Tag Archives: Jurnee Smollett

John Leguizamo to Star in Apple‘s Upcoming Drama Series “Firebug”

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John Leguizamo is buggin’…

The 63-year-old Colombian Emmy– & Tony Award-winning actor will star alongside Taron Egerton in Apple‘s upcoming drama series Firebug.

John LeguizamoHailing from Apple Studios and creator Dennis Lehane, the series will be directed and executive-produced by Kari Skogland.

Written by Lehane and loosely inspired by true events, Firebug will follow a troubled detective and an enigmatic arson investigator (Egerton) as they pursue the trails of two serial arsonists.

Leguizamo with play Esposito, a former policeman with a lot of bad habits and a lot of good instincts.

Jurnee Smollett will also star in the series.

In addition to starring, Egerton will serve as executive producer alongside Richard Plepler through Eden Productions, Dan Friedkin and Bradley Thomas through Imperative Entertainment and Kary Antholis.

Leguizamo is host and executive producer of MSNBC’s hit travel show, Leguizamo Does America, which is currently in production on its second season.

He recently starred in Amazon series The Power, alongside Toni Collette, in Showtime’s five-part drama series Waco: The Aftermath, and in Mark Mylod’s horror comedy The Menu.

Leguizamo stars in the independent film Bob Trevino Likes It, which recently premiered at SXSW, winning the SXSW Grand Jury Award and the Audience Award in the Narrative Feature category.

He also stars as federal agent Gordon Rogers in The Green Veil drama series, which he produced alongside director Aram Rappaport.

Upcoming, he hosts the PBS documentary series American Historia: The Untold History of Latinos, a project he co-created with director Ben De Jesus. He’ll also be seen in the upcoming thriller feature Tin Soldier, opposite Robert Di Niro, Jamie Foxx and Rita Ora.

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

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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.

Frankie Loyal

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.

Natalie Martinez to Appear in Season Two of CBS All Access’ “The Twilight Zone”

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Natalie Martinezis hitting the zone…

The 35-year-old Cuban American actress has joined the cast of the second season of CBS All Access’ anthology reboot of The Twilight Zone.

Natalie Martinez

Martinez will appear in the episode titled “A Small Town.”It was written by Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due and directedby Alonso Alvarez-Barreda.

But Martinezisn’t the only Latina who’ll travel through another dimension…a dimension not only of sight and sound, but of mind. A dimension called The Twilight Zone.

Sky Ferreirahas also been added to the 10-episode sophomore season of Jordan Peeleand Simon Kinberg’s reimagining of the classic sci-fi series.

Others set to appear on the second Kylie Bunbury, Topher Grace, David Krumholtz, Thomas Lennon, Gretchen Mol, Paula Newsome, Jurnee Smollett, Damon Wayans Jr., among others.

Ferreira is starring in the episode titled “Ovation,” directed by Ana Lily Amirpourand written by Emily C. Changand Sara Amini. 

Here’s the season two cast and episode titles, in no particular order:

Episode: “8” Starring (previously announced) Joel McHale (Community, Stargirl) and Brandon Jay McLaren (UnREAL, Graceland)
Written by Glen Morgan
Directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead

Episode: “A Small Town” Starring Damon Wayans Jr. (Happy Endings, Let’s Be Cops), David Krumholtz (The Deuce, Evel), Natalie Martinez (Reminiscence, The I-Land), and Paula Newsome (Barry, Chicago Med)
Written by Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due
Directed by Alonso Alvarez-Barreda

Episode: “Try, Try” Starring Topher Grace (Blackkklansman, Black Mirror) and Kylie Bunbury (When They See Us, Pitch)
Written by Alex Rubens
Directed by Jen McGowan

Episode: “You Might Also Like” Starring Gretchen Mol (Boardwalk Empire, Manchester by the Sea) and Greta Lee (Russian Doll, High Maintenance)
Written and Directed by Osgood Perkins

Episode: “Ovation”Starring Jurnee Smollett (Birds of Prey, Lovecraft Country”), Tawny Newsome (Space Force, Lower Decks), Sky Ferreira (Baby Driver, Twin Peaks), Paul F. Tompkins (BoJack Horseman, Comedy Bang! Bang!), and Thomas Lennon (Reno 911! Night at the Museum”franchise)
Written by Emily C. Chang and Sara Amini
Directed by Ana Lily Amirpour

Previously announced cast and episodes include: 

Episode: “Downtime” Starring Morena Baccarin (Deadpool franchise, Homeland), Colman Domingo (If Beale Street Could Talk, Fear the Walking Dead) and Tony Hale (Veep, Toy Story 4)
Written by Jordan Peele
Directed by JD Dillard

Episode: “The Who of You” Starring Ethan Embry (Grace and Frankie, Blindspotting), Daniel Sunjata (Graceland,Rescue Me), and Billy Porter (Pose, Like a Boss)
Written by Win Rosenfeld
Directed by Peter Atencio

Episode: “A Human Face” Starring Jenna Elfman (Fear the Walking Dead, Dharma & Greg), Chris Meloni (The Handmaid’s Tale, 42), and Tavi Gevinson (Person to Person, Enough Said)
Written by Alex Rubens
Directed by Christina Choe

Episode: “Among The Untrodden” Introducing Abbie Hern and Sophia Macy
Written by Heather Anne Campbell
Directed by Tayarisha Poe

Episode: “Meet in the Middle” Starring Jimmi Simpson (Westworld, Black Mirror: USS Callister) and Gillian Jacobs (Community, Love)
Written by Emily C. Chang and Sara AminiDirected by Mathias Herndl