Gigi Zumbado’s Horror Rom-Com “Heart Eyes” to Hit U.S. Theaters in February

Gigi Zumbado will be bringing the thrill next Valentine’s Day.

Sony will be releasing Spyglass’ horror romantic comedy Heart Eyes, starring the Cuban American Actress, on February 7, 2025.

Gigi ZumbadoIn addition to Zumbado, the Josh Ruben-directed movie stars Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding, with Devon Sawa and Jordana Brewster.

The film’s description reads: When the Heart Eyes Killer strikes Seattle, a pair of co-workers pulling overtime on Valentine’s Day are mistaken for a couple by the elusive couple-hunting killer. Now they must spend the most romantic night of the year running for their lives.

The script was written by Phillip Murphy,

Zumbado’s previous credits include Hightown, The Rookie, Bridge & Tunnel and Promised Land.

Katya Martín to Star in the Indie Horror Comedy “Muffled”

Katya Martín searching for answers…

The Spanish-American actor, producer, writer and director will star opposite Catharine Daddario in the indie horror comedy Muffled.

Katya MartinThe film is written and directed by Stephen McNamee, who makes his feature debut.

Set to enter production in the Greater New Orleans area in early September, the film follows Nora (Martín) and Harper (Daddario) as they return to their hometown to investigate the disappearance of a childhood friend. While interviewing old acquaintances, they discover that their questions are unwelcome, and soon their search takes a dark turn.

Stephen McNamee and Burns McNamee are producing under their banner, I’m Okay Productions, along with Adam Kinyon through Best Dressed Films.

Best known for starring on ABC’s family drama Promised Land, Martín has also previously been seen on shows like Godfather of Harlem, Big Sky, and The Affair.

Mercedes Ruehl Starring in Brad Furman’s Indie Drama “People Not Places”

Mercedes Ruehl is joining the people

The 76-year-old part-Cuban American Oscar-winning actress will star in director Brad Furman’s indie drama People Not Places, which was scripted by his mother Ellen Brown Furman.

Mercedes RuehlRuehl is among seven new cast additions that includes Yul Vazquez, Laurence Mason, Obba BabatundéJoey Bicicchi, Colleen Camp and Olivia Jude.

They join previously announced cast members Shirley MacLaine, Stephen Dorff, Julia Mayorga and Allegra Leguizamo.

People Not Places centers on Clare (MacLaine), an elderly widow living in Atlantic City who meets an erratic homeless man (Dorff) who sleeps in cars. Their shared loneliness causes them to bond, as they find the courage to face his regrettable past and her shortened future.

Furman and Jess Fuerst are producing the film under their Road Less Traveled Productions banner.

Best known for her Oscar-winning performance in The Fisher King, Ruehl has also been seen in films like Hustlers, Last Action Hero and Big, among many others.

She’s also been seen on series like New AmsterdamBull and Power, to name just a few.

Currently starring on MGM+’s Hotel Cocaine, Vazquez will next be seen in the Paul Greengrass film The Lost Bus for Apple TV+.

His other recent credits include Parish, White House Plumbers, Godfather of Harlem, Promised Land and Severance.

Matt Lopez to Serve as Executive Producer & Showrunner of CBS’ “Sheriff Country”

Matt Lopez has gone country…

The Latino television writer and producer has joined CBS’ recently picked up drama series Sheriff County as executive producer and showrunner.

Matt LopezThe Fire Country spinoff, headlined by Morena Baccarin, is slated to debut during the 2025-26 season, with a writers room expected to open in late summer.

Sheriff Country was introduced when Baccarin guest starred in an April episode of the mothership series

Like the Fire Country pilot, the planted spinoff was written by Joan Rater and Tony Phelan from a story the duo co-wrote with series’ star Max Thieriot, whose real-life experiences inspired Fire Country.

Thieriot also directed the backdoor pilot episode.

The offshoot also is following Fire Country‘s leadership pattern.

While Grey’s Anatomy alums Rater and Phelan are executive producers and a writers room fixtures on the mothership series, Tia Napolitano was brought in as day-to-day showrunner. Lopez is taking on the duties for Sheriff Country. He was already in negotiations when CBS in May announced a series pickup for the spinoff.

Sheriff Country stars Baccarin as straight-shooting sheriff Mickey Fox, the stepsister of Cal Fire’s division chief Sharon Leone (Diane Farr of Fire Country), who investigates criminal activity as she patrols the streets of small-town Edgewater.

The series, from CBS Studios, is executive produced by Thieriot, Phelan, Rater, Lopez as well as Jerry Bruckheimer and KristieAnne Reed for Jerry Bruckheimer Television.

Lopez created, executive produced and served as showrunner of ABC’s 2022 family drama series Promised Land.

His feature writing credits include Max’s top-rated original Father of the Bride, from Warner Bros., and several Disney movies, including The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

Lopez is a former entertainment lawyer and DreamWorks business affairs executive.

