Aaron Dominguez to Star in the Indie Action Thriller “Red Dirt”

Posted on November 6, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Aaron Dominguez is hitting pay dirt…

The 29-year-old Latino actor, who stars on Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building, will star in Red Dirt, an indie action thriller from director Crash Buist that has been handed an interim agreement from SAG.

Dominguez is among a cast that includes Melissa Fumero, Alejandro Edda, Sebastian Chacon and Carlos Pratts.

Written by Buist, Jonathan Medina and Lauren Senechal, the film is a family-driven revenge tale about two brothers, Miguel (Dominguez) and Dom (Edda) who are thrust back together after years apart when their family is murdered by cartel gangsters in a New Mexico border town. The brothers are the only surviving members of a family that dies crossing the border between Mexico and the United States. Upon doing so, they’re found and cared for by a white couple, Brent and Margaret. The backdrop of their struggle arises with the opposing realities of where they were born and where they are raised. This is reflected in the choices they make as the younger Miguel becomes a cop, and his older brother, Dom, is forced to work in the world of drug trafficking.

Buis and Senechal are producing under their Sthenic Studios banner, alongside Medina. Jamie Ember and Marisa DeFranco handled casting.

In a statement accompanying the project announcement, Buist shared that he’s been “humbled and inspired by the level of talent and innovation in the New Mexico film community, and there is no richer backdrop for the world of Red Dirt.”

Co-writer and producer Senechal praised the film’s “truly…special” cast and the “depth, gravity, and creativity” they’ve brought to their work.

Added Medina: “Beyond excited to bring this latine-led story to life, and support SAG-AFTRA, my fellow writers, crew, teamsters, and everyone involved in our amazing business. The interim agreement works, so we can too!”

Recently appearing in the films Sitting in Bars with Cake and The Inspection from Amazon and A24, respectively, Dominguez is also known for a starring role in the first season of Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building. Among other upcoming projects for the actor is a reimagining of the 1986 horror classic Witchboard from filmmaker Chuck Russell, which sees him starring alongside Madison Iseman and Jamie Campbell Bower.

Known for starring on Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Netflix’s comedy series Blockbuster opposite Randall Park, Fumero has also been seen of late on George Lopez series Lopez vs. Lopez, also getting behind the camera to direct episodes of shows like Primo, Shea Serrano and Mike Schur’s hit comedy for Amazon Freevee.

Edda will next be seen starring in Kevin Costner’s Western epic Horizon: An American Saga, having previously been seen in film and TV projects like American Made, The Forever Purge, Narcos: Mexico and Snowfall.

Most recently seen starring in Amazon’s hit series Daisy Jones & The Six and comedic thriller Emergency, Chacon will next appear alongside Jay Baruchel, Emily Hampshire, Peter Gallagher and Enrico Colantoni in the thriller Humane.

NBC Renews George Lopez’s “Lopez vs. Lopez” for Second Season

Posted on May 12, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

George Lopez isn’t leaving his new home just yet…

NBC has renewed Lopez vs. Lopez, the family sitcom starring the 62-year-old Mexican American comedian/actor and his daughter Mayan Lopez, for a second season.

Lopez vs. Lopez began its broadcast run airing on Friday nights where it drew strong ratings for its time slot.

In April, NBC announced that the final three episodes of the season would air on Tuesday, taking over the American Auto slot after that show wrapped its second season.

With the move, Lopez vs. Lopez scored the coveted lead-in from Night Court, in an effort to get even more eyeballs on the series as NBC made plans for its 2023/24 season.

The first season has averaged about 2M total viewers per episode and a 0.27 rating among the 18-49 demographic. According to Nielsen, it is the highest-indexing adcast series for English-dominant Hispanic households.

After 35 days of delayed viewing, Lopez vs. Lopez has the highest portion of long-tail viewing among all NBC comedies on Peacock.

Lopez Vs. Lopez, which comes from creator/showrunner Debby Wolfe, is a working-class family comedy about dysfunction, reconnection and all the pain and joy in between. Starring George Lopez and his daughter Mayan, the comedy tells the story of a working-class old-school Latino who moves in with his modern Gen Z daughter as they rebuild their dysfunctional relationship one argument at a time. It’s old vs. new, father vs. daughter, Lopez vs Lopez.

