Yellowjackets, and The New Voice Award (Film) to Samuel whose feature debut The Harder They Fall is currently streaming on Netflix.

“Storytellers have been revered throughout history for their ability to connect us,” Final Draft president Shelly Mellott said Wednesday. “This year’s honorees are using their considerable talents to tell brave, audacious stories in imaginative ways that entertain, provoke and enlighten audiences. We could not be more proud to honor them and their outstanding work and the impact their stories have on our culture.”

Final Draft, the screenwriting software company, has previously honored the likes of Quentin Tarantino, Nancy Meyers, Aaron Sorkin, Lawrence Kasdan, Paul Schrader, Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski, Callie Khouri, Steven Zaillian, Robert Towne, Oliver Stone and Sydney Pollack, among others.

The Storyteller Award was introduced in 2021 and was presented to Steve McQueen and Sofia Coppola. The New Voice Award was introduced in 2017 with recipients including Ramy Yousef, Steven Canals, Lulu Wang, Liz Hannah, Issa Rae, Boots Riley, Radha Blank and Tanya Saracho.

Michael Cuesta to Direct ABC’s Latinx-Themed Drama Pilot “Promised Land”

Posted on April 21, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Michael Cuesta has landed a promising project…

The 57-year-old Latino film and television director has been tapped to direct and executive produce ABC’s drama pilot Promised Land..

Written by Matt Lopez, Promised Land is an epic, generation-spanning drama about two Latinx families vying for wealth and power in California’s Sonoma Valley.

The cast includes John Ortiz as Joe Sandoval, patriarch of the Sandoval family, Cecilia Suárez as Lettie Sandoval, matriarch of the Sandoval family, Augusto Aguilera as Mateo Sandoval, the hardworking, highly capable general manager of the Heritage Vineyard and stepson to patriarch Joe Sandoval, Mariel Molino as Camila Sandoval, the youngest daughter of the Sandoval family, Christina Ochoa as Veronica Sandoval, the eldest daughter of the Sandovals, as well as Andres Velez as Carlos Rincón, a young immigrant who comes to the Heritage Vineyard in search of a better life.

Lopez executive produces with Cuesta and Adam Kolbrenner of Lit Entertainment Group. ABC Signature is the studio.

Cuesta also is one of the directors, working with Barry Levinson, on Dopesick, Hulu’s upcoming eight-episode limited series written by Danny Strong, based on Beth Macy’s bestselling book, from The Handmaid’s Tale executive producer Warren Littlefield and Touchstone Television.

He most recently served as executive producer and director, including on the pilot episode, of Homeland, which recently wrapped its eighth and final season on Showtime.

In addition to Homeland, Cuesta directed the pilots for Dexter, Blue Bloods and City on a Hill. His episodic directing credits include Elementary, True Blood and Billions, among others.

Miguel Nolla Developing Latin Trap-Themed Series “Trap Queen” for Freeform

Posted on April 14, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Miguel Nolla could be bringing a taste of Puerto Rican music to television.

Freeform has put Trap Queen, a music rich series created by the Puerto Rican Scandal and Roswell, New Mexico writer, in development with Danny Strong executive producing.

An alum of the Disney•ABC Writing Program, Nolla will serve as showrunner on the Puerto Rico-set series.

The drama focuses on a gay young man who returns to Puerto Rico after a life-changing event. With the burgeoning local music scene as both the backdrop and the soundtrack, that move forces him to face family and romantic issues he thought he had left behind and never expected.

Trap music is a tenet of Southern hip-hop that bubbled up into the mainstream in the early 2000s from the likes of T.I., Jeezy and Gucci Mane. The term trap is a derivative of the Atlanta slang for a place where drugs are purchased and sold.

Over the decades the style has been picked up in various forms by artists from Drake, Kendrick Lamar and Cardi B and all the way to Taylor Swift.

Latin trap is the Puerto Rican subgenre that incorporates some of the island’s reggaetón style and other elements.

A former assistant to Shonda Rhimes, Florida State University grad, Nolla’s other credits include an episode of the Grey’s Anatomy web series, Freeform’s Stitchers, Showtime’s Hombre and Netflix’s First Kill, among more.

