Daphne Zuniga is ready to help you rewatch her classic television series…
As a Melrose Place reboot is in the works at CBS, the original series is getting a new audio boost featuring the 61-year-old half-Guatemalan American actress.
Zuniga and two of the show’s other original stars, Laura Leighton and Courtney Thorne-Smith, are launching a rewatch podcast of the Fox drama.
Still The Place launched today, on the 32nd anniversary of the show’s launch. It comes from iHeartPodcasts.
Leighton, who played Sydney Andrews, Thorne-Smith, who played Alison Parker and Zuniga, who played Jo Reynolds will dissect each episode from the very beginning, share behind-the-scenes stories and interview special guests from the original cast and crew.
It comes after news in April revealed that a reboot featuring Leighton and Zuniga, as well as Heather Locklear, was in the works at CBS Studios and was being shopped to networks and streamers.
The reboot is being written by Lauren Gussis and will pick up years after the original series, created by Darren Star.
Locklear, Leighton and Zuniga, reprised their roles in guest starring appearances on The CW revival in 2009, which revolved around a new group of 20-30-somethings living on Melrose Place. The new reboot is expected to draw from the original series and not the follow-up where Leighton’s character was murdered.
The 58-year-old half-Guatemalan American actress will appear on Fox’s Fantasy Island.
Zuniga will reunite with some of her former Melrose Place cast mates, Laura Leighton and Josie Bissett, in the episode.
They’ll guest star as friends whose island birthday bash exposes the cracks in their friendships.
The all new version of the series, which originally aired from 1977 to 1984, will premiere on August 10 at 9:00 pm.
Production is currently underway in Puerto Rico, with the date of Leighton, Bissett and Zuniga’s episode yet to be announced.
Fantasy Island takes place at a luxury resort where literally any fantasy request by guests is fulfilled, but these requests rarely turn out as expected. Each episode will tell emotional, provocative stories about people who arrive with desires and depart transformed by the island’s magical realism.
The series stars Roselyn Sanchez, Kiara Barnes and John Gabriel Rodriguez.
Sanchez’ Elena Roarke keeps the island running as its steward. A descendant of the iconic Mr. Roarke, she set aside her own ambitions and the love of her life to uphold her family’s legacy.
The 56-year-old half-Guatemalan American actress will star opposite Jason Priestley in Lifetime’s original movie Gates of Paradise, one of the several new projects based on V.C. Andrews’ Casteel Family book series.
Production is underway, with the TV movie set to premiere on the cable network this year.
The first, Heaven, was filmed last year. The remaining four are Dark Angel, Fallen Hearts, Gates of Paradise and Web of Dreams. The movie event series follows Heaven Casteel and her siblings after their father devises a scheme that threatens to destroy their dreams and separate the family forever.
Heaven introduces the infamous Casteel family, the least regarded of all the families living in the poverty-stricken foothills of the mountains of West Virginia. Yet the eldest daughter, Heaven Leigh Casteel, was still the smartest girl in the backwoods and determined to redeem her family name. However, her dreams become deferred the day her stepmother flees and her selfish father Luke sells her and her four siblings to different families. Heaven is sent to live in the home of Luke’s deranged ex-lover, Kitty, who torments Heaven as Kitty’s husband, Cal lures Heaven into a forbidden relationship while she fights to reunite her siblings.
Dark Angel picks up directly after Heaven finds a new life in her estranged grandmother and grandfather, Jillian and Tony Tatterton’s (Priestley) exquisite Boston mansion, Farthinggale Manor. But even in the world of the wealthy, there are strange forebodings, secrets best forgotten. As Heaven reaches out for love, she is slowly ensnared in a sinister web of cruel deceits.
Based on the third book, Fallen Hearts follows Heaven, now happily married and ready to settle back in her hometown. But after a trip to Farthinggale Manor, Heaven is persuaded to stay. Lured by her grandfather Tony Tatterton (Priestley) to live amidst the wealthy and privileged Heaven seems to have it all until the ghosts of her past rise up once more, threatening her precious new life.