It also stars Selenis Leyva, Brice Gonzalez, Matt Shively and Al Madrigal. Wolfe is the first Latina to co-create and showrun a network sitcom for a 22-episode first season.

Melissa Fumero to Appear on Upcoming Episode of NBC’s “Lopez vs. Lopez”

Posted on April 20, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Melissa Fumero has landed a special guest-starring role…

The 40-year-old Cuban American actress and former Brooklyn Nine-Nine will appear on the May 2 episode of George Lopez and Mayan Lopez’s NBC’s Lopez vs. Lopez.

Fumero will play Natalia, a Latina mother who mistakes Mayan for white.

But Fumero isn’t the only guest star on the episode.

Danny Trejo will play Danny Martinez of Martin-E.Z. Movers, who is George’s rival and biggest competitor.

Additionally, Judge Marilyn Milian and Erik Griffin will appear in the episode, with character details not yet revealed.

Fumero is best known for starring as Amy Santiago opposite Andy Samberg in NBC’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

Recently, she voice acted in Samberg’s adult animated Comedy Central series Digman! and HBO Max’s adult animated series Velma. In 2022, she appeared in the IFC comedy film Barfight! and the Netflix comedy Blockbuster.

Her other prominent credits include One Life to Live, Gossip Girl, Royal Pains, CSI: NY and The Mentalist.

As a director, she has worked on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Grand Crew, Gordita Chronicles and the upcoming Freevee comedy Primo.

Trejo is a prolific charcter actor with film credits including Desperado, Heat, the From Dusk Till Dawn series, Con Air and Spy Kids.

In television, he’s appeared in Sons of Anarchy, King of the Hill, Breaking Bad, The Flash, American Gods and The Book of Boba Fett.

Milian has been the judge presiding over the syndicated arbitration reality series The People’s Court since 2001 and in the fall will launch “Justice for the People With Judge Milian.”

Lopez vs Lopez is produced by Universal Television in association with Mohawk Productions, Travieso Productions, Mi Vida Loba and 3 Arts.

Mayan Lopez Signs with Agency for the Performing Arts (APA)

Posted on March 30, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Mayan Lopez has new representation…

The 26-year-old Mexican American actress, writer and producer has signed with the Agency for the Performing Arts (APA).

Lopez is the co-creator, writer, producer, and star of the NBC comedy series Lopez vs Lopez.

She and her real-life father George Lopez, who also co-created the series with Debby Wolfe, play fictionalized versions of themselves on the show, which airs Friday nights at 8:00 pm.

Lopez vs. Lopez is a working-class family comedy about dysfunction, reconnection and all the pain and joy in between. It follows a working-class, old-school Latino (George Lopez) who moves in with his modern Gen Z daughter (Mayan Lopez) as they rebuild their dysfunctional relationship one argument at a time.

In December, NBC announced that it gave the freshman series a full-season, 22-episode. The series does well on broadcast for a Friday primetime spot.

Season 1 is averaging about 2M same-day viewers per episode, which leads nicely into the rest of NBC’s Friday lineup.

Lopez has been honored as part of the LA Times’ inaugural LA Vanguardia class.

Pioneering Comedians Cheech Marin & Tommy Chong Getting Their Own Biopic

Posted on March 23, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Art will soon imitate Cheech Marin’s life…

The 76-year-old Chicano comedian, actor, musician and activist and his former comedy partner Tommy Chong, best known as Cheech & Chong, will be getting the big-screen treatment.

The pioneering comedians, whose 1978 film Up in Smoke has transcended cult status, are partnering with Todd Lieberman’s Hidden Pictures, Underground and Five All in the Fifth Entertainment on a feature biopic about the comedy duo.

Cheech and Chong came to prominence in the ’70s and ’80s, becoming synonymous with stoner culture by riffing on and lifting up the counterculture of the time, from hippies to (of course) cannabis. Their combined output included successful stand-up shows, comedy albums and low-budget feature films, including Up in Smoke, Cheech and Chong’s Next Movie (1980) and Nice Dreams (1981).

Kristian Mercado, who most recently made his feature debut with the 2023 South by Southwest entry If You Were Last, will direct from a screenplay by Danya Jimenez and Hannah McMechan.

