Melissa Fumero to Help Announce Primetime Emmy Nominations

Posted on July 1, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Melissa Fumero is reporting for Primetime duty…

The 39-year-old Cuban American actress will team up with JB Smoove to announce the Primetime Emmy nominations on July 12, according to the Television Academy.

Fumero and Smoove will appear in Blockbuster, the upcoming Netflix comedy set at the last remaining Blockbuster Video outlet.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine alum Fumero stars alongside Randall Park, and Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Smoove is set to recur.

Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Chairman and CEO Frank Scherma will join the duo for the announcement, which will be livestreamed at Emmys.com.

Fumero starred as Officer Amy Santiago on all eight seasons of the NBC/Fox sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine, opposite Andy Samberg, sharing a 2015 SAG Awards nomination for its ensemble.

Her credits also include Gossip Girl and Diary of a Future President, along with voice roles on M.O.D.O.K. and Elena of Avalor. She also appeared in more than 200 episodes of the long-running ABC soap One Life to Live from 2005-11.

“It’s been another exceptional year of television with an abundance of remarkable programs and performances,” Scherma said in a statement. “We are thrilled to have JB and Melissa on board to help us celebrate the extraordinary shows, producers, storytellers and talent that continue to shape and elevate our dynamic medium.”

The 74th annual Primetime Emmys Awards will air Monday, September 12, on NBC. Peacock will stream the ceremony live for the first time.

Jaime Camil Signs First Look Deal with Paramount’s VIS for Paramount+ TV & Film Projects

Posted on March 10, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Jaime Camil is getting a first look…

The 48-year-old Mexican actor/singer and Jane the Virgin scene-stealer has signed a first look deal with VIS, a division of Paramount, to develop a variety of television and film projects for Paramount+.

Under the terms of the agreement, he’ll create, develop and produce exclusive Spanish language and majority-Spanish language scripted and non-scripted content for the streaming service.

“We are excited to welcome Jaime Camil to our roster of global talent working to bring the best premium content to Paramount+,” said JC Acosta, President of International Studios & Networks Southern Europe, Latin America, Middle East & Africa, in an exclusive statement to Deadline. “With Jaime’s experience and creative focus, we are confident that he’ll bring the best Spanish-language content to Paramount+ that resonates with our audiences around the world.”

Added Camil, “Paramount is home to some of the most beloved and iconic films and television shows of all time. I am thrilled and humbled to join their family. Throughout history, stories have been one of the most potent drivers of society and culture. Storytelling generates empathy and it imparts wisdom through characters in place of lived experience.

“Additionally, through the prism of art, story allows us to contextualize and also see a deeper beauty within our own lives,” he continued. “I look forward to developing and producing meaningful stories with the amazing team at Paramount. I can’t wait to show the world what we have in store.”

Before making a splash in the English-language market as Rogelio de la Vega on the CW’s Jane the Virgin, Camil was already a bona fide star in Latin America.

While working on Jane the Virgin and after the show concluded in 2019, he worked as a voice actor in multiple films including Coco, Hotel Transylvania 3, and The Secret Life of Pets and The Secret Life of Pets 2; and on the small screen: Elena of Avalor, DuckTales, BoJack Horseman, and Green Eggs and Ham.

Camil most recently starred as Doc Jorge Lopez in the Apple TV+ comedy Schmigadoon! and the Steven Soderbergh feature Kimi released in February via HBO Max.

He is currently shooting the Vicente Fernandez biopic The Idol of the People in the titular role. The Caracol TV production will be released exclusively on Netflix domestically.

Aimee Carrero to Star in Amazon Prime Video’s Dark Comedy Series “The Consultant”

Posted on March 10, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Aimee Carrero is becoming a consultant…

The 33-year-old Puerto Rican-Dominican actress has joined the cast of the Amazon Prime Video dark comedy The Consultant as a series regular opposite Christoph Waltz and Nat Wolff.

Inspired by Bentley Little’s 2015 novel, The Consultant is a darkly comedic workplace thriller that explores the sinister relationship between boss and employee, asking how far we will go to get ahead, and to survive.

Carrero will play Patti, Craig’s (Wolff) fiancée.

Tony Basgallop serves as the showrunner and executive produces alongside Matt Shakman, Christoph Waltz, Steve Stark and Andrew Mittman. Shakman will also direct the pilot and Kai Dolbashian will serve as co-producer.

The Consultant hails from MGM Television and Amazon Studios.

Carrero is playing Honey in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at the Geffen from April 19- May 22 opposite Calista Flockhart and Zachary Quinto.

She was last seen in an arc on the Netflix limited series Maid. Other credits include The Americans and the title voices in Elena of Avalor (Disney Jr.) and She-Ra (Netflix).

She will next be seen in The Menu with Anya Taylor-Joy for Fox Searchlight and Spirited for Apple with Will Ferrell.

