Tessa Ferrer Lands Starring Role on AT&T Audience Network’s Series “Mr. Mercedes”

Posted on January 22, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Tessa Ferrer is going into overdrive…

The 31-year-old part-Puerto Rican actress and former Grey’s Anatomy star will star as a series regular opposite Jack Huston in Season 2 of AT&T Audience Network’s breakout series Mr. Mercedes.

The second season will be based on King’s best-selling Bill Hodges Trilogy, which includes Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers and End of Watch.

Season 1 followed a demented killer Brady Hartsfield (Harry Treadaway) who taunts a retired police detective Bill Hodges (Brendan Gleeson) with a series of lurid letters and emails, forcing the ex-cop to undertake a private, and potentially felonious, crusade to bring the killer to justice before he is able to strike again.

Ferrer will play Cora Babineau, wife of Dr. Felix Babineau (Huston) and head of marketing at a major pharmaceutical corporation, who’s even more ambitious than she is beautiful. If her husband has a genius for manipulating people from the inside out as he reaches into their brains and rewires them, Cora has a genius for influencing people from the outside in. Her beauty, brains and force of will, judiciously softened with poise and extreme charm, make her a formidable saleswoman, of whatever she’s peddling.

Ferrer is onscreen in Blumhouse’s Insidious 4: The Last Key. On television, she played the series regular role of Leah Murphy on Grey’s Anatomy and recurred on CBS’ Extant and FXX’s You’re the Worst.

Production begins next month in Charleston, SC, on the Sonar Entertainment-produced Stephen King adaptation.

Season 2 of Mr. Mercedes will air this summer on AT&T Audience Network.

Hector Elizondo to Star in NBC’s Comedy Pilot “Guess Who Died”

Posted on January 18, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Hector Elizondo is preparing for Senior living…

The 81-year-old Puerto Rican actor has been cast as one of the leads in NBC’s single-camera comedy pilot Guess Who Died.

Elizondo will star opposite Holland Taylor in the project, which hails from Norman Lear and Peter Tolan.

NBC has given the project has a pilot production commitment.

From Sony Pictures Television, Guess Who Died is based on Lear’s personal experiences. It’s described as a humorous and inspiring look at the shared joys and challenges we all experience at any stage of life.

The comedy is set in the Las Esperanzado Senior Community in Palm Springs. It centers on Murray (Elizondo), a retired music executive who is positive and upbeat with sparkling eyes and a keen, sharp and wonderful sense of humor. After the death of his beloved wife, he realizes he’s fallen in love with his sister-in-law, Patricia, a former American Airlines flight attendant, who can be a little too proper at times, but she’s sharp as a tack with a great sense of humor.

Elizondo, the voice of Fiero on Disney’s Elena of Avalor, most recently starred on ABC’s popular comedy series Last Man Standing, which had a successful six-season run on the network. His other credits include Grey’s Anatomy, Cane and Chicago Hope.

Sara Ramirez Lands Series Regular Role on CBS’ “Madam Secretary”

Posted on October 25, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Sara Ramirez is headed to the White House…

The 42-year-old Mexican actress and former Grey’s Anatomy star has joined the cast of CBS’ Madam Secretary as a new series regular.

Ramirez will play Kat Sandoval, a brilliant political strategist, legendary in D.C. for her talent and for abruptly dropping out of politics until Elizabeth (Téa Leoni) manages to coax her back into the State Department.

CBS says Ramirez’s character will be introduced the November 19 episode.

“We’re very excited that Sara is joining the cast,” said Barbara Hall, executive producer and series creator. “She brings a fresh perspective and a fun, energetic quality to the State Department staff.”

“We are thrilled to have Sara join the Madam Secretary State Department team,” said Lori McCreary, executive producer. “From the moment she walked on set with her talent, intellect and spirit, she became part of the family!”

This is Ramirez’s first series regular televisoin role since her departure last year from ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, where she appeared for over a decade as Dr. Callie Torres.