Marin, who worked with Hidden Pictures for Shotgun Wedding, and Chong will executive produce along with David Glickman.

“We are excited to show the world how two dudes from completely different backgrounds got together, changed comedy and made cannabis mainstream!” said Marin and Chong.

Marin currently appears on the big screen in Champions. He also recently appeared on George Lopez’s new series Lopez vs Lopez.

Harvey Guillén Joining Cast of George & Mayan Lopez’s “Lopez vs. Lopez” Series

Posted on February 3, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Harvey Guillén has landed a primo role…

The 32-year-old Mexican American actor has joined the cast of NBC’s Lopez vs. Lopez as a family member.

Guillen, known for his scene-stealing role in What We Do In The Shadows, Chelsea Rendon and Jessica Marie Garcia will portray cousins on the series.

Guillén will portray Miguel, Mayan’s (Mayan Lopez) pseudo-intellectual cousin who spends his time getting his doctorate in Chicano studies and bragging about the TED talk he gave on the cultural significance of the Hot Cheeto.

Rendon will portray Luna, Mayan’s free-spirited cousin who travels the world in a camper and loves #vanlife, even if her only roommate is her porta-potty.

Garcia will portray ”Yesika” or @Hellyesika on all her socials. She is Mayan’s fabulous Tik Tok-dancing social media influencer cousin who does everything for “the Gram” including giving Mayan a taste of the glamorous life.

Lopez Vs. Lopez, which hails from The Conners duo Bruce Helford and Debby Wolfe, is a working-class family comedy about dysfunction, reconnection, and all the pain and joy in between.

George Lopez and Mayan Lopez star alongside Selenis Leyva, Brice Gonzalez and Matt Shively with Laci Mosley and Aparna Nancherla recurring.

Season 1 currently airs Friday night at 8 p.m. via NBC.

Sierra Teller Ornelas Developing Comedy Series “Amigos” for NBC with Marcos Luevanos

Posted on December 11, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Sierra Teller Ornelas is in the friend(s) zone…

The part-Mexican American showrunner, screenwriter and filmmaker and Marcos Luevanos are developing the half-hour comedy Amigos for NBC.

Teller Ornelas and Luevanos will draw inspiration from their own lifelong friendship for the Universal Television-produced project.

Amigos is about a group of six Latine friends living in Los Angeles who lean and rag on each other as they find love, grow up and figure out what success means in 2022.

Ornelas and Luevanos will write and executive produce alongside Morgan Sackett.

Most recently, Ornelas was showrunner of the Peacock comedy series Rutherford Falls, which she co-created with Mike Schur and Ed Helms.

Previously, she was a co-executive producer on Loot for Apple TV+ and NBC’s Superstore where she worked for three seasons. She has previously written for Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Splitting Up Together, and Happy Endings.

Luevanos is currently a co-executive producer on the new NBC multicam Lopez vs. Lopez starring George Lopez and his daughter Mayan Lopez.

Previously, Luevanos spent three seasons on the Hulu/Disney+ series Love, Victor produced by Aptaker & Berger and worked on Gloria Calderon Kellett’s With Love, Rutherford Falls, Charmed, and Life In Pieces.

He also currently has a project in the works at 20th Television with Steven Canals executive producing.

George Lopez to Help Reveal Nominees for 80th Annual Golden Globe Awards

Posted on December 6, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

George Lopez is preparing for his Golden (Globes) hour….

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association will reveal nominations for its 80th annual Golden Globe Awards at 5:35 am PT/8:35 am ET on Monday, December 12, with the 61-year-old Mexican American comedian/actor and his daughter Mayan Lopez locked in to reach the nominations live.

NBC, the home of this year’s Golden Globes as well as Today and the Lopez’s new sitcom Lopez vs. Lopez, will air the Golden Globes ceremony live on January 10, after a year’s hiatus.

Last year’s show was scrapped amid an HFPA overhaul due to questionable practices surrounding its governing and membership.

No host has been set yet for the Beverly Hilton-set live show, which is being produced by dick clark productions and Jesse Collins Entertainment in association with the HFPA.

