Ray Santiago to Star in NBC’s Comedy Pilot “Non-Evil Twin”

Posted on April 16, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Ray Santiago is twinning…

The 38-year-old Puerto Rican actor has been cast as a series regular opposite Amber Ruffin in the NBC comedy pilot Non-Evil Twin from Universal Television.

Santiago is among a roster of new cast additions that includes Christina Anthony and Melanie J. Newby.

Written by Ruffin and Kenny Smith, the multi-camera pilot stars Ruffin playing the dual roles of twin sisters Angie and Amber. Angie is the ruthless CEO of AngieCorp, who is as heartless as she is rich. Angie instills fear in everyone she meets, except her caring sister, Amber, who only sees the good in her. Amber — a pushover when it comes to Angie — is forced to step in as the leader of AngieCorp, a Fortune 500 company, despite knowing little about business and even less about the way her sister has been running the corporation.

Santiago will portray Tony, the well-meaning but brutally honest marketing VP dismissed by Angie but embraced by Amber, who is drawn to his oddball sweetness.

Newby is Amy, Angie’s tough-as-nails vegan cellmate, who refuses to put Angie on a pedestal like everyone else and instead prefers to kick the pedestal out from under her.

Santiago co-starred on Starz’s Ash Vs. Evil Dead and recurred on Bad Judge, Touch, Raising Hope and Dexter. Feature film credits include Trashfire, Sex Ed, In Time, American Son, Meet the Fockers and Girl Fight.

Carla Jimenez to Star Opposite Dean Cain in the Family Sports Comedy “Little Angels”

Posted on July 2, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Carla Jimenez is a little happy…

The 47-year-old Mexican American actress will star opposite Dean Cain in the family sports comedy Little Angels.

Cain, best known for his starring role in Supergirl, will also direct the film, which he wrote.

Helena Mattsson, Torrance Coombs, Juliet Donenfeld, Alex Jayne Go and Ryan O’Quinn will also star opposite Cain in his directorial debut, which is currently in production in Los Angeles.

Little Angels revolves around Jake Rogers (Cain), a Division I college football coach at the top of his game who uses a female placekicker as a publicity stunt. When the player misses a field goal, the coach makes an offhand comment in the media about female athletes and is immediately suspended by the university. In an effort to get his job back, Rogers must coach a 12-year-old girls soccer team for the remainder of the season.

Jimenez’s previous credits include My Name Is Earl, Raising Hope and Little Britain USA. Her other credits include Nacho Libre, Lady in the Water, and Accepted.

Shakira Barrera to Star in Greg Garcia’s IMDb TV Comedy “Sprung”

Posted on June 23, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Shakira Barrera has sprung…

The Nicaraguan-American actress/dancer and former GLOW star has joined the cast of Sprung, IMDb TV’s new single-camera comedy from My Name Is Earl, Raising Hope and The Guest Book creator Greg Garcia, 3 Arts and Amazon Studios.

Barrera joins a list of new cast additions that includes James Earl and newcomer Clare Gillies.

Barrera, Earl and Gillies join previous cast Garret Dillahunt, Illeana Douglas and Philip Garcia in the project, which follows an unlikely group of formerly incarcerated people who band together to use their criminal expertise for good,

Sprung follows Jack (Dillahunt), a convicted criminal who is determined to change course and reclaim his lost years after serving more than two decades in prison. With no place to live post-release, and a global pandemic bringing the world to a virtual standstill, Jack moves in with his former cellmate Rooster (Garcia), Rooster’s mom Barb (Douglas) and Jack’s former prison girlfriend Gloria. Bound by their marred past and unusual living circumstances, they decide to start righting some of society’s wrongs, targeting those people selfishly taking advantage of others during the pandemic.

Barrera will play Gloria, a college-educated scam artist who discovered her love for conning people at a young age.

Outside of acting, Barrera serves as a goodwill ambassador for organizations that specialize in humanitarian aid in Nicaragua.

Phillip Garcia to Star in Greg Garcia’s IMDb TV Comedy Series “Sprung”

Posted on April 28, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Phillip Garcia is getting sprung…

IMDb TV, Amazon’s free ad-supported streaming service, has given a formal series green light to Sprung, starring the Latino actor.

The single-camera comedy hails from My Name Is Earl, Raising Hope and The Guest Book creator Greg Garcia, 3 Arts and Amazon Studios.

Sprung, centered on an unlikely group of formerly incarcerated people who band together to use their criminal expertise for good, will also star Garret Dillahunt and Illeana Douglas.

