Adam Rodriguez Among Six Original “Criminal Minds” Cast Members In Talks For Show’s Paramount+ Revival

Posted on February 5, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Adam Rodriguez may be returning to his Criminal roots…

The 46-year-old Puerto Rican and Cuban American actor is among the original cast members reportedly in final talks to star in the Criminal Minds revival for Paramount+.

In addition to Rodriguez, other fan favorite cast members who’ve reportedly agreed to come back include Joe Mantegna, Kirsten Vangsness, A.J. Cook, Aisha Tyler and Paget Brewster, subject to closing their deals and availability.

Contract talks with Rodriguez and the other original cast members have been put on hold, according to Deadline, as Criminal Minds lead studio, ABC Signature, is focusing on making a deal with the series’ longtime executive producer/showrunner Erica Messer.

Negotiations with Messer, who has an overall pact with the studio, are still ongoing, with the two sides getting closer to a deal.

A license agreement for a 10-episode new season of Criminal Minds has been reached between Paramount+ and the studios behind the crime drama, ABC Signature and CBS Studios.

Rodriguez and the other five originals represent the majority of Criminal Minds’ cast in its 15th and final season.

The original series, created by Jeff Davis, follows a group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral Analysis Unit, using behavioral analysis and profiling to investigate crimes and find perpetrators. The group is led by Senior Agent David Rossi (Mantegna) and includes Agents JJ Jareau (Cook), Tara Lewis (Tyler) and Luke Alvez (Rodriguez) as well as Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia (Vangsness) and Unit Chief Emily Prentiss (Brewster).

The classic broadcast procedural is being serialized for binge-driven streaming consumption, with the team coming back together to investigate a single case over 10 episodes in the new season for Paramount+.

Criminal Minds is among ViacomCBS’ most prized titles in the streaming era. It had been a top performer on Netflix since before the streamer started releasing viewership information. While Paramount+ has all 15 seasons, Netflix carries the first 12. They accounted for 33.9 billion minutes of viewing on the global platform, making it the most watched title on Netflix in 2021. Criminal Minds also was the third-most-streamed series in 2020 on Netflix behind The Office and Grey’s Anatomy, with 590M hours viewed.

Enrique Murciano to Star in Second Season of Netflix’s “The Night Agent”

Posted on February 1, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Enrique Murciano has a new agent…

The 48-year-old Cuban American actor has been cast as a series regular opposite leads Gabriel Basso and Luciane Buchanan in The Night Agent, Netflix’s political conspiracy thriller series.

Murciano, known for his work in Bloodline, appears on a roster of new cast additions that includes Hong Chau, DB Woodside, Fola Evans-Akingbola , Eve Harlow, Phoenix Raei and Sarah Desjardins

Created by Shawn Ryan, the series is based on author Matthew Quirk’s 2019 New York Times bestseller.

The Night Agent is a sophisticated, character-based, action-thriller centering on Peter Sutherland (Basso), a low-level FBI agent who works in the basement of the White House, manning a phone that never rings — until the night that it does, propelling him into a fast moving and dangerous conspiracy that ultimately leads all the way to the Oval Office.

Murciano plays Ben Almora, the measured, steady hand who guides the Secret Service in the White House.

Seth Gordon is set to direct the first two episodes of the series, which hails from Sony Pictures Television Studios, where Ryan and Gordon are under overall deals. Ryan will serve as showrunner of the 10-episode series, which he’ll executive produce via his MiddKid Productions. Gordon will executive produce through his Exhibit A banner.

Raúl Castillo to Star in FX’s Limited Series “Class of ’09”

Posted on November 10, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Raúl Castillo is heading back to Class…

The 44-year-old Mexican American actor has been cast in FX’s limited series Class of ’09.

Castillo, who has starred in Looking and Army of the Dead, is part of a list of cast newcomers that includes Jake McDorman, Sepideh Moafi, Brian J. Smith, Jon Jon Briones, Brooke Smith, and Rosalind Eleazar.

They join previously announced leads Brian Tyree Henry and Kate Mara. Sunu Gonera is set to direct the first two episodes.

The series, which follows a class of FBI agents set in a near future where the U.S. criminal justice system has been transformed by artificial intelligence, comes from Tom Rob Smith, Nina Jacobson, and Brad Simpson.