In all, there are 27 categories for the 2023 Golden Globes, with four added to the television side: Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical – Comedy or Drama Television Series; Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical – Comedy or Drama Television Series; Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television; and Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television.

They replace the more blanket Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress categories that had spanned all TV categories.

NBC Orders Additional Nine Episodes of George Lopez’s “Lopez vs. Lopez”

Posted on December 4, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

There are more family laughs in George Lopez’s future…

NBC has ordered an additional nine episodes of its new hit comedy series Lopez vs. Lopez, starring the 61-year-old Mexican American comedian and actor and his daughter Mayan Lopez.

With the additional episodes, it brings the first season total to 22 episodes.

Lopez vs. Lopez, which comes from creator/showrunner Debby Wolfe, is a working-class family comedy about dysfunction, reconnection and all the pain and joy in between.

Starring George and Mayan, the comedy tells the story of a working-class old-school Latino who moves in with his modern Gen Z daughter as they rebuild their dysfunctional relationship one argument at a time. It’s old vs. new, father vs. daughter, Lopez vs. Lopez.

Selenis Leyva, Brice Gonzalez, Matt Shively and Al Madrigal also star.

The freshman series has the strongest English-dominant Hispanic index among the major four broadcast networks and is the No. 1 NBC comedy launch on Peacock, according to the network.

The show’s pilot episode is up to a 1.6 rating in the 18-49 demo and 7.6 million viewers on linear and digital viewing.

Wolfe executive produces with Bruce Helford, George Lopez, Michael Rotenberg, and Katie Newman.

Lopez vs Lopez is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, in association with Mohawk Productions, Travieso Productions, Mi Vida Loba and 3 Arts.

George Lopez to Star in Snoop Dogg’s Sports Comedy “The Underdoggs” for MGM

Posted on October 7, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

George Lopez is embracing the underdogg status…

The 61-year-old Mexican American comedian/actor will star in MGM’s Snoop Dogg sports comedy The Underdoggs.

Lopez joins a roster of cast additions that includes Tika Sumpter, Mike Epps and Andrew Schulz.

Meanwhile, the kid team of actors added to the cast include Jonigan Booth, Adan James Carrillo, Kylah Davila, Caleb Dixon, Alexander Michael Gordon and Shamori Washington.

Billed as The Bad News Bears in the world of Youth Football, The Underdoggs tells the story of Jaycen Jenning, “2J’s” (played by Snoop Dogg), a former NFL superstar who, after a run in with the law, agrees to coach a youth football team in lieu of prison in the hopes of relaunching his fledgling career.

Charles Stone directs off a script by Danny Segal and Isaac Schamis based off a pitch by Snoop Dogg and Schwartz-Morini.

The film is produced under Snoop Dogg’s Death Row Pictures banner, with Kenya Barris and Mychelle Deschamps for Khalabo Ink Society, Snoop Dogg’s longtime producing partner Constance Schwartz-Morini of SMAC Entertainment and Jonathan Glickman for Panoramic Media.

Production is underway for an October 20, 2023 theatrical release.

Lopez is currently shooting his upcoming multi-camera comedy series Lopez vs. Lopez, featuring his real-life daughter Mayan Lopez, and is performing stand-up in arenas across the country on his OMG Hi! Comedy Tour, through October.

Lopez will join the DC Extended Universe in the upcoming superhero film Blue Beetle, releasing in-theaters August 2023.

His extensive film credits include Walking with Herb, the modern-day Western No Man’s Land, The Tax Collector, El Chicano, the romantic comedy box-office hit Valentine’s Day, The Spy Next Door, The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl, and Spare Parts, which he also produced. Lopez has produced and starred in the series Lopez, co-created and starred in the series Saint George, hosted TBS’ inaugural late night talk show, Lopez Tonight, and co-created, wrote, produced and starred in the hit sitcom George Lopez.

Carrillo began his career at the age of nine and has shared the screen with Robert DeNiro in About My Father, appeared in David E. Kelley’s Lincoln Lawyer, as well as As We See It from creator Jason Katims, and Mayans M.C. from creator Elgin James.

Davila appeared in the pilot episode HBOMax’s Gordita Chronicles, and the short film Troop Invaders. The Underdoggs reps her first feature film role. An actor and gymnast, Davila hails from Manhattan Beach, California.

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