Sprung follows Jack (Dillahunt), a convicted criminal who is determined to change course and reclaim his lost years after serving more than two decades in prison. With no place to live post-release, and a global pandemic bringing the world to a virtual standstill, Jack moves in with his former cellmate Rooster (Phillip Garcia), Rooster’s mom Barb (Douglas), and Jack’s former prison girlfriend Gloria. Bound by their marred past and unusual living circumstances, they decide to start righting some of society’s wrongs, targeting those people selfishly taking advantage of others during the pandemic.

“I couldn’t be more excited to start working with this talented cast and I’m very grateful to 3 Arts, Amazon Studios and IMDb TV for helping me bring this idea to life,” said Garcia. “The support and creative partnership with the folks at IMDb TV has been amazing and working with Garret Dillahunt again is an absolute treat. With any luck we’ll create something entertaining that gives the audience a few laughs and makes their day a little brighter.”

In conjunction with the pickup of Sprung, Garcia’s Emmy-winning NBC series My Name is Earl will join the IMDb TV library on May 1.

“I’m so proud of this show. Greg Garcia is one of the most talented people I know, and I feel so lucky to be working with him again,” said Dillahunt. “The world really needs a good laugh – and we’ve been working hard to that end.”

Phillip Garcia had notable guest starring roles in Criminal Minds, S.W.A.T. and Station 19.

Fox Orders Additional Episodes of Carla Jimenez’s Sitcom “The Mick”

Posted on November 8, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Carla Jimenez will micking things up for longer this season…

Fox has ordered seven additional episodes of its Kaitlin Olson-starrer The Mick, featuring the 43-year-old Latina actress, bringing the Season 2 total to 20, three more episodes than it produced in Season 1.

The series launched last season as a midseason show with a 13-episode order, which is the norm for midseason starts.

Fox moved The Mick to Tuesdays at 9:00 pm ET this season, as a lead-in to Brooklyn Nine-Nine and the show has done well in the new time slot. The Season 2 premiere in September drew 2.8 million viewers and 0.9 demo rating, besting its numbers for the Season 1 finale.

The Mick is a comedy about an unapologetic degenerate (Olson) who suddenly finds herself stuck raising her spoiled niece (Sofia Black-D’Elia) and nephews (Thomas Barbusca, newcomer Jack Stanton) in affluent Greenwich, CT. It’s pretty much everything she never wanted. Regardless, she’s determined to rise to the occasion and transform these little monsters into honest, hard-working, decent members of society – something she knows absolutely nothing about.

Jimenez, who has appeared on Raising Hope and Last Man Standing, portrays Alba, the Pemberton’s maid.

Produced by 20th Century Fox Television, The Mick was created/written by John Chernin and Dave Chernin.

Ortiz to Guest Star on TBS’ “The Guest Book”

Posted on January 15, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

John Ortiz has signed in…

The 48-year-old Puerto Rican actor will guest star on TBS’ The Guest Book, the new 10-episode comedy series from My Name Is Earl’s Greg Garcia.

The Guest Book emerged from Garcia’s habit of writing fictitious stories in the guest books of various rental cabins in an effort to freak out the next renters. Now he is bringing some of those stories to life on screen centering on the vacation home Froggy Cottage and its visitors. While the house and cast of characters living in this small mountain town remain the same, each episode will feature a different set of vacationing guests.

The anthology-style show, written by Garcia and executive produced by him and Alix Jaffe, will premiere in August.

It will star Kellie Martin (Army Wives), Charlie Robinson (Hart of Dixie), Aloma Wright (Suits), Carly Jibson (Broadway’s Hairspray), Lou Wilson (Tween Fest), Garret Dillahunt (The Mindy Project), Laura Bell Bundy (Scream Queens) and Eddie Steeples (My Name Is Earl).

Martin will play Officer Kimberly Leahy, who serves on the police force in the small mountain town of Mount Trace. Robinson is Wilfrid, an easygoing, friendly gentleman who manages a group of mountain rental cottages with his wife, Emma, played by recurring guest star Wright. Jibson is Vivian, a tough, strong-willed woman who runs a bikini bar called Chubbys with her stepson Frank, played by Wilson.

In addition to Ortiz, other guest stars include Danny Pudi (Community), Jenna Fischer (The Office), Tommy Dewey (The Mindy Project), Lauren Lapkus (Orange Is the new Black), Michaela Watkins (Casual), Mary Lynn Rajskub (24), Michael Rapaport (Sully), Kate Micucci (Raising Hope), Jaime Pressly (My Name Is Earl), Stockard Channing (The Good Wife), Andrew J. West (The Walking Dead), David Zayas (Gotham), Shannon Woodward (Westworld), Margo Martindale (The Good Wife) and Stephnie Weir (The Comedians).

Jimenez to Star in the Fox Comedy Pilot “The Mick”

Posted on March 20, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Carla Jimenez has landed a new television gig…

The 37-year-old Latina actress has booked a series regular role opposite Kaitlin Olson in the Fox comedy pilot The Mick.

