Barraza to Star in USA Network’s Drama Pilot “Queen Of The South”

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Adriana Barraza’s heading south for the upcoming television season…

The 58-year-old Mexican actress, an Oscar nominee for her performance in Babel, has landed a starring role in USA Network’s drama pilot Queen Of The South.

The project, an English-language adaptation of Telemundo’s blockbuster 2011 telenovela La Reina del Sur, is based on the best-selling book by Arturo Perez-Reverte.

Queen Of The South centers on Teresa Mendoza (portrayed by Alice Braga), who’s forced to go on the run when her drug-dealing boyfriend is unexpectedly murdered in Mexico.

Barraza will play Camilla, the lioness ex-wife of a powerful drug lord who is establishing her own empire in America.

She quickly becomes a mother figure to Teresa (Braga), but their relationship escalates into a battle of wills that will leave more than a few bodies in its wake.

Barraza most recently appeared in Guillermo del Toro’s FX series The Strain and the feature Cake. Her 0ther film credits include Amores Perros, Thor, Drag Me To Hell and The 33.

The Queen of the South cast includes Justina Machado and Hemky Madera.

Madera to Star in the USA Network’s Drama Pilot “Queen Of The South”

Posted on December 26, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Hemky Madera’s next role is taking him south…

The 37-year-old Dominican American actor has landed a role opposite Alice Braga in the USA Network’s drama pilot Queen Of The South.

The project is an English-language adaptation of Telemundo’s blockbuster 2011 telenovela La Reina Del Sur, starring Kate del Castillo.

Based on the best-selling book by Arturo Perez-Reverte, Queen Of The South centers on Teresa Mendoza (Braga), who’s forced to go on the run when her drug-dealing boyfriend is unexpectedly murdered in Mexico. She seeks refuge in America, where 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. In the process, she learns the tools of the trade and strategically positions herself to become the leader of the cartel.

Madera will portray violent cartel henchman Pote Galvez.

His previous credits include appearances on Weeds, New Girl, The New Normal, Burn Notice, Luck and My Name is Earl.

USA Network Looking to Adapt Telemundo’s “La Reina del Sur”

Posted on September 24, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Telemundo’s La Reina del Sur is about to get an English-language makeover…

The USA Network has given a pilot order to The Queen of the South, an English-language adaptation of the blockbuster 2011 telenovela starring Kate del Castillo.

Frequent USA collaborator Fox Television Studios (White Collar, Graceland) is set to produce the project. In his television debut, feature producer David T. Friendly (Little Miss Sunshine), who brought the project to the studio, is executive producing.

Based on the best-selling book of the same by Arturo Perez-Reverte, Queen of the South is a serialized crime drama that centers on Teresa Mendoza. When her drug-dealing boyfriend is unexpectedly murdered in Mexico, Teresa is forced to go on the run and seek refuge in America, where 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. In the process, she learns the tools of the trade and strategically positions herself to become the leader of the cartel.

M.A. Fortin and Joshua John Miller (The Final Girls) wrote the script and will also executive produce the series with Pancho Mansfield.

La Reina Del Sur is not a typical telenovela, with critics noting that is feels closer to Breaking Bad than One Life To Live, and Telemundo giving it a major Emmy campaign. It was Telemundo’s most expensive telenovela ever with a budget of $10 million and became the highest-rated program in the Spanish-language network’s 19-year history, averaging nearly 4.2 million total viewers and more than 2.8 million viewers adults 18-49. Its May 30, 2011 series finale was the No. 1 broadcast program of the night, of any language.

Queen of the South joins USA’s other pilots Stanistan, Mr. Robot and Colony.

Amaya to Host the 2013 Billboard Mexican Music Awards

Posted on September 19, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Rafael Amaya will help celebrate Mexico’s best musicians next month…

The 36-year-old Mexican actor, model and singer will co-host the 2013 Billboard Mexican Music Awards with Cuban actress Aylín Mujica on October 9, live from the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles.

The Billboard Mexican Music Awards are the only awards show on a major network that celebrates Mexican music, and this year’s hosts reflect the close contact that exists between the show and its music and fans.

