The 45-year-old Cuban-American writer and producer has signed with William Morris Endeavor (WME).
Garza, whose credits include co-executive producer roles on the CW’s Jane the Virgin and ABC’s The Baker and the Beauty, is currently under an overall deal at Universal Television.
She also wrote and executive produced the Jane spinoff pilot Jane the Novela; the project ended up not going forward. She also has developed for Lee Daniels Productions/20th as well as ABC Studios/ABC.
This most recent development season, Garza sold a Latinx family drama to NBC. It revolved around an explosive incident that brings a woman’s mentally ill mother crashing back into her life. She’s now forced to revisit her family’s painful past and blur carefully constructed boundaries between her mother and the family she’s chosen.
The project explores themes of race, mental health, housing instability, immigration and generational trauma.
Earlier in her career, Garza spent six seasons on Fox’s The Simpsonsrising to supervising producer, then served as supervising producer on Fox’s Bordertown.
The 71-year-old Puerto Rican actress and Jane the Virgin star has landed a series regular role in Jane the Novela, the CW’s Jane the Virgin spinoff pilot.
The project will be headlined by Jacqueline Grace Lopezand narrated and executive produced by Jane the Virgin star Gina Rodriguez, with Coll providing a little continuity from the original series in front of the camera.
The telenovelaanthology offshoot will also star Remy Hii, Hunter Parrish,Benito Martinez and Holland Roden.
Written/executive-produced by Jane the Virgin writer Valentina Garza, directed/exec produced by Jane the Virgin EP Brad Silberling and executive-produced by Jane the Virgin creator/EP Jennie Snyder Urman, Jane the Novela is a soapy, telenovela-inspired anthology series in the tradition of Jane the Virgin, where each season is based on a different fictional novel “written by” Jane Villanueva and narrated by the author herself.
The first installment takes place at the intersection of Napa Valley wine country and the San Francisco art scene and pairs family secrets and sins of the past with twists, tropes and a bloody bottle of red. It centers on Estela (Lopez), an up-and-coming art curator who has spent years playing it safe and coloring within the lines. But a shocking secret changes everything and forces her to live a double life.
Being “in the tradition” of Jane the Virgin,Jane the Novela mirrors the setup of the original series. It too follows a driven, imaginative twentysomething Latina woman (Lopez) who is torn between her boyfriend, Luen (Hii), and Felix (Parrish), a handsome, rich guy. In this case, Luen is head of security while Felix is in the wine business vs. Jane Villanueva’s cop boyfriend Michael and love interest Rafael, a hotel heir.
Hii’s Luen is Estela’s sweet, dependable, long-term boyfriend. When the life he’s planned for himself and Estela is threatened by Felix, Luen will stop at nothing to win back the woman he loves.
Coll will play Camila, Estela’s adoptive mother. Camila would do anything to protect her daughter and the life they have built, even lie to her. On Jane the Virgin, Coll plays Jane’s grandmother and Xo’s mother Alba.
Martinez portrays Raul, the winery’s enigmatic riddler. Nobody knows Napa’s terrain like he does – he specializes in collecting dirt on everyone.
Coll’s other television credits include Switched at Birth, Teen Wolf, Glee, East Los High and Nip/Tuck.
Martinez is known for his portrayal of Los Angeles politician David Aceveda for seven seasons on FXpolice dramaThe Shield. He had a starring role in John Ridley’s anthology series American Crime Story alongsideFelicity Huffmanand Regina Kingand can next be seen in the upcoming seasons of 13 Reasons Why, The Blacklist, Jack Ryan, and the feature film Queen & Slim.
Jacqueline Grace Lopezis ready to bring on the melodrama…
The Latina actress and former East Los High star has landed the lead role in Jane the Novela, the CW‘sJane the Virgin spinoff pilot.
The telenovela anthology series project hails from Jane the Virgin creator/executive producer Jennie Snyder Urman, star Gina Rodriguez,exec producers Ben Silvermanand director Brad Silberling. as well as studio CBS Television Studios.
Written by Jane the Virgin scribe Valentina Garzaand directed by Silberling, Jane the Novela is envisioned as a soapy, telenovela-inspired anthology series in the tradition of Jane the Virgin, where each season is based on a different fictional novel “written by” Jane Villanueva and narrated by the author herself.
The first installment takes place at a Napa Valley Vineyard, where family secrets (and family members) don’t stay buried for long. It centers on Estela (Lopez), an up and coming art curator who has spent years playing it safe and coloring within the lines. But a shocking secret changes everything and forces her to live a double life.
Being “in the tradition of Jane the Virgin,” Jane the Novelamirrors the setup of the original series. It too follows a driven, imaginative twenty-something Latina woman (Lopez) who is torn between her boyfriend, Luen, and Felix, a handsome, rich guy. In this case, Luen is head of security while Felix co-owns a winery vs. Jane Villanueva’s (Rodriguez) cop boyfriend Michael and rich love interest Rafael, co-owner of the Marbella hotel.
Lopez has a handful of acting credits, most recently a guest spot on Hulu’s Light as a Feather. Her short film The Girl Without Cats, which she wrote and produced, made the festival circuit.