Rosario Dawson to Star in Hulu’s Limited Series “Dopesick”

Posted on October 21, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a dope time for Rosario Dawson…

The 41-year-old Puerto Rican and Cuban American actress and activist has been cast as a series regular on Dopesick, Hulu’s eight-episode limited series based on Beth Macy’s best-selling book.

Written by Danny Strong and directed by Barry Levinson, Dopesick is described as an ambitious, harrowing and compelling look into the epicenter of America’s struggle with opioid addiction. It takes viewers from a distressed Virginia mining community to the hallways of the DEA and the opulence of “one percenter” Big Pharma Manhattan. The unsparing yet deeply human portraits of the various affected families and their intersecting stories hold up a mirror to where America is right now, while shining a hopeful light on the heroes battling the worst drug epidemic in American history.

Dawson will play Bridget Meyer, a tough DEA agent who fights to curtail the use of OxyContin.

She joins previously announced Michael Keaton, Peter Sarsgaard, Kaitlyn Dever, Will Poulter, John Hoogenakker, Philippa Soo and Jake McDorman.

The project hails from The Handmaid’s Tale executive producer Warren Littlefield and Touchstone Television.

Dawson most recently fronted the drama series Briarpatch, which aired for one season on USA Network. She also stars in the HBO Max/DC Comics pilot DMZ, which is being directed and EP’ed by Ava DuVernay and showrunner/writer Roberto Patino.

And she’ll soon appear on season two of Disney+’s The Mandalorian.

Scotty Tovar Lands Recurring Role on Fox’s “Empire”

Posted on October 26, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Scotty Tovar is exploring anEmpire…

The Latino actor has signed on for a recurring role on Fox’s hit musical family drama Empire.

Tovar will portray Carlito, a young rap star on the rise, who believes he’s the savior of hip-hop and acts as such.

Empire, created by Lee Daniels and Danny Strong and starring Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson, hails from Imagine Television and 20th Century Fox Television.

Tovar recently guest-starred on Amazon’s Too Old To Die Young and Animal Kingdom and he recurred on Freeform’s The Fosters.

Smollett & His Empire Castmates to Appear at This Year’s PaleyFest Los Angeles

Posted on January 27, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Jussie Smollett is bringing his Empire to this year’s PaleyFest…

Fox’s hip-hop drama Empire, starring the 32-year-old Brazilian American actor/singer, will make its debut at the 33rd annual PaleyFest Los Angeles in March, headlining the lineup unveiled by the Paley Center for Media.

Smollet will be joined onstage by the show’s leads Terrence Howard and newly minted Golden Globe winner Taraji P. Henson and other cast members, as well as creators Lee Daniels and Danny Strong and executive producer Ilene Chaiken.

Empire will be joined by panels featuring the casts and creators of FX’s anthology Starz drama Power, which launches it third season in June; and Fox’s freshman Scream Queens.

Also on the schedule this year: Fear The Walking Dead on March 19 and ABC’s Scandal on March 15.

This year’s William S. Paley Television Festival runs March 11-20 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Here’s the list so far of panels with Latino cast and crew making an appearance, along with dates and times:

Friday, March 11

Opening Night Presentation Empire (7:30 PM)
Moderator: TBA
Terrence Howard, “Lucious Lyon”
Taraji P. Henson, “Cookie Lyon”
Jussie Smollett, “Jamal Lyon”
Bryshere Gray, “Hakeem Lyon”
Trai Byers, “Andre Lyon”
Grace Gealey, “Anika Calhoun”
Kaitlin Doubleday, “Rhonda Lyon”
Gabourey Sidibe, “Becky”
Ta’Rhonda Jones, “Porsha”
Serayah, “Tiana Brown”
Lee Daniels, Co-Creator & Executive Producer
Danny Strong, Co-Creator & Executive Producer
Ilene Chaiken, Executive Producer
Brian Grazer, Executive Producer