Mariel Molino to Star in CBS‘ Young Gibbs Drama “NCIS: Origins”

Mariel Molino is celebrating her origins

The Mexican American actress will star as the female lead opposite Austin Stowell in CBSYoung Gibbs drama NCIS: Origins, a prequel to the venerable procedural, which has a straight-to-series order for the 2024-2025 broadcast season.

Mariel Molino Narrated by Harmon, the CBS Studios-produced show begins in 1991, years prior to the events of NCIS, and chronicles Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ younger years.

In the prequel, Gibbs (Stowell) starts his career as a newly minted special agent at the fledgling NIS Camp Pendleton office where he forges his place on a gritty, ragtag team led by NCIS legend Mike Franks.

Molino will play Special Agent Lala Dominguez, a former Marine who navigates her 1990s male-dominated field with a steely resolve and a dark sense of humor. When a tormented Leroy Jethro Gibbs joins her team, the ensuing story between these two enigmatic outsiders is filled with sparks and turns that will keep the audience guessing.

This is a new character to the NCIS universe who has not been featured on the mothership series. In the NCIS timeline, the prequel takes place in the aftermath of the murder of Gibbs’ first wife and their daughter.

Mark Harmon and his son Sean Harmon, who portrayed Gibbs in flashbacks on NCIS and was a driving force behind the prequel, executive produce alongside David J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal who are co-writing the premiere episode and serving as co-showrunners.

Origins is one of two newly greenlighted extensions of CBS Studios’ ever-growing NCIS franchise, along with an Europe-set Tony & Ziva spinoff starring Michael Weatherly and Cote De Pablo for Paramount+. They join the mothership series, now in its 21st season, NCIS: Hawai’i, now in Season 3 and the franchise’s first international installment, NCIS: Sydney.

Molino, who was born in California, splits time between Los Angeles and Mexico City.

She started her career acting in Spanish-language projects, including the telenovela Papis Muy Padres, Amazon’s comedy series El Juego De Las Llaves and thriller drama series La Negociadora. She has also appeared on Netflix’s Narcos: Mexico and Luis Miguel: The Series.

Molino most recently starred in the Freeform thriller series The Watchful Eye and in the ABC family drama Promised Land. On the film side, Molino was be seen in upcoming features The Shade and Dead Man’s Switch.

Natalia del Riego to Star in Kurt Sutter’s Western Action Drama “The Abandons”

Natalia del Riego is abandoning her plans…

The Salvadoran & Mexican actress has joined the cast of Kurt Sutter’s Western action drama The Abamdons.

Natalia del Riegodel Riego is among a list of six new series regulars that includes Lucas TillNick RobinsonDiana SilversLamar Johnson and Aisling Franciosi.

They join previously announced cast members Lena Headey and Gillian Anderson, who lead the cast as Fiona Nolan and Constance Van Ness, respectively.

del Riego will portray Lilla Belle.

Created and executive-produced by Sutter, who also serves as showrunner, The Abandons follows a group of diverse, outlier families pursuing their Manifest Destiny in 1850s Oregon, as a corrupt force of wealth and power, coveting their land, tries to force them out. These abandoned souls, the kind of lost souls living on the fringe of society, unite their tribes to form a family and fight back. In this bloody process, “justice” is stretched beyond the boundaries of the law.

The Abandons will explore that fine line between survival and law, the consequences of violence, and the corrosive power of secrets, as this family fights to keep their land.

del Riego is best known for her work on shows like NCIS: Los AngelesPromised LandThe RookieHow to Get Away with Murder and American Crime.

Yul Vazquez to Star in MGM+’s Crime Thriller “Hotel Cocaine”

Yul Vazquez is checking into his next project…

The 58-year-old Cuban-American actor and musician is set as a lead opposite Danny Pino and Michael Chiklis in Hotel Cocaine, MGM+’s upcoming crime thriller from creator Chris Brancato.

Yul Vazquez

Hotel Cocaine is the story of Roman Compte (Pino), a Cuban expatriate who fought against Fidel Castro in the Bay of Pigs invasion and re-made his life in Miami. He is general manager of the Mutiny Hotel, the glamorous epicenter of the Miami cocaine scene of late ‘70s and early ‘80s. The Mutiny Hotel was Casablanca on cocaine, a glitzy nightclub, restaurant and hotel frequented by Florida businessmen and politicians, international narcos, CIA and FBI agents, models, sports stars and musicians.

Vazquez will play Nestor Cabal, Roman Compte’s (Pino) brother and one of the biggest suppliers of cocaine to a coke-hungry Miami population. He’s dangerous, funny, wily, and seeking reunion with his long-lost brother.

Chiklis plays Agent Zulio who will stop at nothing to shut down the drug trade, even if it means using innocent civilians to accomplish his ends.