The eight-part series produced by FX Productions revolves around a group of FBI agents who graduated from Quantico in 2009 and are reunited following the death of a mutual friend. Spanning three decades and told across three interweaving timelines, the series examines the nature of justice, humanity, and the choices we make that ultimately define our lives and our legacy.

Moafi plays Hour; Smith is Lennix; Briones portrays Gabriel; Smith is Drew; McDorman portrays Murphy; Eleazar is Vivienne; Castillo portrays Amos.

Class of ’09 will air exclusively on FX on Hulu.

Moafi can currently be seen starring as Gigi Ghorbani in Showtime’s The L Word: Generation Q, and will be seen in the forthcoming Apple TV+ drama In With the Devil.

Briones was most recently seen in the Ryan Murphy Netflix series Ratched opposite Sarah Paulson, Sharon Stone, and Judy Davis. On the film side, he recently wrapped production on Amblin’s Last Voyage of the Demeter as Joseph.

Castillo can be seen starring in Adam Randall’s vampire thriller Night Teeth for Netflix as well as Army of the Dead from writer/director Zack Snyder. He’ll next be seen in Mattson Tomlin’s upcoming directorial debut, Mother/Android, which will premiere on December 17 on Hulu and The Same Storm, directed and written by Peter Hedges.

Amazon Studios Releases Extended Trailer for Javier Bardem’s Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Film “Being the Ricardos”

Posted on November 10, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Javier Bardem is embracing his moment of being a Ricardo…

Amazon Studios has released the first extended look at the 52-year-old Spanish Oscar-winning actor’s Desi Arnaz and Nicole Kidman’s Lucille Ball in the new trailer for Being the Ricardos.

The project is writer-director Aaron Sorkin’s peek behind the scenes of television’s pioneering sitcom I Love Lucy.

In the trailer, Ball and Arnaz are depicted at one of the couple’s many pivotal moments: This time, it’s the House Un-American Activities Committee’s investigation into Ball’s early ties to the Communist Party.

“We’ve been through worse than this,” Bardem’s Arnaz assures his wife. “We have?,” replies Kidman’s Ball in a throaty voice and with the perfect comic timing that would make Lucy a legend.

The trailer also unveils J.K. Simmons as William Frawley and Nina Arianda as Vivian Vance, and features a tense scene on the Lucy set as Ball makes her first appearance following news of the FBI investigation.

In addition to Kidman, Bardem, Simmons and Arianda, Being the Ricardos features Jake Lacy, Tony Hale and Alia Shawkat.

Amazon Studio’s Being the Ricardos opens in theaters on December 10, and premieres on Amazon Prime Video on December 21.

Frankie Loyal Upped to Series Regular on FX’s “Mayans M.C.”

Posted on September 24, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

There are more rides in Frankie Loyal’s future…

The 51-year-old Latino actor/producer has been upped to series regular on FX’s biker drama Mayans M.C. alongside Joseph Lucero and Vincent Vargas for season 4, which is scheduled to return in early 2022.

Loyal, Lucero and Vargas took on larger roles in season 3, which saw their characters Hank Loza, Neron “Creeper” Vargas, and Gilly Lopez, respectively, flourish and develop into fully rounded characters with storylines fans embraced fully.

The trio have been a part of the series throughout its three-season run.

Mayans M.C., a spin-off series of the network’s hit Sons of Anarchy, follows a motley crew of Latino men who found a family in the motorcycle club charter Santo Padre on the California and Mexico border. While the story is about the M.C., it also features powerful female characters that are bold and powerful in their own right.

The character of E.Z. Reyes (JD Pardo) is at the center of the story as he finds his place in the gray area of a world that is mostly black and white.

It’s helmed by co-creator and executive producer Elgin James; and co-stars Clayton Cardenas, Danny Pino, Richard Cabral, Michael Irby, Carla Baratta, Sarah Bolger, Emilio Rivera, Edward James Olmos, Raoul Trujillo, Emily Tosta, and Sulem Calderon.

Loyal, whose character Hank serves as Sergeant-of-Arms to the M.C., guest-starred on FX’s Better Things opposite Pamela Adlon. On the big screen, he starred in The Deep End alongside Tilda Swinton and Goran Visnjic. He will next be seen in the drama feature Die Like A Man.