Cheech Marin to Star in the Bobby Farrelly-Directed Film “Champions”

Posted on January 31, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Cheech Marin is a champion…

The 75-year-old Mexican American actor will lead Champions, a recently-wrapped film that Bobby Farrelly directed for Focus Features and Gold Circle Entertainment.

Marin stars alongside Woody Harrelson, Kaitlin Olson and Matt Cook.

Champions is based on the Goya Award winning Spanish film Campeones, which Universal Pictures International released in 2018.

It centers on a stubborn and hotheaded minor league basketball coach who is forced to coach a Special Olympics team when he is sentenced to community service.

Actors with intellectual disabilities rounding out the cast to ensure authenticity in the storytelling include Madison Tevlin, Joshua Felder, Kevin Iannucci, Ashton Gunning, Matthew Von Der Ahe, Tom Sinclair, James Day Keith, Alex Hintz, Casey Metcalfe, Bradley Edens and Champ Pederson.

Mark Rizzo penned the script.

Focus Features will distribute the film domestically, with Universal Pictures handling its international release.

Marin is an actor and comedian who broke out in the ’70s, alongside Tommy Chong, as one half of the comedy duo Cheech & Chong. He’s appeared in such films as Machete, Planet Terror, Grindhouse, Tin Cup, From Dusk Till Dawn, Desperado, Ghostbusters II, Born in East L.A., After Hours and Up in Smoke, along with series including Elena of Avalor, Lodge 49 and Jane the Virgin.

Chrissie Fit to Star in Indie Comedy “The List”

Posted on November 1, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Chrissie Fit is makin’ The List…

The 37-year-old Cuban American actress has joined the cast of The List, the indie comedy from director Melissa Miller Costanzo.

Fit forms part of a list of new cast additions that includes Jonah Platt, Will Peltz and Zach Reino.

They join previously announced leads Halston Sage, Christian Navarro and Gregg Sulkin.

The film written by Rob Lederer and Steve Vitolo centers on Abby (Sage), a woman who is about to get married, for whom everything is perfect. Until she finds out her fiancé Matt (Platt) has slept with a celebrity from his “free pass” list. To get her mind off things, Abby and her best friend Chloe (Fit) come up with a crazy idea: Abby should pursue a celebrity from her own list. But things become complicated when she meets Jake (Navarro), a sweet and charming waiter at a neighborhood cafe, who gives her a fresh perspective.

Peltz is portraying Avon, an LA-based rapper/pop star who is on a lot of free pass lists, including Abby’s, with Reino as Matt’s best friend and consistent bad influence, Connor.

Fit is best known for turns in Universal’s Pitch Perfect franchise and Disney Channel’s Teen Beach films. She can currently be seen in Amazon’s series reboot of I Know What You Did Last Summer, and will next be seen in Showtime comedy series I Love This for You, as well as Starz’ horror comedy, Shining Vale.

Fit has also recurred on Comedy Central’s Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens and Disney Channel’s Elena of Avalor, among other series. Additional film credits include Universal’s All My Life and HBO Max’s Women Is Losers.

Reino is a comedian and actor who has appeared on the TV side in HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, Netflix’s Brews Brothers, A.P. Bio, Sofia the First, Speechless, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and more. He recently wrote on Peacock’s new series Baking It with Maya Rudolph and Andy Samberg and co-hosts Off Book, a popular podcast, which originally debuted on Earwolf. Reino also co-wrote the script for Elizabeth Banks’ upcoming Amazon film Where the Fore Are We? with David Wain and Jess McKenna.

Aimee Carrero to Star in Searchlight’s Comedic Psychological Thriller “The Menu”

Posted on September 2, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Aimee Carrero is ordering from the menu…

The 33-year-old Dominican and Puerto Rican actress has joined the cast of Searchlight’s The Menu.

The film, directed by Mark Mylod, is a darkly comedic psychological thriller set in the world of eccentric culinary culture, centering on a young couple who visit an exclusive restaurant on a remote island where an acclaimed chef has prepared a lavish tasting menu.

Previously announced cast includes Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Fiennes, John Leguizamo, Nicholas Hoult, and Hong Chau.

Carrero has a long list of credits in both television and film. On the small screen, she’s appeared in The Mentalist, The Americans, Level Up, and Young & Hungry, among others. And in The Last Witch Hunter, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, Holidate, and most recently, Wander Darkly, for the big screen.

She’s most famously known for voicing Disney’s first Latina princess Elena of Avalor in the Disney Channel animated series of the same name, and for bringing to life the titular character in Netflix’s She-Ra and the Princess of Power.

Up next for Carrero is a recurring role in The Maid for Netflix set to be released October 1, and the as-yet-untitled The Boys spin-off for Amazon Prime Video.

Melissa Fumero to Star in Comedy “Bar Fight”

Posted on August 17, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Melissa Fumero is joining the Fight…

The 39-year-old Cuban American actress will star in Bar Fight, a comedy from writer/director Jim Mahoney, which wrapped production this week in Los Angeles.

Fumero is part of a cast that includes Rachel Bloom, Luka Jones and Julian Gant.

