Daphne Rubin-Vega to Star in Fox’s Anthology Drama Series “Accused”

Posted on July 7, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Daphne Rubin-Vega stands accused…

The 52-year-old Panamanian-American dancer, singer-songwriter and actress will star in Fox’s anthology drama series Accused.

From Howard Gordon, Alex Gansa and David Shore, Accused is based on the BBC’s BAFTA-winning crime anthology. It opens in a courtroom on the accused, with viewers knowing nothing about their crime or how they ended up on trial. Told from the defendant’s point of view through flashbacks, Accused depicts how an ordinary person gets caught up in an extraordinary situation, ultimately revealing how one wrong turn leads to another, until it’s too late to turn back.

Accused, which received a straight-to-series order last May for the 2022-23 broadcast season, is co-produced by Sony Pictures Television and Fox Entertainment. Created by Jimmy McGovern, the original series debuted in 2010 on BBC One.

Meanwhile, Marlee Matlin has tapped three Deaf actors, Puerto Rican star Stephanie Nogueras, Joshua Castille and Lauren Ridloff , to star in the episode she’s directing for the anthology drama series. from Homeland EPs Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa, and David Shore (The Good Doctor, House). The episode is written by novelist and short-story writer Maile Meloy.

Nogueras stars in the lead role of Ava, a deaf woman who becomes a surrogate for a couple, Jenny and Max and commits a crime of advocacy and protection.

Rubin-Vega will star as Ava’s mother.

Nogueras is a deaf actor who made her comedy debut in Killing It on Peacock. Her other recent TV credits include The Good Fight, Criminal Minds and The Magicians.

Tony-nominated Rubin-Vega stars in and produced the independent feature Allswell, which just premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. She was most recently seen starring as Daniela in the Jon Chu-directed Warner Brothers feature In The Heights. She recently wrapped production on two pilots – Hulu’s Olga Dies Dreaming and NBC’s Dangerous Moms. She is also voicing a role in the A24 animated series Hazbin Hotel.

Ramón Rodríguez to Star in ABC’s Drama Pilot “Will Trent”

Posted on April 18, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Ramón Rodríguez has found a new will to thrive…

The 42-year-old Puerto Rican actor has been cast in the lead role of ABC’s drama pilot Will Trent, which now has been officially cleared for production.

Rodriguez will also be a producer on the project, which hails from 20th Television.

Rodríguez was approached just a couple of weeks after the series had received a cast-contingent pilot order in early February. Trent’s casting, which comes after lengthy negotiations, removes that contingency.

Rodríguez most recently starred opposite Aubrey Plaza and served as producer on the Hulu pilot Olga Dies Dreaming, which isn’t moving forward.

In Will Trent, written by Liz Heldens and Dan Thomsen based on Karin Slaughter’s bestselling book series, Special Agent Will Trent (Rodríguez) of the Georgia Bureau of Investigations was abandoned at birth and endured a harsh coming-of-age in Atlanta’s overwhelmed foster care system. But now, determined to use his unique point of view to make sure no one is abandoned like he was, Trent has the highest clearance rate in the GBI.

Rodríguez’s Will Trent is a gifted GBI agent and a loner within the law-enforcement community who hides the severe dyslexia that went untreated during his traumatic childhood in foster care. But with the Bureau’s best clearance rate, he couldn’t care less if people don’t like him.

Heldens and Thomsen executive produce along with Slaughter and 3 Arts’ Oly Obst.

Rodríguez’s television series credits include Showtime’s The Affair and Netflix/Marvel’s Iron Fist and The Defenders. In features, he next will be seen starring in the horror film Lullaby from Annabelle director John R. Leonetti. He recently starred in Disney’s The One and Only Ivan alongside Bryan Cranston.

Aubrey Plaza to Star in the Second Season of HBO’s Dark Comedy “The White Lotus”

Posted on January 10, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Things are in full bloom for Aubrey Plaza…

The 37-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress/comedian will star as a lead in the second installment of HBO’s dark comedy series The White Lotus.

Plaza, the Parks & Recreation and Legion alum, will be a series regular.

She is the second confirmed cast member for the upcoming follow-up to Mike White’s breakout social satire limited series, joining previously cast Michael Imperioli.

The six-part original series followed visitors vacationing at the White Lotus, an exclusive Hawaiian resort. The second installment — also written, to directed by and executive produced by White — will leave Hawaii behind for a new location and is expected to follow a different group of vacationers at another White Lotus property.

Plaza will play Harper Spiller, a woman on vacation with her husband and his friends. Imperioli plays Dominic Di Grasso, a man traveling with his elderly father and recent college-graduate son.

Of the original cast, standout Jennifer Coolidge has been rumored to be returning. White executive produces alongside David Bernad and Mark Kamine.

Plaza will next be seen starring in Guy Ritchie’s Operation Fortune: Ruse De Guerre opposite Jason Statham, Hugh Grant and Josh Hartnett.

Additionally, she stars in and produced Emily the Criminal, which will premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. On television, Plaza is starring in and producing the upcoming Hulu drama series Olga Dies Dreaming, which is based on the novel by Xochitl Gonzalez.

Most recently, Plaza starred opposite Michael Caine in Best Sellers, which premiered at the 2021 Berlin Film Festival.

She won the 2021 Imagen Award for Best Actress for Black Bear and the 2018 Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature for producing Ingrid Goes West.

Jessica Pimentel to Star in Hulu’s Drama Pilot “Olga Dies Dreaming”

Posted on September 7, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Jessica Pimentel is livin’ the dream(ing)…

The 38-year-old Dominican American actress will star opposite Aubrey Plaza, Ramón Rodríguez and Wanda De Jesús in Olga Dies Dreaming, Hulu’s one-hour drama pilot based on the novel by Xochitl Gonzalez.