Lucero made his debut in the 2006 drama Gridiron Gang alongside Dwayne Johnson, Xzibit, Moe McCrae, and Jurnee Smollett. He was also featured in Father G and the Homeboys, an award-winning documentary chronicling Father Greg Boyle’s work with Los Angeles’ toughest gang members. Lucero’s television credits include Dirt, ER, The Shield, Cold Case, Criminal Minds, The Closer, Shameless, S.W.A.T., and FBI.

Vargas is a veteran of the U.S. Army that served three combat deployments who continues to serve his country today for the Army Reserve. In 2009, he became a Federal Agent with the Department of Homeland Security and was a Medic with the Special Operations Group.

He has starred and produced several films including Lucy Shimmers and the Prince of Peace (co-executive producer), Not a War Story (executive producer), and Dads in Parks (writer). Vargas pulled double duty since season 2 on Mayans M.C. as recurring star and technical advisor.

Noomi Rapace Starring in Action Film “Assassin Club”

Posted on September 22, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Noomi Rapace is joining the club…

The 41-year-old half-Spanish actress has been quietly filming action film Assassin Club in Italy opposite Henry Golding, Sam Neill and Suicide Squad breakout Daniela Melchior.

EuropaCorp veteran Camille Delamarre is directing the film, which has just wrapped shooting in Turin, Italy.

Assassin Club takes place in the world of international spies and elite assassins. In this world of contract killers, Morgan Gaines (Golding) is the best of the best. When Morgan is hired to kill six people around the world, he soon discovers all the targets are also assassins unknowingly hired to kill each other.

Rapace plays Falk, the only assassin with skills to match his own. Under the guidance of his mentor Jonathan Caldwell (Neill), Morgan must defeat Falk and the other assassins to keep himself and his girlfriend Sophie (Melchior) alive.

The project is produced and financed by Film Bridge International (FBI) with additional funding provided by 828 Media Capital.

“Assassin Club delivers the cinematic experience audiences love,” said Ellen Wander, CEO of Film Bridge International, which is repping sales.

Wander added: “Our director Camille Delamarre came to this project with an inspired vision, and we look forward to his remarkable talents in the editing room. When the film is completed, it will be a thrilling ride for audiences throughout the world.

Rapace’s previous credits include the Swedish film adaptations of the Millennium series: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest.

Her other credits include Daisy Diamond, Beyond, The Monitor, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Prometheus, Dead Man Down, Child 44, and the seven lead roles in What Happened to Monday.

Morena Baccarin to Star in NBC’s Untitled Bank Heist Drama Pilot

Posted on June 11, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Morena Baccarin is reaching new heists…

The 42-year-old Brazilian actress will star alongside Ryan Michelle Bathé in NBC’s untitled bank heist drama pilot from Nick Wootton and Jake Coburn; Julie Plec’s My So-Called Company; and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.

Written by Wootton and directed by Justin Lin, the project is a high-stakes two-hander about Elena Federova (Baccarin), a recently captured international arms dealer and brilliant criminal mastermind who orchestrates a number of coordinated bank heists throughout NYC for a mysterious purpose, and Val Fitzgerald (Bathé), the principled, relentless and socially outcast FBI agent who will stop at nothing to foil her ambitious plan.

The sexy and twisted heist series reveals how far some people will go for love, justice and the most valuable commodity in the world: the truth.

Known for playing the female lead in the Deadpool franchise, Baccarin co-starred opposite Gerard Butler in STX’s disaster-thriller Greenland.

In 2019, she wrapped two features, The Good House opposite Sigourney Weaver and Kevin Kline; and Waldo, an action-suspense film opposite Charlie Hunnam and Mel Gibson.

Baccarin, Emmy-nominated for her role on Showtime’s Homeland, was the romantic lead in the latest season of Brazil’s Sessao de Terapia. Based on international format In Treatment, which was adapted by HBO in the U.S., Sessao is now in its fourth season in Baccarin’s native country.

JD Pardo to Appear on Amazon’s Conspiracy-Thriller Series “The Terminal List”

Posted on June 5, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

JD Pardo is officially on the list…

The 40-year-old Salvadoran and Argentinian-American actor will star alongside Chris Pratt in Amazon’s conspiracy-thriller series The Terminal List, based on Jack Carr’s bestselling novel, in a key recurring role.

