Francisco Ramos Releases Debut Comedy Special “Venezuela’Merican” on YouTube

Francisco Ramos’ debut comedy special online is …

The Venezuelan stand-up comedian, known for his unique perspective on the immigrant experience, has posted his debut comedy special Venezuela’Merican on YouTube via 800 Pound Gorilla.

Francisco RamosNo logline was provided for the special, filmed in Las Vegas at Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club inside the MGM Grand.

Produced by Garrett, Ed Conover and 800 Pound Gorilla Records, Ramos’ special was directed by Michael Malone.

“I’m beyond thrilled for everyone to finally see the special(ito) we’ve been cooking up!” said Ramos in a statement to Deadline. “Huge shoutout to Brad Garrett for producing it and to the fantastic team at 800 Pound Gorilla for their incredible support. Now, fingers crossed for 1 million views—because that’s the magic number that might finally make my mom stop asking, “When are you getting a real job?””

Ramos’ special comes following the release of his comedy album, Vayalo!. Working as a comic over the course of the last decade, his credits include reaching the Top 10 on NBC’s Last Comic Standing, appearing in Max’s Entre Nos comedy specials, and providing voice work for the animated movie Rio.

He’s also made guest appearances on popular television shows like Shameless, Lady Dynamite, Gentefied and This Fool.

Later this year, Ramos will be seen in his first feature role in The Unexpecteds, an action comedy starring Veep‘s Matt Walsh.

Netflix Releasing Part 2 of Christian Serratos’ “Selena: The Series” in May

Christian Serratos is returning to the stage in May…

The 30-year-old half-Mexican American actress will continue to portray the legendary Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla in Netflix’s Selena: The Series on May 14.

Christian Serratos as Selena

“When Selena Quintanilla burst onto the Tejano music scene in the ‘80s, her dream was to make music that celebrated both her Latin roots and her Mexican-American upbringing. She ultimately brought these two worlds together, leaving behind a timeless legacy that still resonates with generations of fans around the world,” said Francisco Ramos, VP of Latin American Originals. “We had the same hopes when we released Selena: The Series in December on Netflix. We wanted to pay tribute to the young girl with big dreams and an even bigger voice, and honor her incredible rise from performing local gigs with her family to gracing some of the world’s biggest stages.”

Along with the date for part 2, the streaming platform tweeted that in its first four weeks, “25 million households sang ‘Como La Flor‘ along with Selena: The Series – and half of those fans came from the U.S.”

The show also reached Netflix’s Top 10 list in 23 countries including the U.S., Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, and Peru. Half of the fans came from the U.S., where it spent its first week in the #1 spot on the Top 10 list.

Part 1 of the series, which “explores Selena’s journey from singing small gigs to becoming the most successful female Latin artist of all time,” made its Netflix debut on December 4 starring Christian Serratos as the late Mexican-American singer.

“[Selena] created a path for herself when it was arguably difficult for Latinas,” Serratos previously told Billboard. “Being a woman in the industry is super tricky, but she managed to be incredibly powerful, strong, and resilient and [to] be a pioneer while being incredibly gracious, and I always thought that was so beautiful.”

Other cast members include Ricardo Chavira, who co-stars as Selena’s father Abraham; Gabriel Chavarria as her brother A.B.; Noemi Gonzalez as her sister Suzette; Seidy Lopez as her mother Marcella; and Madison Taylor Baez as young Selena.

The two-part series was released 23 years after the Gregory Nava-directed and Oscar-nominated film Selena starring Jennifer Lopez made its debut on the big screen.

Selena: The Series is produced by Campanario Entertainment and executive produced by Jaime Dávila, Rico Martinez, Suzette Quintanilla, Simran A. Singh, Hiromi Kamata, and Moises Zamora.