Amaya, one of Latino film and television’s top actors, most recently played the lead in record-setting series El Señor de los Cielos and also played the role of El Guero Dávila in La Reina del Sur. He has previously co-hosted the Billboard Latin Music Awards.

Mujica, on her end, is one of the most established actresses in Latin television and starred in the telenovelas Corazón Valiente and Aurora. She has also co-hosted the Billboard Latin Music Awards in past years.

Finalists for the 2013 Billboard Mexican Music Awards vie for top honors in 32 categories, including Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Artist of the Year-New, Digital Download Artist of the Year, Airplay Artist of the Year, and various categories for Banda, Norteño, Ranchero/Mariachi and Duranguense/Grupero/Cumbia Music.

The list of finalists is led by Gerardo Ortiz, the late Jenni Rivera, La Arrolladora Banda el Limon de Rene Camacho, Roberto Tapia, Voz de Mando, Banda El Recodo de Cruz Lizarraga, Calibre 50, 3BallMTY and Joan Sebastian.

The Billboard Mexican Music Awards will air live on Telemundo on October 9.

For a full list of finalists, click here.

Velasco’s “Diablo Guardián” to Be Adapted for Spanish Television

Posted on October 1, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Xavier Velasco’s popular book will soon get the Spanish telenovela treatment…

Televisa and Colombian producer RTI have acquired the rights for a television adaptation of the 47-year-old Mexican author’s award-winning novel Diablo Guardián (Guardian Devil).

Released in 2003, Velasco’s novel—the winner of the Premio Alfaguara, one of Latin America’s most prestigious literary prizes—centers on the adventures of a rebellious 15-year-old girl who flees her native Mexico and later finds herself immersed in a world of vice in New York.

Production on the television version of the novel will begin in a few months. The series brings together two big names in Spanish-language television: Televisa, the world’s largest producer of Spanish-language content, and Bogota-based RTI, producer of the hit narco telenovela La Reina del Sur, which stars Kate del Castillo.

Televisa and RTI recently signed a co-production pact good through 2019.

del Castillo to Star in “La Reina del Sur” Sequel

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

It’s no surprise that Kate del Castillo will be returning to her throne at Telemundo in the near future…

The network has announced that producers are in the early stages of pre-production on a sequel to Telemundo’s hit telenovela, La Reina del Sur.

Based on a novel of the same name by Spanish author Arturo Pérez-Reverte, the drama tells the story of the rise of Teresa Mendoza (played by del Castillo), a young woman from Mexico who becomes the most powerful drug trafficker in southern Spain.

The first episode of La Reina del Sur, which aired on February 28, 2011, attracted 2.4 million viewers, making it the most viewed premiere for any telenovela on the network. Over the course of its run, the telenovela frequently dominated it’s time slot for broadcast television among the 18-34 age demographic. And the final episode, broadcast on May 30, 2011, was Telemundo’s highest rated broadcast in its 19-year history, attracting nearly 4.2 million viewers and dominating its time slot among the 18-49 demographic, beating out the English language networks.

Despite del Castillo’s recent deal with rival Univision to produce and star in webnovelas for the network, Telemundo has confirmed that del Castillo will reprise her role.

del Castillo to Star in “No Good Deed”

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Kate del Castillo’s quest to become a Hollywood leading lady is one step closer to becoming reality…

The 39-year-old Mexican actress, considered the reigning queen of telenovelas, has joined the cast of No Good Deed, starring Idris Elba and Taraji P. Henson.

The thriller revolves around a former DA-turned-stay-at-home mom (Henson) and her two small children who are kidnapped from their home by a mysterious stranger (Elba).

Del Castillo—who starred in Telemundo’s hugely popular telenovela La Reina del Sur—will play Elba’s cheating ex-fiancée.

It’s the latest Hollywood role for del Castillo, who received critical acclaim for her performance in La misma luna (Under the Same Moon), guest-starred on CSI: Miami and had a story arc on Weeds. Up next for del Castillo: playing a transsexual in the film K-11, set for release later this year.

del Castillo to Play a Transsexual in “K-11”

Posted on March 17, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

It may be a” man’s man’s man’s world,” according to James Brown… But Kate del Castillo isn’t afraid to make her mark in it. Following her starring role as the most powerful drug trafficker in southern Spain in the popular telenovela “La Reina del Sur,” she’s now preparing for her most awe-inspiring role to date.