Written by John and Dave Chernin, The Mick centers on Mackenzie “Mickey” Murphy (Olson), a hard-living, foul-mouthed, cigarette-smoking woman who moves to affluent

Greenwich, CT to raise the spoiled kids of her wealthy sister who has fled the country to avoid a federal indictment. She quickly learns what the rest of us already know — other people’s children are awful.

Jimenez will play Alba, the Pembertons’ housekeeper who gets along famously with Mickey.

She previously recurred on Growing Up Fisher, Last Man Standing, and Raising Hope.

Garcia Developing Two New Comedy Projects for CBS

Posted on September 30, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Greg Garcia has two chances to return to CBS…

The 45-year-old Mexican American television director, producer and writer has partnered with two writers who worked on his most recent series, CBS’ The Millers — Stephnie Weir and Bobby Bowman — for two new comedy projects at the network through CBS Television Studios, where Garcia’s company Amigos de Garcia Productions is based.

The untitled Weir multi-camera comedy, also known as Y’all in the Family, is set in Texas and centers on a conservative, small town family forced to reconcile their family values when they discover their children’s lives are less than perfect.

Weir will write the script and executive produce with Garcia. She served as a consulting producer on The Millers.

Meanwhile, How To Speak American, written by Bowman, is a hybrid comedy about a coddled millennial who teaches ESL to a variety of immigrants, who in turn, teach him about grit, courage and hustle.

Bowman and Garcia will executive produce. Bowman has a long history with Garcia. He has worked as co-executive producer/executive producer on all of Garcia’s series, Yes, Dear and The Millers on CBS, My Name Is Earl on NBC and Raising Hope on Fox.

Garcia won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series in 2006 for penning the pilot episode of My Name is Earl.

Valderrama to Voice the Male Lead in the Animated Musical “Charming”

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Wilmer Valderrama has landed a royal role…

The 35-year-old Colombian and Venezuelan American actor will voice the male lead in the animated musical Charming.

Valderrama, who stars in Fox’s new series Minority Report, joins a cast that includes Demi Lovato as Lenore, Ashley Tisdale as Cinderella, Avril Lavigne as Snow White and Chinese pop star G.E.M. as Sleeping Beauty in the pic from writer-director Ross Venokur.

“Wilmer had everything we were looking for while we were contemplating who to cast as this Prince Charming: irresistible charm, perfect comedic timing and a lot of heart,” said John H. Williams, who is producing the film with fellow 3QU Media co-founder Henry Skelsey. “We needed a Prince Charming who could convey the love of being a lover and someone who isn’t afraid of being absurd and over the top at times but also be deep and emotional when he actually meets his unexpected (not a princess) true love.”

Valderrama is a regular on Robert Rodriguez’s El Rey Network series From Dusk Till Dawn and voiced the title role on Disney’s toon series Handy Manny.

Other recent credits for the That 70’s Show alum include features The Adderall Diaries and To Whom It May Concern and TV’s Raising Hope and Awake.

“We’ve all been waiting so long to see a Latin princess represented in an animated fairy tale,” Valderrama said. “I’m grateful to the enlightened producer John Williams for anointing me as the first Latin prince.”

Ochoa to Lead the Voice Cast of Disney-Pixar’s “The Good Dinosaur”

Posted on June 14, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Raymond Ochoa has earned a Dino-mite gig…

Disney-Pixar has unveiled the all-new cast of The Good Dinosaur, with the 13-year-old Latino actor voicing the character of Arlo, an Apatosaurus who is separated from his family when he falls into a raging river and is swept hundreds of miles away.

He comes across Spot (Jack Bright), a human cave-boy orphan with whom he forms a bond as he attempts to get home.

The new cast also includes Jeffrey Wright as Arlo’s dad, Poppa; Steve Zahn as a pterodactyl named Thunderclap; AJ Buckley as Nash, a T-rex; Anna Paquin as Ramsey the T-rex; Sam Elliott as a tough T-rex named Butch and Marcus Scribner as Arlo’s brother Buck.

The long-in-the-works animated film will hit theaters Thanksgiving week.

Originally set for release in summer 2014, the film has seen a number of obstacles since its original voice cast was unveiled at Disney’s D23 in August 2013. Raising Hope’s Lucas Neff was set as Arlo, with John Lithgow as Poppa, Frances McDormand as Momma and Bill Hader, Judy Greer and Neil Patrick Harris as Arlo’s siblings.

But just five weeks later, Disney announced that it had pushed Good Dinosaur back a year and a half as rookie feature director Pete Sohn stepped in for the departed Bob Peterson.

Ochoa, the younger brother of actor Ryan Ochoa, is best known for his roles in 10 Items or Less, Merry Christmas and Drake and Josh.

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