Constance Wu, Riley Keough, Taylor Kitsch and Jeanne Tripplehorn also star in the series, which Pratt executive produces along with Antoine Fuqua, who directs, and writer David DiGilio.

The Terminal List is a co-production from Amazon Studios and Civic Center Media in association with MRC Television.

Written by DiGilio, The Terminal List follows James Reece (Pratt) after his entire platoon of Navy SEALs is ambushed during a high-stakes covert mission. Reece returns home to his family with conflicting memories of the event and questions about his culpability. However, as new evidence comes to light, Reece discovers dark forces working against him, endangering not only his life but the lives of those he loves.

Pardo will play Tony Liddel, one of the youngest leaders of an FBI Task Force, he leads his team with veracity and stalwart determination. He’s hell-bent on finding his fugitive and is merciless when it comes to bringing justice to bear. But while his work is simple, his home-life is complicated, and his family is what motivates him to make the world a better, safer place.

Pardo currently stars as EZ Reyes in FX’s Mayans M.C., which was recently picked up for a fourth season ahead of its third season finale.

He’ll next be seen in Thunder Road and 30West’s thriller Violence of Action alongside Chris Pine, Ben Foster and Gillian Jacobs.

Zack Calderon to Star on Season 2 of Amazon’s YA Drama “The Wilds”

Posted on May 3, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Zack Calderon is heading into the Wild(s)…

The Latino actor has joined the cast for Season 2 of Amazon’s YA drama The Wilds.

In addition to Calderon, those set to appear in the sophomore season are Aidan Laprete, Nicholas Coombe, Charles Alexander, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Reed Shannon, Tanner Ray Rook and Alex Fitzalan.

They will join returning cast Rachel Griffiths, David Sullivan, Troy Winbush, Sophia Ali, Sarah Pidgeon, Jenna Clause, Erana James, Mia Healey, Helena Howard, Reign Edwards and Shannon Berry.

The Wilds in Season 2 will continue to follow the harrowing ordeal of eight teenage girls stranded on a deserted island under mysterious circumstances. The new season will also focus on a new group of survivors, all boys, who find themselves in the same perilous situation. Both groups will be forced to navigate emotional and physical obstacles in the face of their extreme circumstances.

The Wilds is created and executive produced by Sarah Streicher. It is co-produced by Amazon Studios and ABC Signature, part of Disney Television Studios.

Calderon will play Rafael Garcia, a quiet, sensitive teenager who lives in Tijuana but attends high school in San Diego. Straddling two worlds has made it difficult to get a clear and certain sense of himself, so he gravitates toward people with stronger, more charismatic personalities than his own.

Calderon has appeared in CBS’ FBI.

Gutierrez-Riley will play Ivan Taylor, an activist and aspiring playwright with an impeccable fashion sense and a razor-sharp wit. But his words can be cutting, sometimes too deeply, which has cost him friends along the way.

The actor will appear in Leah Bleich’s The Moon and Back. The Wilds marks his television debut.

https://twitter.com/PrimeVideo/status/1389287119554678785

Jason Smilovic & Todd Katzberg to Pen the Script for Jennifer Lopez’s Film Adaptation of Isabella Maldonado’s Novel “The Cipher”

Posted on March 28, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Jennifer Lopez’s latest project has found it’s screenwriter…

Jason Smilovic and Todd Katzberg are set to adapt Isabella Maldonado’s novel The Cipher, which will star the 51-year-old Puerto Rican superstar.

In The Cipher, FBI agent Nina Guerrero (Lopez) finds herself drawn into a serial killer’s case after he strategically posts complex codes and riddles online corresponding to recent murders in order to lure her into a cat and mouse chase.

Lopez is producing with her partners Elaine Goldsmith Thomas and Benny Medina.

Smilovic and Katzberg most recently adapted Robert Littell’s cold war era novel The Sisters for Pioneer Pictures and Thunder Road with Smilovic set to direct.

Previous feature credits for Smilovic include Lucky Number Slevin and the Todd Phillips summer feature War Dogs, which earned Jonah Hill a Golden Globe nomination in the Best Actor – Comedy/Musical category.

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