Brancato serves as executive producer and showrunner. Guillermo Navarro will direct the pilot episode and executive produce the series, with Michael Panes and Alfredo Barrios Jr. also serving as executive producers.

The eight-episode series from MGM+ Studios, in partnership with MGM Television, will begin production in May in the Dominican Republic, and is slated to premiere in early 2024.

Vazquez will next be seen in the HBO Max limited series White House Plumbers, opposite Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux. He was most recently seen on season 3 of the MGM+ series Godfather of Harlem opposite Forest Whitaker and in the Emmy-nominated Apple TV+ series, Severance, directed by Ben Stiller.

His other credits include Jason Bateman’s HBO series The Outsider, ABC’s Promised Land, Netflix’s Russian DollTNT miniseries I Am The Night and HBO’s Succession, among others.

His film work includes Books of Blood, Last Flag Flying, Gringo, Traffic and The Infiltrator.

John Ortiz to Star in Netflix’s Limited Series “The Madness”

John Ortiz is embracing the madness

The 54-year-old Puerto Rican actor has been cast opposite Colman Domingo in Netflix’s limited series The Madness.

John OrtizThe conspiracy thriller hails from Chernin Entertainment via its first-look deal with Netflix, creator and co-showrunner Stephen Belber  and co-showrunner VJ Boyd.

In The Madness, media pundit Muncie Daniels (Domingo) must fight for his innocence and his life after he stumbles upon a murder deep in the Poconos woods. As the walls close in, Muncie strives to reconnect with his estranged family – and his lost ideals – in order to survive.

Ortiz plays Franco Quinones, a longtime FBI field agent with strong convictions and a relentless approach to his work.

Clément Virgo will direct and executive produce the first two and final two episodes. Quyen Tran and Jessica Lowrey will each direct two middle episodes.

Ortiz starred as Joe Sandoval in drama series Promised Land, which aired for one season on ABC. On the film side, he recently wrapped filming The Mothership opposite Halle Berry.

He’s currently filming a key recurring role in Apple’s Bad Monkey opposite Vince Vaughn.

Tonatiuh to Star in Netflix & Amblin’s Thriller “Carry-On”

Tonatiuh is carrying on

The Latino actor, screenwriter and activist will star in Netflix and Amblin’s thriller Carry-On.

Tonatiuh Tonatiuh is part of a roster of new cast additions that includes Dean Norris, Logan Marshall Green and Sinqua Walls.

Additionally, Joe Williamson, Curtiss Cook, Josh Brener and Gil Perez-Abraham round out the cast, who will all join previously announced stars Taron Egerton, Jason Bateman, Sofia Carson, Danielle Deadwyler and Theo Rossi.

Details regarding the characters they’ll portray remain under wraps.

Carry-On will begin production this week with Jaume Collet-Serra serving as director.

The film centers around Ethan Kopek, a young TSA agent who gets blackmailed by a mysterious traveler to let a dangerous package slip through security and onto a Christmas Day flight.

TJ Fixman penned the screenplay’s first draft, with Michael Green doing the most recent polish. Dylan Clark will produce. The film marks the first production out of the overall deal Amblin signed with Netflix last June.

Tonatiuh’s previous projects include Vida, Promised Land and Angelyne.

Christina Ochoa Developing Sci-Fi Series “Empty Earth” with Freeform Studios

Christina Ochoa is running on empty

The 37-year-old Spanish actress, science communicator and producer is developing the sci-fi series Empty Earth, based on the Rick McManus book series of the same name, with Freedom Studios.

Christina OchoaIn Empty Earth, climate change has forced humanity to a dystopian bargain: seek safety, or risk everything to find the answers. The book trilogy is post-apocalyptic adventure series, with an empowered female protagonist, wrapped in an epic of love, family, and survival with science at the forefront.

“Freedom is constantly searching for great stories, great people, and content that matters. We knew this book needed to be brought to life. We are thrilled to be in partnership with QE Productions; we believe this will become one of the most impactful shows on TV,” said Salazar.

“I would partner with Freedom on pretty much anything… but the fact that they brought us such an epic, sci-fi, adventure show made it a project we not only want as filmmakers – but one we need as audiences,” added Ochoa.

Executive producers include Julia Carias-Linares, Meiling Macias-Toro, and Johanna Salazar from Freedom Studios and Ochoa, Jessica Heath, and Karen Goro from QE Productions. Freedom Studios is leading the project.

Ochoa is notably recognized for her role as Renn Randall in John Well’s Animal Kingdom, which recently concluded its six-season run on TNT. Additionally, she starred in ABC’s Promised Land from Matt Lopez and Adam Kolbrenner.

Her additional credits include CW’s Valor, ABC’s A Million Little Things, and NBC’s Blood Drive. Her company QE Productions focuses on STEM-infused content.

Freedom Studios is an award-winning, Latina-owned media company focusing on thought-provoking projects with strong female leads, and social awareness.