She’s currently the voice of Queen Miranda on Disney Jr.’s hit animated series Sofia the First and the voice of Mamá Calaca in Vampirina.

Ramirez previously won a Tony Award for her performance in Monty Python’s Spamalot.

Madam Secretary airs Sundays at 10 PM on CBS.

Jeanine Mason to Star on ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” This Season

Posted on October 10, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Jeanine Mason is officially on call…

The 26-year-old Cuban American actress/dancer has landed a role on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy.

Mason, the winner of the 5th season of the Fox television show So You Think You Can Dance, will portray Sam, one of the six new interns at Grey Sloan Memorial hospital this season.

Mason previously starred as Merav in ABC’s short-lived biblical drama Of Kings and Prophets last year, and she also starred in Valerie Weiss’ SXSW feature The Archer.

Wilson Cruz to Star in CBS’ “Star Trek” Prequel “Star Trek: Discovery”

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a new discovery for Wilson Cruz…

The 43-year-old Puerto Rican actor will star on the CBS All Access series Star Trek: Discovery.

The series takes place 10 years before Captain Kirk’s Star Trek, and the two series will connect aesthetically, according to the show’s executive producer Alex Kurtzman.

Cruz will play Dr. Hugh Culber, the better half of Anthony Rapp’s Lt. Stamets, the first openly gay Star Trek character on television.

“I’m very proud of that and that he’s a scientist,” said Rapp.” I can announce that Wilson Cruz will play my love interest and my partner in the series.”

The 15-episode Star Trek: Discovery will premiere Sunday, September 24, with a special broadcast premiere on CBS.

The first and second episodes will be available on CBS All Access immediately after the broadcast premiere, with subsequent new episodes released Sundays on All Access.

Cruz, best known for playing Rickie Vasquez on My So-Called Life, previously appeared on Ally McBeal, Sister, Sister, Grey’s Anatomy and Mistresses.

Andino Lands Recurring Role on USA’s “Queen of the South”

Posted on April 4, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Paola Andino’s career is going South…

The 19-year-old Puerto Rican actress is set to recur on the second season of USA Network’s drama series Queen of the South.

Based on best-selling book La Reina Del Sur by Arturo Pérez-Reverte, Queen of the South tells the powerful story of Teresa Mendoza (Alice Braga), a woman who is forced to run and seek refuge in America after her drug-dealing boyfriend is unexpectedly murdered in Mexico. In the process, she teams with an unlikely figure from her past to bring down the leader of the very drug trafficking ring that has her on the run.

Andino will play Olivia “Chaparra” Gutierrez, a party girl with a brash mouth and a taste for trouble who ushers her best friend Isabela Vargas (Sandy Valles) into the narco-brat lifestyle – much to the chagrin of Isabela’s parents, the drug empire power couple at odds with each other, Camila and Epifanio Vargas.

Andino most recently played a lead role in Every Witch Way. She also starred opposite Emily Van Camp in Beyond the Blackboard and had a guest-starring role on Grey’s Anatomy.

Ferrer to Star in Shonda Rhimes’ ABC Comedy Pilot “Toast”

Posted on March 9, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Tessa Ferrer is the toast of the town…

The 29-year-old part-Puerto Rican actress and Grey’s Anatomy alumna, the granddaughter of José Ferrer, has been cast in Toast, ABC’s hybrid comedy pilot from Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers’ Shondaland, Scott Foley and Greg Grunberg.

Written by Foley and Grunberg and directed by Gail Mancuso, the project revolves around engaged couple Max Leeds (Jono Kenyon) and Paige (not yet cast), who, over their wedding rehearsal dinner, have their eclectic family and friends give toasts recalling anecdotes about the couple — but flashbacks reveal that the toasts don’t always get it right, as we watch the true story of their complicated, funny and relatable road to marriage.

Kenyon’s Max is awkwardly handsome, charming and unassuming, and worried about what his bride-to-be’s family thinks about him. After all, they couldn’t be more different: Paige is a sorority girl from a close-knit wealthy Austin family, and he’s a college dropout with a questionable credit history and a father in prison.