Bar Fight follows exes Nina (Fumero) and Allen (Jones), who split everything in their lives 50/50 after their break-up to avoid any drama—everything, that is, except for their favorite local bar. Nina and Allen must compete in a ridiculous, tavern-style custody battle for their prized watering hole, in which lines will be drawn, sides will be chosen, and beers will be drunken.

The film is presented by Particular Crowd and Ingenious Media.

Fumero is best known for her turn as Amy Santiago in NBC’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine. The actress has also featured on the television side in Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K., Elena of Avalor, One Life to Live, Gossip Girl and more. She has appeared on the film side in Dan Cohen’s A Stone in the Water and Henry Barrial’s The House That Jack Built, among other titles.

Aimee Carrero to Star in Amazon’s College-Set “The Boys” Spinoff

Posted on March 21, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Aimee Carrero is one of The Boys gang…

The 32-year-old Dominican actress will star in Amazon’s college-set spinoff of The Boys, which is nearing a formal green light.

Carrero will star opposite Shane Paul McGhie and Maddie Phillips in the project.

All three will play young superheroes on the show, joining previously cast Jaz Sinclair and Lizze Broadway who play fellow young superheroes.

Written by The Boys executive producer Craig Rosenberg, the Untitled The Boys Spinoff is set at America’s only college exclusively for young adult superheroes (and run by Vought International). It is described as an irreverent, R-rated series that explores the lives of hormonal, competitive Supes as they put their physical, sexual and moral boundaries to the test, competing for the best contracts in the best cities. Part college show, part Hunger Games — with all the heart, satire and raunch of The Boys.

The spinoff is from the entities behind the original series: Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television in association with Point Grey Pictures, Kripke Enterprises and Original Film. Rosenberg will serve as executive producer/showrunner on the spinoff.

Based on the bestselling comic book, The Boys is heading into its third season on Prime Video.

Carrero is best known for her voicing the title roles in Disney Channel’s popular animated series Elena of Avalor and Netflix’s She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. She also was a series regular on Freeform’s long-running sitcom Young & Hungry and recurred on the NBC dramas Blindspot and The Village.

Justina Machado Signs with United Talent Agency (UTA)

Posted on September 18, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Justina Machado has new representation…

The 46-year-old Puerto Rican actress, who stars on Netflix’s rebooted Norman Lear series One Day at a Time, has signed with United Talent Agency (UTA).

Machado, who scored a SAG Award in 2004 as part of the ensemble cast of HBO’s Six Feet Under, has appeared on Season 4 of CW’s Jane the Virgin and USA Network’s Queen of the South, and she voices Carmen on Disney Junior’s Elena of Avalor.

Her big-screen credits include The Purge: Anarchy and The Accidental Husband. On the stage, she made her Broadwaydebut in In the Heights and also appeared in A Free Man of Color.

On One Day at a Time, which follows three generations of a Cuban-American family, Machado stars as Penelope Alvarez, a single mom and military veteran raising two strong-willed, mega-millennial children, all the while enlisting the “help” of her old-school mother and her building manager-turned-confidante. Rita Moreno, Todd Grinnell, Stephen Toblowsky, Isabella Gomezand Marcel Ruiz co-star.

The series from Lear and Sony Television is underway on shooting its third season, which will air in 2019.

She had been with APA and continues to be repped by D2 Management.

Disney Channel Releases Trailer for Myrna Velasco’s Animated Series “Star Wars Resistance”

Posted on August 20, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Myrna Velasco is joining the resistance…

Disney Channel has released a new trailer for its upcoming animated show Star Wars Resistance, featuring the Mexican American actress.

“Can you imagine what it’s like to be an ace pilot?” Kazuda Xiono (“Kaz”) asks in the new trailer. Audiences will follow Kaz and some familiar Star Wars faces as he does just that — become a top pilot, not to mention spying on the rising threat of the First Order for the Resistance.

In the hour-long premiere, Poe and BB-8 assign Kaz to go undercover on the Colossus, a massive aircraft home to new aliens, droids, and other creatures. He makes new friends, like Poe’s old buddy Yeager, as well as a battered astromech droid called Bucket. With challenges like dangerous sky races and keeping his mission a secret from his newfound crew, Kaz is in over his head as he tries to avoid the danger of the First Order.

Star Wars Rebels showrunner Dave Filoni created the series, which will see Oscar Isaac reprising his big screen role as pilot Poe Dameron, while Christopher Sean voices Kaz. Gwendoline Christie will return to voice the villainous Captain Phasma, and Rachel Butera plays General Leia Organa.

In addition to Velasco, other supporting voice actors include Suzie McGrath, Scott Lawrence, Josh Brener, Donald Faison, Jim Rash and Bobby Moynihan.

The adventure series will have a one-hour premiere on Sunday, October 7 at 10:00 pm ET/PT on Disney Channel, DisneyNOW, and Disney Channel VOD, with further airings on Disney XD.

Velasco’s credits include Elena of Avalor, Descendants: Wicked World and Modern Family.

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