Scream Queens (7 PM)
Moderator: TBA
Emma Roberts, “Chanel Oberlin”
Jamie Lee Curtis, “Dean Cathy Munsch”
Lea Michele, “Hester Ulrich”
Abigail Breslin, “Chanel #5”
Skyler Samuels, “Grace Gardner”
Keke Palmer, “Zayday Williams”
Billie Lourd, “Chanel #3”
Niecy Nash, “Officer Denise Hemphill”

Tuesday, March 15

Scandal (7:30 PM)
Moderator: TBA
Kerry Washington, “Olivia Pope”
Guillermo Diaz, “Huck”
Darby Stanchfield, “Abby Whelan”
Katie Lowes, “Quinn Perkins”
Tony Goldwyn, “President Fitzgerald ‘Fitz’Grant”
Jeff Perry, “Cyrus Beene”
Bellamy Young, “Mellie Grant”
Joshua Malina, “David Rosen”
Scott Foley, “Jake Ballard”
Portia de Rossi, “Elizabeth North”
Cornelius Smith Jr., “Marcus Walker”
Joe Morton, “Rowan Pope”
Shonda Rhimes, Creator & Executive Producer
Betsy Beers, Executive Producer

Saturday, March 19

Fear the Walking Dead (2 PM)
Moderator: TBA
Kim Dickens, “Madison Clark”
Cliff Curtis, “Travis Manawa”
Frank Dillane, “Nick Clark”
Alycia Debnam-Carey, “Alicia Clark”
Lorenzo James Henrie, “Christopher Manawa”
Ruben Blades, “Daniel Salazar”
Mercedes Mason, “Ofelia Salazar”
Colman Domingo, “Victor Strand”
Dave Erickson, Showrunner/Executive Producer/Co-Creator/Writer
Gale Anne Hurd, Executive Producer

Sunday, March 20

Power (2 PM)
Moderator: TBA
Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, “Kanan” & Executive Producer
Omari Hardwick, “James ‘Ghost’ St. Patrick”
Lela Loren, “Angela Valdes”
Naturi Naughton, “Tasha St. Patrick”
Joseph Sikora, “Tommy Egan”
Courtney Kemp Agboh, Creator, Showrunner, and Executive Producer

Fox Gives Early Renewal to Smollett’s Hip-Hop Musical Drama “Empire”

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Jussie Smollett will be in an Empire state of mind for another year…

Fox has given an early sophomore season renewal for the 31-year-old Brazilian actor/singer’s new drama series Empire.

The order for Empire was a no-brainer, as the show has performed extremely well for the network and made plenty of noise in social media.

The Imagine Television/20th Century Fox Television drama was created by Lee Daniels and Danny Strong. Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson lead the ensemble cast in the primetime sudser about a hip-hop music mogul.

Smollet portrays Jamal Lyon on Empire, which also features Rafael de la Fuente in a recurring role as Smollet’s love interest.

Smollet’s previous credits include appearances on Revenge, On Our Own and The Mindy Project.

Fox to Premiere “Empire,” Featuring de la Fuente, in January

Posted on November 22, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Rafael de la Fuente is expanding his Hollywood empire…

Fox has announced plans to unveil its new drama series Empire, starring the 28-year-old Venezuelan actor and singer, on January 7, with limited commercial interruption, following the season premiere of American Idol.

Empire centers on Lucious Lyon (portrayed by Terrence Howard), a charismatic music superstar who is about to take his company Empire Entertainment public. Taraij P. Henson stars as Lucious’ ex-wife Cookie, and she’s still looking for a share of his success.

de la Fuente portrays Michael Sanchez on the series, which also stars Gabourey Sidibe and guest stars Courtney Love. Timbaland will serve as the song producer and songwriter, creating new tunes for the show and curating old ones.

Idol will air Wednesday, January 7 from 8:00 – 9:00 pm ET and Thursday, January 8 from 8:00 -10:00 pm ET.

Empire will debut that Wednesday from 9:00 – 10:00 pm ET.

The drama hails from Lee Daniels, Danny Strong and Brian Grazer. Empire is from Imagine Television in association with 20th Century Fox Television.

de la Fuente’s other television credits include Every With Way, Grachi, Aurora and Mas sabe el diablo.

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