Ferrer is Jules, an up-for-anything Texas tomboy who is Max’s closest friend, his biggest champion and business partner. Fiercely loyal and protective, she knows Max better than he knows himself, and worries that he is too focused on the wrong things when it comes to meeting the right woman.

Ferrer played Dr. Leah Murphy on Grey’s Anatomy on Seasons 9 and 10, and she recurred on CBS’ Extant and on Stephen Falk’s FX comedy You’re The Worst.

Garayua to Star Opposite Gabriel Iglesias in ABC’s Comedy Pilot “The Fluffy Shop”

Posted on February 29, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Gloria Garayua is fluffing up her resume…

The 37-year-old Puerto Rican actress will star opposite Gabriel Iglesias in the ABC comedy pilot The Fluffy Shop, co-written by and starring Iglesias.

The comedian plays a stepfather and boss to his family and friends, while he navigates his home life during the few days he spends off the road each week.

Garayua will play Carmen, Gabe’s girlfriend, the strict mother of 13-year-old Frankie.

Garayua’s recent credits include guest appearances on Criminal Minds, NCIS: Los Angeles, Anger Management and a recurring on Grey’s Anatomy.

Ramirez Among Several Latinos Taking Part in PBS-Sponsored Conversations at This Year’s TED Talks

Posted on August 1, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Sara Ramirez is ready for a revolution…

The 39-year-old half-Mexican actress and Grey’s Anatomy star will cohost a PBS-sponsored conversation about the future of teaching at this year’s TED Talks.

TED, the nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, and PBS recently announced a series of live talks, to be filmed at Town Hall this November.

Ramirez’s talks, scheduled for November 1 and 2, will include the participation of former White House chef Sam Kass, educator Sal Khan, How to Raise an Adult author Julie Lythcott‐Haims, The Future Project CEO Andrew Mangino, Punished: Policing the Lives of Black & Latino Boys author Victor Rios, and Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence educator Dena Simmons.

Meanwhile, clinical psychologist Hector Garcia will take part in another PBS-sponsored Ted Talk entitled “War & Peace” on November 3 and 4.

Garcia’s talk will center on soldiers who’ve returned to the United States in the years following the September 11 terrorist attacks.

He’ll be hoined by Girls star and Marine Corps veteran Adam Driver, Oscar nominee Sebastian Junger and ethnographer Simon Sinek.

In another talk, Mexican-American academic, businessman and speaker Juan Enriquez, author of and Radiolab research director Latif Nasser will discuss the changing world and the future of our planet in a talk entitled “Science & Wonder” on November 5 and 6.

On hand to perform at the events will be Grammy nominees Rufus Wainwright and Angela McCluskey, as well as musicians Paul Cantelon and John “Scarpper” Sneider, and the Brazilian percussion ensemble Harlem Samba.

Each of the programs will be filmed and broadcast as three one-hour specials to premiere on PBS in 2016.

Urbina to Star in Netflix’s Drama Series “Narcos”

Posted on August 29, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Roberto Urbina is dealing with a new high-profile project…

The 30-year-old Colombian actor has joined the cast of Netflix’s drama series Narcos as a series regular.

Directed by Jose Padilha, the series centers on notorious Colombian cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar and Javier Pena, a Mexican DEA agent sent to Colombia on a U.S. mission to capture and ultimately kill him.

Narcos is basically the true-life story of the growth and spread of cocaine drug cartels across the globe and attendant efforts of law enforcement to meet them head on in brutal, bloody conflict.

Urbina will play Fabio Ochoa, one of a trio of Colombian brothers, all playboy drug dealers, who works in the cocaine business with his brothers.

Narcos, which was written by Chris Brancato, also stars Manolo Cardona, Wagner Moura and Pedro Pascal.

Urbina’s previous television credits include appearances on The Mentalist and Grey’s Anatomy.

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