Chavira to Star in NBC’s “Welcome to the Family” Pilot

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Ricardo Chavira could be returning to television in the near future…

The 41-year-old Mexican American actor, best known for his role as Eva Longoria’s TV husband Carlos Solis on ABC’s Desperate Housewives, has landed one of the lead roles in NBC’s comedy pilot Welcome to the Family.

Chavira will star opposite Mike O’Malley in the project, which chronicles just how two cultures collide when a white family and a Latino family are united by their children, who fare falling in love must deal with an unplanned pregnancy.

Mary McCormack is also slated to star in the project, which is being produced by Sony Television.

Chavira will portray the divorced Latino father of the boy who got O’Malley and McCormack’s daughter pregnant – an ex-convict who has turned his life around.

Chavira’s other credits include recurring roles on Six Feet Under and The Division, as well as guest-starring roles on Joan of Arcadia, Kingpin and Monk.

Walsh Cast in Amazon’s “Zombieland” Pilot

Posted on February 12, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Maiara Walsh will be fending off the walking dead…

The 24-year-old half-Brazilian actress has landed one of the leading roles in Amazon’s comedic television adaptation of the 2009 hit film Zombieland.

The comedy continues the events of the feature, with new actors taking over the roles of Columbus, Tallahassee and Wichita, previously played by Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson and Emma Stone, respectively, in the 2009 Ruben Fleischer feature.

Walsh, who has most recently appeared on ABC Family’s Switched at Birth, will play Wichita, a natural con-woman and tough girl who with her younger sister Little Rock (Izabela Vidovic) teams up with Columbus (Tyler Ross) to survive the zombie apocalypse and search for survivors.

Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick will write the script for Sony Pictures Television, which is producing the pilot for Amazon.

Walsh previously played Eva Longoria‘s niece, Ana, on ABC‘s Desperate Housewives. She also appeared on the CW‘s The Vampire Diaries and the TV movie Mean Girls 2.

Ferrer Promoted to Series Regular on CBS’ “NCIS: LA”

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Miguel Ferrer will be getting more screen time on the small screen next season…

The 58-year-old half-Puerto Rican actor, the son of Academy Award winner José Ferrer, has been promoted to series regular on CBS’ NCIS: LA starting next fall.

Ferrer, who portrays NCIS assistant director Owen Granger, joined the police procedural as a recurring character midway through last season.

In addition, he’ll join the proposed NCIS: LA spinoff, which will launch as an episode of NCIS: LA airing later this season. Ferrer will be regular on that show as well, portraying the same character.

Ferrer, best known for portraying Dr. Garret Macy on Crossing Jordan, guest-starred on the final season of Desperate Housewives.

Alba: Best-Dressed Latina at the Golden Globes

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

The 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards marked the official start of award season… And, this year’s event featured several of Hollywood’s hottest Latina luminaries on the red carpet, in the audience and on the stage.

From Jessica Alba’s silk trumpet gown to Eva Longoria’s slit-to-the-hip dress, the Latina style-stars, dressed to the nines in their designer frocks, simply sparkled.

Here’s a look at this year’s best-dressed Latinas at the Globes:

Jessica Alba

She may have earned her only Golden Globe nomination for starring as Max Guevara on Fox’s sci-fi series Dark Angel, but there was nothing dim about Jessica Alba’s look at this year’s show.

The 31-year-old half-Mexican American actress – one of the night’s presenters – shined brighter than the sun in an orange silk faille trumpet gown from Oscar de la Renta. And Alba, who will be starring in this year’s Sin City sequel, paired her fiery frock with a $5.8 million Harry Winston diamond necklace, as well as diamond earrings and a cocktail ring all set in platinum. And she capped off her look with a fuzzy orange Roger Vivier clutch.

From head to toe, Alba’s look was nothing short of perfection, making her the night’s best dressed Latina.

Eva Longoria

Eva Longoria just missed out onbest-dressed honors by a leg. Literally!The 37-year-old Mexican-American actress and former Desperate Housewives star sizzled in an oh-so-revealing black Emilio Pucci gown.

Longoria, a presenter at Sunday’s awards show, proved there’s nothing lackluster about a black dress in the stunning gown that featured a slit cut up to her hip.

And, the Texas-born starlet seemed to take the popular Lone Star State saying, “The Bigger the Hair, the Closer to God,” to heart with an impressive pouf.

Rosario Dawson

It’s no wonder she’s starring in Danny Boyle’s Trance; Rosario Dawson is a dream in her form-fitting powder blue gown. The 33-year-old Puerto Rican/Cuban American actress’ figure-flattering dress featured an on-trend peplum effect that helped spotlight her curves. And Dawson completed the look with some sparkly Lorraine Schwartz jewelry.