The 39-year-old Mexican actress will star as Mousey—a transsexual who controls one of the sections of a Los Angeles County men’s prison—in the dramatic film K-11.

Helmed by first-time director Jules Stewart—the mother of Twilight actress Kristen Stewart— del Castillo will play the physically fit character that likes showing a lot of skin.

The story centers on Raymond Saxx Jr. (Goran Visnjic), a straight record producer who, after a drug-induced blackout, wakes up locked up in K-11, the unit of the prison reserved for gay men and transsexuals who, for their safety, are segregated from the general population. It’s there that he comes across del Castillo’s character, who controls the area.

“I was like, ‘This is sci-fi, almost’” says Visnjic of his first reading of the script for the indie drama. “The character is put in such an extreme situation.”

del Castillo, who filmed the project last summer, has given her character a very distinctive personality. In the film, the telenovela star dons a part of platform heels made of slabs of meat. And, she wears a band on her left wrist that reads “Julio,” the name that reveals the male identity she left behind.

K-11 is set for release later this year.

Telemundo’s La Reina del Sur to be Adapted for English Television

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Telemundo’s La Reina del Sur may be getting an English-language makeover…

Fox Television Studios is developing an adaptation of last year’s blockbuster telenovela.

Based on Arturo Perez-Reverte’s bestselling book of the same La Reina del Sur, the telenovela centers on Teresa Mendoza (Kate del Castillo), an innocent young girl from a small Mexican village, whose desire to avenge a personal tragedy leads her to become the most powerful woman in the dangerous world of drug trafficking in Europe.

La Reina Del Sur was Telemundo’s most expensive telenovela ever with a budget of $10 million and became the highest-rated program in the network’s 19-year history, averaging nearly 4.2 million viewers, and more than 2.8 million viewers in the prized Adults 18-49 demographic. In addition, the telenovela’s series finale on May 30, 2011 was the No.1 broadcast program of the night, of any language. Telemundo even launched its first-ever Primetime Emmys campaign for La Reina Del Sur.

La Reina Del Sur isn’t considered a typical telenovela, with critics noting that is feels more like Breaking Bad than One Life to Live. With that in mind, Fox’s English-language adaptation will be developed as a one-hour largely serialized crime drama, said Fox Television Studios president David Madden. He describes it as being “darker, more violent than ABC’s Missing or Revenge.”

Fox Television Studios, primarily a cable player with series like Burn Notice and The Killing, plans to aim La Reina Del Sur at cable networks. “I could see it run on Showtime or FX, but I can also see an ABC version of the show,” said Madden.

The La Reina Del Sur deal “came out of Fox Television Studios’ efforts to find more material out of Spanish-speaking countries and produce more content for Spanish-speaking audiences,” said Madden. It’s part of a larger strategy of targeting Latino audiences by News Corp., which recently announced that it will be launching a Spanish-language broadcast TV network.

del Castillo to Guest on “CSI: Miami”…

Posted on October 19, 2011 by Tom Castaneda

She played the most powerful drug trafficker in southern Spain in the popular telenovela “La Reina del Sur”… And now Kate del Castillo is preparing to return to the right side of the law.

The 38-year-old Mexican actress is set to guest star on CBS’ “CSI Miami” this Sunday, October 23. In the episode titled “Killer Regrets,” del Castillo will appear as Anita Torres—a Mexican police chief under the police protection from the mysterious assassin who killed her husband.

The role is a complete 180-degree turn for Castillo, who earlier this year starred as Teresa Mendoza in “La Reina del Sur,” which depicts the rise of a young Mexican woman who becomes the most powerful drug trafficker in southern Spain. The telenovela attracted 2.4 million viewers, making it the most viewed premiere for any telenovela on Telemundo. The final episode was the network’s highest rated broadcast in its 19-year history with nearly 4.2 million viewers.

Del Castillo’s “CSI: Miami” episode will air this coming Sunday at 10:00 pm ET.

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