Tag Archives: Lauren Weedman

Josh Segarra Joins Cast of Netflix’s Dark Comedy Series “Sirens”

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Josh Segarra can’t resist the siren call…

The 38-year-old Puerto Rican actor has joined the cast of Netflix’s dark comedy series Sirens.

Josh SegarraSegarra is among a roster of new cast additions that includes Felix Solis, Trevor Salter, Britne Oldford, Lauren Weedman, Jenn Lyon, Erin Neufer and Emily Borromeo.

They join the previously announced cast of Julianne Moore, Meghann Fahy, Milly Alcock, Glenn Howerton and Kevin Bacon.

Production is currently underway in New York.

From creator and showrunner Molly Smith Metzler and based on her play Elemeno Pea, Sirens follows Devon (Fahy), who thinks her sister Simone (Alcock) has a really creepy relationship with her new boss, the enigmatic socialite Michaela Kell (Moore). Michaela’s cult-ish life of luxury is like a drug to Simone and Devon has decided it’s time for an intervention. When Devon tracks her sister down to say WTF, she has no idea what a formidable opponent Michaela will be. The show is told throughout one explosive weekend at The Kells’ lavish beach estate.

Segarra plays Raymond, the proud manager of a restaurant franchise in Buffalo. He’s been Devon’s long-time, on-and-off, toxic boyfriend.

Solis plays Jose, who plays the role of a humble gardener but he’s actually the overall manager of The Cliff House, the head of security, the puppet master of the estate’s vast surveillance system and Peter Kell’s right-hand man.

Metzler executive produces for Quiet Coyote under her deal with Netflix.

Nicole Kassell is the executive producer and director.

Segarra’s previous credits include Abbott Elementary, Scream 6, The Other Two, AJ and the Queen, Orange Is the New Black and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.

Solis’ previous credits include New York Undercover, NYPD Blue, Third Watch and the film Empire.

Aubrey Plaza to Star in the Indie Comedy “Spin Me Round”

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Aubrey Plaza is going for a Spin…

The 36-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress will star in Spin Me Round, an indie comedy directed by Jeff Baena from a script he wrote with Alison Brie, who will also star.

Aubrey Plaza

In addition to Plaza, best known for her work on NBC’s Parks and Recreation, and Brie, the cast also includes Alessandro Nivola, Molly Shannon and Lil Rel Howery.

The film will be produced by the Duplass Brothers Productions and Limelight, the latter of which is fully financing the picture. Production begins next month in Italy.

Tim Heidecker, Ben Sinclair, Fred Armisen, Ayden Mayeri, Debby Ryan, Zach Woods, Ego Nwodim, Lauren Weedman, and Jake Picking round out the cast.

Brie plays the manager of the Bakersfield, California franchise of the Italian chain eatery Tuscan Grove. She wins an all-expenses trip to the company’s gorgeous “institute” outside of Florence, Italy, and the chance to meet the restaurant chain’s wealthy and charismatic owner (Nivola). Along with a mismatched group of local American franchise managers, Amber finds a far different adventure than the romantic fantasy she had imagined.

Ana Ortiz to Appear on Second Season of Netflix’s Comedy Series “Special”

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It’s a special time for Ana Ortiz…

The 50-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress has landed a recurring role on the second season of Netflix’s Emmy-nominated comedy series Special, created by and starring Ryan O’Connell.

Ana Ortiz

Ortiz joins a roster of cast newcomers that includes Charlie Barnett, Max Jenkins, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Lauren Weedman, newcomer Buck Andrews, Anjali Bhimani, Ajay Mehta and Karan Soni.

Additionally, Leslie Jordan (Will & Grace) will appear in a guest-starring role.

Based on O’Connell’s part-memoir, part-manifesto I’m Special: And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves, Special hails from Warner Bros. Television, Jim Parsons and Todd Spiewak’s That’s Wonderful Productions, Campfire and Stage 13.

The semi-autobiographical centers on a gay man with mild cerebral palsy, played by O’Connell, who decides to rewrite his identity as an accident victim and finally go after the life he wants. O’Connell also writes the series and executive produces.

The Season 2 logline: “Ryan really needs to get his shit together. It’s been two months and he still hasn’t spoken to Karen since their fight and he has a gnarly case of writer’s block that’s getting him in hot water with Olivia. Enter Tanner, a fun, flirty dance instructor who charms Ryan despite not being totally available. When his writer’s block eventually lifts, he’s inspired to write a longform piece about disability. From there, he begins a journey of self-discovery that creates unexpected complications in his relationship with Tanner. Meanwhile, Kim lets her guard down when she meets Harrison, a sensitive tech mogul with a humble background – but her insecurities and jealous tendencies continue to hamper her personal life and threaten to push Harrison away. With her spiraling credit card debt driving Kim even further towards rock bottom, she makes a hard choice to regain control of her finances and personal life. Since taking care of Ryan was her life’s purpose until their fight, Karen realizes that she needs to take an active approach to create a fulfilling life for herself – beyond just taking care of her ailing mother. Will she be content with continuing to clean up everyone else’s messes, or will Karen be able to lean into her newfound independence and create a life that centers around her own desires for once? This season is about our primary characters—Ryan, Karen and Kim—coming into their power and realizing they all deserve big gorgeous lives—whether society agrees or not, bitch!”

Ortiz plays Susan, Phil’s new girlfriend. Charming and outgoing, she empathizes with Karen’s struggle to parent Ryan, as she also has a strained relationship with her child.

In addition to O’Connell, Jessica Hecht and Punam Patel return as series regulars. Marla Mindelle, Gina Hughes and Patrick Fabian return as guest stars this season.

Special is created, written and executive produced by O’Connell.

Craig Johnson will direct episodes 205-208.

HBO Renews Alvarez’s “Looking” of Second Season, Raul Castillo Upped to Series Regular

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Frankie J. Alvarez won’t be looking for a new acting gig anytime soon…

HBO has given a second-season renewal to its gay-themed dramedy Looking, which stars the Latino actor as Agustín, as the Cuban-American artist Agustín.

Frankie J. Alvarez in Looking

Created by Michael Lannan, the series centers on a group of gay friends living in San Francisco.

Looking’s renewal comes after a third consecutive week of series highs posted by the ensemble comedy this past Sunday when it drew 519,000 viewers at 10:30 pm, up 54% from the series premiere five weeks ago.

Frankie J. Alvarez in Looking

Including encores, Looking averaged 749,000 viewers on Sunday, with its episodes attracting a gross audience of 2 million viewers season to date.

Despite its soft ratings start last month, HBO officials were encouraged by the attention the show has been getting as they consider a show being part of the cultural conversation as important as overall ratings.

In addition to Alvarez, the series stars Jonathan Groff, and Murray Bartlett. Joining them as new regulars for Season 2 are Lauren Weedman, Raúl Castillo and Russell Tovey who are all recurring this season.