Nacho Vigalondo’s Superhero Comedy Series “El Vecino” Among Five New Netflix Spanish Originals

Nacho Vigalondo is neighboring his way onto a new Netflixproject…

The 41-year-old Spanish filmmaker will direct the Spanish superhero comedy series El Vecino, based on the graphic novels by Santiago Garcia and Pepo Perez

Nacho Vigalondo

It’s one of five new projects announced by Netflix, as the company continues its investment in Spanish originals.

The five new projects which will launch on the service worldwide in 2020. 

El Vecino

Elite‘s co-creator, Carlos Montero, has a new project in the works for NetflixEl Desorden Que Dejas is a psychological drama based on Montero’s own award-winning novel.

There are two female-centered series to come including dramedy Valeria based on the novels by Elísabet Benavent, and Días De Navidad starring Fortitude‘s Verónica EcheguiLas Chicas Del Cable‘s Anna Molinerand High Heels‘ Victoria Abril.

The fifth project is an anime adaptation of the best-selling novel Memorias De Idhun by Laura Gallego and produced by Endemol Shine’s Zeppelin

Netflix’s Vice President Original Series, Francisco Ramos, noted the “meaningful investment in the Spanish market” via the new projects and said the plan is to continue not only with series, but also movies, documentaries and unscripted.

In addition, Netflix is also in production on new seasons for hits La Casa De PapelLas Chicas Del Cable and Elite as well as new shows HacheAlta Marand Criminal.

Here’s a closer look at the new Spanish originals:

– El Vecino: Javier’s life is not going well. The last thing he needs is for an alien to land on him and transfer its powers before dying. Now Javier is a superhero, but it turns out super powers are useless when you get fired from your job or your girlfriend decides she wants to take a break. Fortunately, Javier’s friend and neighbor José will teach him to use his powers for good and hide his secret identity, especially from his girlfriend who’s now investigating Titan, the mysterious superhero.

Director: Nacho Vigalondo; Showrunners: Carlos de Pando, Sara Antuña; Writers: Miguel Esteban and Raúl Navarro; Executive producers: Nahikari Ipiña, Eneko Gutiérrez; Production company: Zeta Audiovisual; Main cast: Quim Gutiérrez, Clara Lago, Catalina Sopelana and Adrián Pino

– El Desorden Que Dejas: Aiming to give her marriage a second chance, young literature teacher Raquel accepts a position in the town where her husband grew up. She soon learns that another teacher committed suicide, possibly bullied by her very own students, and begins a quest to find the truth in a place where everybody seems to have secrets.

Writer/Creator: Carlos Montero, based on his novel published by Planeta

– Días de Navidad: Showcases the Christmas celebration of four sisters in their family home through three different time periods, which are also three key moments in their lives. Family dynamics, secrets and personal confrontations will be seen from different perspectives through the lens of time.

Creator/Director: Pau Freixas; Writers: Pau Freixas, Clara Esparrach; Production company: Filmax (Arca Audiovisual); Main cast: Verónica Echegui, Anna Moliner, Nerea Barros, Victoria Abril, Verónica Forqué, Charo López, Ángela Molina and Elena Anaya

– Valeria: Valeria is a writer in crisis, both with her novels and her emotionally distant husband. But she finds solace in her three best friends who support her through her journey.

Writers: María López Castaño, Aurora Gracià, Almudena Ocaña, Fernanda Eguiarte; Creator: María López Castaño based on the novels by Elísabet Benavent; Creative consultant: Elísabet Benavent; Production company: Plano a Plano

– Memorias De Idhún: On the day of the astral conjunction of three suns and moons in Idhun, Ashran the Necromancer gathered all the power and began the kingdom of terror of the winged snakes. On Earth, Jack and Victoria fight a battle for Idhun’s freedom. But the heroes still don’t know the design of a prophecy that will intertwine their fates.

Director: Maite Ruiz de Austri; Executive producers: Pilar Blasco, Alexis Barroso; Writers: Laura Gallego, Andrés Carrión; Production company: Zeppelin