Sofia Vergara

Sofia Vergara may have failed to win a Golden Globe for the third straight year, but the 40-year-old Colombian actress didn’t let that cramp her style. The Modern Family star oozed sex appeal in a black sequin sweetheart gown..

“I usually try to stay away from black, but I love the dress,” said Vergara of the eye-catching gown from Filipino designer Michael Cinco.

Vergara completed her look with slick hair and Lorraine Schwartz jewelry.

Jennifer Lopez

Don’t blame this year’s Golden Globes hostess and nominee Tina Fey for wanting to share some screen time with Jennifer Lopez during the announcement of the winner in her category. The 42-year-old Puerto Rican actress/singer left little to the imagination in Zuhair Murad‘s nude long-sleeve silk gown featuring an ivory embroidered lace overlay with beading detail from the designer’s spring/summer 2013 ready-to-wear collection.

Lopez, who served as a presenter with her Parker co-star Jason Statham, accessorized with Christian Louboutin shoes, a Jimmy Choo bag and Le Vian jewels.

Salma Hayek

Salma Hayek has curves… and she knows how to put them on display. The 46-year-old donned a perfectly fitted Gucci Première gown with a large bow at her oh-so-small waist. The Frida star paired her stunning dress with glistening gems.

Nicole Richie

Nicole Richie channeled old Hollywood glamour in a periwinkle embroidered Naeem Khan gown. The 31-year-old part-Mexican reality-TV-star-turned fashionista and Fashion Star mentor completed her look with Brian Atwood shoes, a House of Harlow 1960 Jude clutch, H. Stern earrings, and rings by Arunashi, Sylva & Cie, Elahn and House of Harlow 1960.

Longoria to Star in the Animated Series “Mother Up!”

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Eva Longoria has landed a mother of a role…

The 37-year-old Mexican American actress and former Desperate Housewives star has signed on to voice the character of Rudi Wilson, a former music exec turned hopeless suburban mom, in the animated series Mother Up! for Canadian broadcaster City and Hulu.

“She’s a crazy, irresponsible mother, that all mothers fear they are,” Longoria tells The Hollywood Reporter about her character’s misguided, yet comedic child-rearing.

“She barely keeps her kids alive with bizarre, improvised solutions to the endless challenges of parenting,” she adds.

City and Hulu have ordered 13 episodes of the half-hour adult animated comedy series that Longoria will also executive produce.

The Canadian series was created by Michael Shipley (Family Guy, My Name is Earl), using original material from Marnie Nir and Katie Torpey.

“It is without a doubt an irreverent and edgy series, and yet still a network friendly show,” Claire Freeland, director of original programming at City-parent Rogers Media said of Mother Up!

City already has a primetime schedule heavy with popular American comedies like Modern Family and 2 Broke Girls, as well as a pipeline filled with homegrown sitcoms Seed and Package Deal.

Despite its motherhood storyline, Freeland added Mother Up! will appeal to both a female and male demo, given its variety of male characters.

The Canadian series also stars Jesse Camacho as the voice of Dick, Gabrielle Miller as Sarah, Cle Bennett as 2Bit, Helen Taylor as Jenny, Rebecca Husain as Apple and Scott McCord as Greg.

For Longoria, Mother Up! marks a return to television following starring roles in movies like The Baytown Outlaws, The Truth and more recently Michael Berry’s Frontera, following her final bow last season as Gabrielle Solis on Desperate Housewives.

The animated comedy also allows Longoria to bring her acting chops to a Toronto sound booth.

“I always find you have so much more freedom as an actor with your voice when you’re hiding behind an animated character, as opposed to live action,” she observes.

City plans a fall 2013 debut for Mother Up!

Longoria Gets ‘Intimate’ for Her GQ Mexico Cover…

Posted on December 3, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Eva Longoria is getting really intimate with GQ Mexico readers…

The 37-year-old Mexican American actress graces the cover of the December issue of the GQ Mexico in nothing but some sexy lingerie…

On the cover, the former Desperate Housewives star – who spent much of the year campaigning for Barack Obama – appears in white-haute lingerie with smoky eye makeup and tousled hair.

For the inside cover story, Longoria sports all black lingerie as she strikes several seductive poses.

Even though she brings the sexy for her GQ Mexico photo shoot, Longoria hopes people find her beautiful for other reasons.

“I hope that people think I’m beautiful for all the work I do concerning charity and philanthropy, or political activism,” the actress told GQ Mexico. “For me, these are the things that define beauty. Beauty lies, mainly, in someone’s personality, not on their skin.”