The pilot for Olga Dies Dreaming, written by Gonzalez and to be directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, tells the story of a Nuyorican brother (Rodríguez) and sister (Plaza) from a gentrifying Sunset Park in Brooklyn who are reckoning with their absent, politically radical mother (De Jesús) and their glittering careers among New York City’s elite in the wake of Hurricane Maria.

Pimentel will play Mabel Ortiz, who is as street smart as she is book smart. She loves a good time; the first on a dance floor and the last off. She has opinions and isn’t afraid to express them, and she refuses to take the time to wrap them in a nice bow. Her big personality masks a more sensitive interior. She worships her cousin Prieto (Rodríguez) but, despite having been raised like sisters, her relationship with Olga (Plaza) is now more fraught.

Jesse Williams also stars.

Gomez-Rejon, who partnered with Gonzalez after reading her novel in manuscript form, executive produces the pilot; Plaza and Rodríguez are producing. 20th Television is the studio.

Pimentel is best known for her role as Maria Ruiz on all seven seasons of Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black.

Her other previous television credits include recurring roles on Law & Order: SVU and Person of Interest.

She can currently be seen in Theodore Schaefer’s feature Giving Birth to a Butterfly.

Wanda De Jesús to Star in Hulu’s Drama Pilot “Olga Dies Dreaming”

Posted on September 1, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Wanda De Jesús is dreamingbig…

The 63-year-old Latina actress will star opposite Aubrey Plaza and Ramón Rodríguez in Olga Dies Dreaming, Hulu’s one-hour drama pilot based on the novel by Xochitl Gonzalez.

The pilot for Olga Dies Dreaming, written by Gonzalez and to be directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, tells the story of a Nuyorican brother (Rodríguez) and sister (Plaza) from a gentrifying Sunset Parkin Brooklynwho are reckoning with their absent, politically radical mother (De Jesús) and their glittering careers among New York City’s elite in the wake of Hurricane Maria.

De Jesús’ plays Blanca Acevedo, a former Young Lord turned radical activist, who is brilliant and uncompromising. From an early age she was the family contrarian, always keenly aware of injustice: in her family, in the neighborhood and the world.

Gomez-Rejon, who partnered with Gonzalez after reading her novel in manuscript form, executive produces the pilot; Plaza and Rodríguez are producing. 20th Century Fox Television is the studio.

De Jesús’ film credits include the Franc Reyes-directed Illegal Tender, produced by John Singleton, and a co-starring role in Reyes-helmed The Ministers, along with Clint Eastwood’s Bloodwork and PBS Masterpiece Theatre’s Almost a Woman.

Hulu Gives Series Order to Chris Estrada’s Comedy “The Fool”

Posted on August 9, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Chris Estrada is foolin’ around…

Hulu has given the Latino actor/comedian’s comedy This Fool, formerly known as Punk Ass Bitch, a series order.

Earlier this year, Hulu piloted the project, which is written and exec produced by Estrada and Jake Weisman, Matt Ingebretson and Pat Bishop with Fred Arminsen and Black-ish EP Jonathan Groff also executive producing.

The series stars rising Latino comedian Estrada as Julio Lopez, a self-described “punk ass bitch” who still lives at home and goes out of his way to help everyone but himself.

The half-hour series sees Lopez work at a gang-rehabilitation non-profit and his quest to overcome his codependency issues with his family as he navigates working class life in South Central Los Angeles. It is produced by ABC Signature. Frankie Quinones and Michelle Ortiz are set as series regulars.

Jordan Helman, who was recently appointed as head of scripted content at Hulu, told Deadline that This Fool, along with Love, Victor and drama pilot Olga Dies Dreaming, was part of its strategy to beef up its Latinx programming. “[We want] to ensure that we are reflecting our programming to the nature of the country,” he said.

“Breaking out new and distinct voices continues to be a hallmark of Hulu Original programming, and we are incredibly excited to add Chris Estrada to our roster of multi-hyphenate creators and to bring This Fool to our viewers,” added Craig Erwich, President Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment.

Hulu Orders Drama Pilot for TV Adaptation of Xochitl Gonzalez’s “Olga Dies Dreaming”

Posted on April 29, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Xochitl Gonzalez is die-dreaming…

Hulu has given an official pilot order to Olga Dies Dreaming, a one-hour drama based on the forthcoming novel by the Latina writer.

In anticipation of the official green light for the project from Gonzalez, Emmy-nominated and Sundance-winning filmmaker Alfonso Gomez-Rejon and 20th Century Television , the pilot has already has been casting.

Written by Gonzalez and to be directed by Gomez-Rejon, Olga Dies Dreaming is the story of a Nuyorican brother and sister from a gentrifying Sunset Park, Brooklyn, reckoning with the absent, politically radical mother and their glittering careers among New York City’s elite in the wake of Hurricane Maria.

Gomez-Rejon partnered with Gonzalez after reading her novel in manuscript form. Together, they developed the series from the ground up and will executive produce the pilot. 20th Television is the studio.

Gonzalez is an MFA candidate in fiction at the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where she is an Iowa Arts Fellow and the recipient of the Michener Copernicus Award for Fiction. She was the winner of the 2019 Disquiet Literary Prize and her work has been published by Vogue, The Cut, Ninth Letter and Joyland magazine. Her debut novel, Olga Dies Dreaming was sold to Flatiron Books after a 10-way auction and will publish in January.

Prior to beginning her MFA, Gonzalez was an entrepreneur and strategic consultant for nearly 15 years.

Gomez-Rejon directed the award-winning Sundance film Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and The Current War: Director’s Cut among others. He most recently served as executive producer and director on Hunters.

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