Gates of Paradise quickly turns tragic when Heaven’s daughter Annie finds herself orphaned and crippled. Whisked off to Farthinggale Manor by Tony Tatterton (Priestley), Annie pines for her lost family, especially for her half-brother Luke. Without the warm glow of Luke’s love, she is lost in the shadows of despair and forced into submission by Nurse Broadfield (Zuniga). When Annie discovers a cottage hidden in Farthinggale’s woods, the mystery of her past deepens. Even as she yearns to see Luke again, her hopes and dreams are darkened by the sinister Casteel spell.
Based on the fifth and final novel of the Casteel series the prequel, Web of Dreams finally unlocks the mysteries of the family. Heaven’s mother Leigh (LaPorte) had to escape from Farthinggale Manor and the secrets she harbored. Falling into the arms of Luke Casteel Sr., his devotion promised her hope as only Luke knew her deepest of secrets. Bravely she bore the suspicions of the hill folk, as she tried to grasp the happiness that long eluded her. With a baby girl, Heaven, on the way, she hoped for a chance at happy ever after.
Gail Harveydirects Gates of Paradise from a screenplay by Gregory Smalland Richard Blaney.
The 56-year-old half-Guatemalan American actress and former Melrose Place and One Tree Hill star will make her feature directorial debut with The Protegé, an indie thriller starring Jeanette Sousa, Breanne Hill, Keenan Tracey and Philip Boyd.
The film follows Amanda Birch (Sousa) who, after three years of estrangement from her family, returns to reconnect with her sister Lauren, the manager of a beloved holistic studio. Upon her return, things only get worse when her sister Lauren mysteriously dies days later. Soon, the entire family is suspected in a murder investigation as it becomes clear that Lauren’s death was no accident. Amanda leads an investigation of her own to find out who’s responsible for her sister’s murder.
Nicole Schubert and Blaine Chiappetta penned the screenplay.
Zuniga’s most recent acting credits include A Christmas Arrangement, Witness Unprotected and Heartbeats,
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited a record 683 people to joins its ranks, including the 32-year-old Honduran American actress, more than double last year’s 322 invitees.
Best known for her Golden Globe-, Screen Actors Guild Award and Emmy-winning role on ABC’s Ugly Betty, Ferrera has also starred in several acclaimed films including Real Women Have Curves, Under the Same Moon, End of Watch, Cesar Chavez and Lords of Dogtown.
The Academy was careful to include a breakdown by gender and race, with the new list comprising of 46% women, including Girl in Progess star Eva Mendes and Fast & Furious star Michelle Rodriguez, and 41% people of color, including Luis Guzman, Oscar Isaac and Spanish director J.A. Bayona.
“We’re proud to welcome these new members to the Academy and know they view this as an opportunity and not just an invitation — a mission and not just a membership,” Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs said in a statement. “This class continues our long-term commitment to welcoming extraordinary talent reflective of those working in film today. We encourage the larger creative community to open its doors wider and create opportunities for anyone interested in working in this incredible and storied industry.”
The new invitees include 28 Oscar winners, range in age from 24 to 91 and represent 59 countries.
Other Latinos invited to join AMPAS include Enrique Castillo, Sal Lopez, Marisa Paredes, Jacob Vargas, Daphne Zuniga, Ciro Guerra and Nicole Garcia.
Daphne Zuniga has signed, sealed and delivered her way into our living rooms…
Hallmark Channel has reportedly given a 10-episode order to Signed, Sealed & Delivered ahead of the backdoor pilot’s October 12 premiere as an original movie, according to Deadline.com.
The entertainment news website claims the decision was made based on great testing results for the pilot.
Created and executive produced by former Touched by an Angel executive producer Martha Williamson, Signed, Sealed & Delivered is a comedic drama about an intrepid group of mail detectives in the Dead Letter Office who will deliver every last lost & dead letter to its rightful owner just when the recipient needs it most.
The project was originally calledDead Letters.
Along with Zuniga, the project stars Ugly Bettyalum Eric Mabius, Kristin Booth, Crystal Lowe and Geoff Gustafson.
Zuniga and two of the show’s other original stars, Laura Leighton and Courtney Thorne-Smith, are launching a rewatch podcast of the Fox drama.