Meantime, Longoria is set to heat up the big screen in January with her upcoming action flick, The Baytown Outlaws, which also stars Paul Wesley and Billy Bob Thornton. In the film, Longoria plays a woman who relies on three brothers to help save her son from an abusive father.

Cedeño Lands Recurring Role on Lifetime’s “Devious Maids”

Posted on November 26, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Matt Cedeño is about to show his Devious side…

The 38-year-old half-Cuban American actor has landed a recurring role on Lifetime’s upcoming series Devious Maids, created by Marc Cherry and co-executive produced by his Desperate Housewives leading lady Eva Longoria.

Cedeño, best known for his role as Brandon Walker on NBC’s Days of our Lives, is expected to appear in the series’ tweaked pilot and will reportedly be upped to series regular status if they dramedy gets renewed for a second season, according to Deadline.com.

The pilot for Devious Maids, originally developed for ABC last season and later saved by Lifetime, is based on the hit Mexican telenovela Ellas son la Alegría del Hogar. Starring Roselyn Sanchez, Ana Ortiz, Judy Reyes and Dania Ramirez, the series follows the lives of four ambitious maids who try to pursue their dreams while working for the rich and famous in Beverly Hills.

Cedeño will play Alejandro Reyes, a successful recording artist. Back home after three long months on tour, Alejandro just wants to lounge by the pool.

Longoria Inks First-Look Deal with Universal Television

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Eva Longoria apparently has Universal appeal…

The 37-year-old Mexican American actress’ UnbeliEVAble Entertainment has signed a first-look development deal with Universal Television.

As part of the non-writing, executive producer agreement the Desperate Housewives’ star serving as executive producer on projects through her production company.

“Having Eva Longoria on our team is a huge advantage for our Alternative program development as we have pleasantly discovered in implementing her ideas for Ready for Love, which is shaping up as a terrific and upbeat series,” said Paul Telegdy, president, alternative and late night programming, NBC Entertainment. “She is passionate, fully engaged and has keen instincts for putting together a winning formula for her shows that always bear her imprint.”

UnbeliEVAble is already the production company behind NBC’s upcoming dating series Ready for Love, which is being touted as a revolutionary new relationship show

In addition, Longoria is an executive producer on Lifetime‘s upcoming soap Devious Maids, starring Roselyn Sanchez, which reteams her with her Desperate Housewives boss, the show’s creator Marc Cherry.

The Golden Globe-nominated, Screen Actors Guild Award-winning and ALMA Award-winning actress, producer, businesswoman and philanthropist is best known for her starring role as Gabrielle Solis on Desperate Housewives.

Walsh Cast as the Lead in “The Hunger Games” Spoof

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

It looks like Maiara Walsh is the latest tribute headed to the arena… Well, sort of!

The 24-year-old half-Brazilian actress has been cast as the female lead in a parody of Jennifer Lawrence’s blockbuster film The Hunger Games.

In the film entitled The Starving Games, Walsh will portray a character named Kantmiss Evershot, based on Lawrence’s character Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games.

Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, the duo behind Date Movie, Meet the Spartans and Vampires Suck, wrote the script and will direct the parody. Along with mocking Suzanne Collins’ book series, the film will also spoof The Avengers, Sherlock Holmes and the finale of the Harry Potter franchise.

Pretty Little Liars actor Brant Daugherty has already been cast as the parody version of Gale, played in The Hunger Games by Liam Hemsworth.

Shooting on The Starving Games begins this week in New Orleans.

Walsh, known more for her dramatic roles, co-stars as the devious Simone Sinclair on ABC Family’s Switched at Birth and has appeared on The Secret Life of the American Teenager, the CW‘s The Vampire Diaries and ABC’s Desperate Housewives.

Machado Cast in USA’s “Paging Dr. Freed” Pilot

Posted on September 28, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Justina Machado will be heading back to the hospital in the near future…

The 40-year-old Puerto Rican actress has landed the last regular role in USA’s single-camera comedy pilot Paging Dr. Freed, which begins shooting in Los Angeles this week.

The project centers on gynecologist brothers David (Kyle Howard) and Jonathan (Joel David Moore) who inherit their father’s thriving medical practice and have to deal with their meddling mother (Annie Potts).

Machado, who has appeared on the medical shows ER and Three Rivers, will portray the no-nonsense office manager and gatekeeper at the practice who acts as the brothers’ tough-loving figure at the workplace.

Machado is best known for her role as Vanessa Diaz on the HBO drama series Six Feet Under. She most recently appeared on the final season of ABC’s Desperate Housewives.

Hispanically Yours

Celebrating the Latino Influence

Tag Archives: Desperate Housewives