Lopez’s Police Drama “Shades of Blue” to Premiere in January on NBC

Jennifer Lopez will be feeling blue in January…

NBC has announced the premiere date for Shades of Blue, starring the 46-year-old Puerto Rican singer, actress and American Idol judge.

Jennifer Lopez 

The straight-to-series police drama, which also stars Ray Liotta, will debut on Thursday, January 14 at 9:00 pm with a two-hour premiere episode directed by Barry Levinson.

The show will then move to its regular 10:00 pm timeslot behind The Blacklist the following Thursday, January 21.

There, Shades Of Blue will succeed new fall drama The Player.

“From a marketing perspective, the January 14 date takes advantage of both solid Sunday Night Football games and strong holiday programming through the first week of January,” is how NBC’s head of scheduling Jeff Bader explains the rationale behind the premiere date choice. “Also, in one of the most-watched weekends of the year (January 9-10), we have the NFL Wild Card game and Golden Globes, both of which make for great promotional opportunities.”

Shades of Blue 

Shades Of Blue centers on Harlee Santos (Lopez), a charismatic single mother and resourceful detective at the heart of a tight-knit crew of Brooklyn detectives, led by enigmatic Lt. Matt Wozniak (Liotta) who often leads the team to step outside the limitations of the law in order to effectively protect their precinct and their own. As a big illegal job looms on the horizon, the FBI catches Harlee in the act and pits her against her own unit. As a newly turned informant, Harlee struggles to safeguard her on-the-job family and avoid arrest in order to stay with her daughter.

The series co-stars Warren Kole, Drea de Matteo, Dayo Okeniyi, Vincent Laresca, Hampton Fluker and Sarah Jeffery.

It is executive produced by Jack Orman, Adi Hasak, Lopez, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Benny Medina, Ryan Seacrest and Nina Wass.

Jaramillo to Star in USA Network’s Pilot “The Wilding”

Antonio Jaramillo is going wild(ing)

The Mexican actor, who will star opposite Jennifer Lopez in NBC’s drama series Shades of Blue, has booked a series regular role in The Wilding, USA Network’s two-hour backdoor pilot from Universal Cable Productions and executive producers Tim Kring and writer-creator Silka Luisa.

Antonio Jaramillo

In The Wilding, disparate people across North Carolina realize they’re connected by the same haunting. Their only hope is a fractured family battling the repercussions of a teenage pregnancy, addiction and the discovery that they belong to a subset of people with supersensory abilities called Wildings.

Jaramillo will portray Carlos, Margaret’s (Jordana Spiro) husband. As a recovered drug addict and popular teacher, he connects with his troubled step-daughter Kayla in a way that others can’t.

Best known for his performance in Oliver Stone’s drug-themed film Savages, his previous television credits include Dallas, CSI: Cyber, Gang Related, The Mentalist and Burn Notice.

Jaramillo to Star Opposite Jennifer Lopez in NBC’s Drama “Shades of Blue”

Antonio Jaramillo is feeling blue

The Mexican actor, who last appeared as Hector on Lifetime’s Devious Maids, has been cast in a recurring role opposite Jennifer Lopez on NBC’s new drama series Shades of Blue.

Antonio Jaramillo

Directed by Barry Levinson, the police series follows a tight-knit crew of officers who are effective at keeping the streets safe, but also corrupt when it comes to lining their pockets and protecting their own.

When one of the officers is forced to become a federal informant, Lopez’s character must decide between her own family’s welfare and that of her police family.

Jaramillo will play Miguel Zepeda, an ex-boyfriend of Harlee Santos (Lopez).

Best known for his role in Oliver Stone’s drug-themed film Savages, His previous television credits include appearances on Dallas, CSI: Cyber, Gang Related, The Mentalist and Burn Notice.

Laresca Cast in NBC’s Jennifer Lopez Drama Series “Shades of Blue”

Vincent Laresca is feeling blue

The 41-year-old half- Panamanian American actor has landed a co-starring role opposite Jennifer Lopez in NBC’s straight-to-series drama Shades of Blue.

Vincent Laresca

Written by Adi Hasak and directed by Barry Levinson, Shades Of Blue follows a tight-knit crew of police officers who are effective at keeping the streets safe but also corrupt when it comes to lining their pockets and protecting their own. When one of the officers (Lopez) is forced to become a federal informant, she must decide between her own family’s welfare and that of her police family.

Laresca plays Tony Espada, alternately the bulldog and the moral compass for his team.

Meanwhile, Ray Liotta plays Lieutenant Bill Wozniak, the enigmatic and resourceful patriarch of the tight knit unit of corrupt cops, who steps outside the limitations of the law to protect his precinct. His all-consuming hunt for the informant drives him to dire extremes. The Sopranos alumna Drea de Matteo plays Shirley Nazario, a tough, outspoken female cop who holds her own with the men in her crew, and yet her brashness covers her insecurities.

Laresca’s previous television credits include appearances on  24CSI: Miami and Weeds.

Lopez to Guest Star on NBC’s “Parks and Recreation”

Jennifer Lopez is ready for a little recreation

The 45-year-old Puerto Rican actress/singer and American Idol judge has booked a guest-starring role on the seventh and final season of NBC’s Parks and Recreation.

Jennifer Lopez

Lopez, who will headline her own NBC cop drama Shades of Blue in the near future, will reportedly play Leslie (Amy Poehler) and Ben’s (Adam Scott) hot nanny.

For this final season, the couple is now living in the year 2017 as the parents of triplets as per last season’s ending. “

I think everyone feels like, ‘We don’t want to overstay our welcome. We want to go out on a high note,’” executive producer Michael Schur told Entertainment Weekly last May.

Other celebrities set to guest star on the upcoming season of Parks and Recreation include Rachel, Jon Hamm, Megan Mullaly and Natalie Morales.

Lopez previously made high-profile guest appearances on How I Met Your Mother and Will & Grace.

Lopez to Topline NBC’s Detective Drama “Shades of Blue”

Jennifer Lopez is joining the force…

The 44-year-old Puerto Rican actress/singer and American Idol judge will star in an NBC detective drama Shades of Blue, which has received a 13-episode straight-to-series order from the network.

Jennifer Lopez

Produced by Lopez and Ryan Seacrest and written by Adi Hasak, the complex police series centers on Harlee McCord (portrayed by Lopez), a single mother and detective recruited to work undercover for the FBI’s anti-corruption task force.

Part of a close-knit unit known for its conviction record, Harlee has become compromised by her colleagues — all of whom also pitch in to help her raise her daughter — and finds herself faced with the moral dilemma of working against her cop brothers in order to redeem herself.

The project will begin working on scripts in June with an eye toward a 2015 production start date, all for the 2015-16 season.

“Whether its producing, acting, singing or any of her other many entrepreneurial activities, Jennifer is an extraordinary talent and life force, and we’re delighted to be in business with her and Adi Hasak on this sophisticated show,” said NBC Entertainment President Jennifer Salke. “We’re especially excited that Jennifer is returning to her acting roots from such great movies as Out of Sight, and we know that she will create this complicated character in a vivid way that will breathe new life into the cop show genre. Ryan Seacrest is part of the NBCU family and doing his first scripted drama series with us makes perfect sense.”

After a couple of brief television series gigs in the early 1990s, Lopez transitioned into features with her breakout starring roles in 1997′s Selena and 1998′s Out of Sight.

For the past two decades, she has largely stayed away from scripted series sans a couple of guest starring stints, including Will & Grace and How I Met Your Mother, while becoming a reality star as a judge on American Idol.

As a producer, she has a hit with ABC Family’s drama series The Fosters