Fat Joe to Return as Guest Host on “The Wendy Williams Show” in March

Posted on March 1, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Fat Joe is marching forward to help a friend…

The Wendy Williams Show has lined up its guest hosts for the month of March, including the 51-year-old Puerto Rican and Cuban rapper.

The month kicks off with comedian Kym Whitley and actor Finesse Mitchell hosting from Monday, March 7 through Friday, March 11.

Frequent guest hosts Fat Joe and Remy Ma will take the helm beginning Monday, March 14 through Friday, March 18.

Main guest host Sherri Shepherd, who was recently announced to succeed Williams with her own syndicated talk show Sherri, will return to the purple chair beginning Monday, March 21 through Friday, March 25.

Closing out the month will be TV personality Carson Kressley and actress Vivica A. Fox in their debut as guest hosts from Monday, March 28 through Friday, April 1.

Shepherd, along with Michael Rapaport have been the lead guest hosts of the show with Williams out, but Rapaport is no longer on the schedule.

The Wendy Williams Show is slated to continue through the end of this season with rotating guest hosts, including Shepherd, as Williams has been sidelined with health issues for the entire season.

Netflix Renews Gabriel Iglesias’ “Mr Iglesias” for Second Season

Posted on August 10, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesiasis returning for his sophomore year…

Netflix has renewed Mr. Iglesias, starring the 43-year-old Mexican American stand-up comedian and actor, for a second season.

In the series created by Kevin Hench, Iglesias stars as Gabe, a good-natured public high school teacher who works at his alma mater. Gabe takes on teaching gifted but misfit kids to not only save them from being “counseled out” by a bully bureaucrat assistant principal (Oscar Nuñez) but also to help them unlock their full potential.

Sherri Shepherd, Jacob Vargas, Maggie Geha, Richard Gant, Cree Cicchinoand Fabrizio Guidoco-star.

Hench returns for Season 2 as showrunner and will serve as executive producer alongside Iglesias, Ron DeBlasioand Joe Meloche.

“A lot of my fans ask me what I would be if I wasn’t a stand-up comic,” Iglesias said previously. “I tell them a history teacher because I love history. So it’s great that in this sitcom, I have the opportunity to live out my alternate reality had I not become Fluffy.”

The series is part of a three project deal Iglesias signed with Netflix a year ago, which also includes a pair of stand-up specials from the veteran comic.

Imagen Foundation to Honor Luisa Leschin with Writing Honor at This Year’s Imagen Awards

Posted on August 4, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

Luisa Leschin has the writestuff…

The 66-year-old El Salvadoran & Guatemalan television producer, actress, and voice-over artistwill be honored with the Norman Lear Writer’s Award at the 34th Annual Imagen Awards, which will be held August 10 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills.

Leschin is an industry veteran who has produced shows like George Lopez, Everybody Hates Chrisand East Los High. She currently is the co-executive producer of the Netflixoriginal series Mr. Iglesias starring Gabriel Iglesiasand Sherri Shepherd.

“Norman Lear is a towering legend in the entertainment industry having create some of Hollywood’s most ground-breaking sitcoms,” said Leschin. “He has inspired every writer to think beyond the norm and is someone I have always looked up to. I’m beyond honored.”

Leschin has had her hand in nearly every aspect of the entertainment industry. She began her career as a ballet dancer then turned to acting, having appeared in many iconic TV series including Beverly Hills 90210, Love Boat, ER,Quincy, Falcon Crest, Hill St. Blues and others. On the feature side, she has appeared in Saturday Night Fever and True Confessions.

The Norman Lear Writer’s Award honors those that have exhibited efforts towards increasing diversity within all aspects of the entertainment industry. Past recipients include Gloria Calderon Kellett, Peter Murrieta, John Leguizamo, Fred Armisenand Roberto Orci.

Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias’s Netflix Series “Mr. Iglesias” to Premiere in June

Posted on April 25, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesiasis ready to lead the class…

Netflix has announced plans to globally premiere the 42-year-old Mexican American comedian/actor’s multi-camera comedy Mr. Iglesias on Friday, June 21.

Iglesias plays Gabe, a good-natured public high school teacher who works at his alma mater. Gabe takes on teaching gifted but misfit kids to not only save them from being “counseled out” by a bully bureaucrat assistant principal (Oscar Nuñez) but also to help them unlock their full potential.

Sherri Shepherd, Jacob Vargas, Maggie Geha, Richard Gant, Cree Cicchino and Fabrizio Guido co-star.

“A lot of my fans ask me what I would be if I wasn’t a stand-up comic,” Iglesias said. “I tell them a history teacher because I love history. So it’s great that in this sitcom, I have the opportunity to live out my alternate reality had I not become Fluffy.”

The series is part of a three-project deal Iglesias signed with Netflix a year ago, which also includes a pair of stand-up specials from the veteran comic.

Mr. Iglesias is created by Kevin Hench and executive produced by Iglesias, Hench, Ron DeBlasio and Joe Meloche.

The first season will be 10 episodes.

Rodriguez’s “Trial & Error” Comedy Headed to Series at NBC

Posted on May 13, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Krysta Rodriguez is headed to Trial…

NBC has picked up its Trial & Error pilot, starring the 31-year-old Latina actress and former Smash star, to series.

From Warner Bros. Television, the single-camera comedy – originally titled The Trail – had been an early favorite at NBC, which landed the pitch with a big commitment last summer and had been high on the pilot since its early stages.

Trial & Error, written by Jeff Astrof and Matt Miller, is a comedic take on the hot genre of murder trail documentaries like Making a Murderer.

In the outrageous fish-out-of-water comedy, bright-eyed New York lawyer Josh Segal heads to a tiny Southern town for his first big case. His mission: to defend an eccentric, “rollercizing” poetry professor (John Lithgow) accused of the bizarre murder of his beloved wife. Settling into his makeshift office behind a taxidermy shop and meeting his quirky team of local misfits, Josh suspects that winning his first big case will not be easy, especially when his client is always making himself look guilty.

In addition to Rodriguez and Lithgow, the series also stars Nick D’Agosto, Steven Boyer, Sherri Shepherd and Jayma Mays.

Dawson & Chris Rock’s “Top Five” to Open in Wide Release on December 12

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Rosario Dawson’s latest film is set to open in full force in mid-December…

Paramount Pictures has shifted the release of the 35-year-old Puerto Rican and Afro-Cuban American actress and Chris Rock’s acclaimed film Top Five to a wide release on December 12, instead of a previously scheduled limited bow a week earlier.

Written and directed by Rock, the film tells the story of New York City comedian-turned-film star Andre Allen (Rock), whose unexpected encounter with a journalist forces him to confront both the career that made him famous and the life he left behind.

Dawson stars as Chelsea Brown, the journalist assigned to interview Allen.

Along with Rock and Dawson, the film also stars J.B. Smoove, Gabrielle Union, Tracy Morgan, Cedric the Entertainer, Kevin Hart, Jerry Seinfeld, Adam Sandler, Whoopi Goldberg, Sherri Shepherd and Romany Malco.

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and earned critical acclaim. Days later, Paramount confirmed it had acquired the film’s worldwide distribution rights for $12.5 million.

Perez Makes Her Debut on a High-Rated Premiere Episode of ABC’s “The View”

Posted on September 17, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Rosie Perez has taken her seat at the table and her place in television history…

The 49-year-old Puerto Rican actress, dancer and community activist, who was announced as the newest member of ABC’s The View, made her debut on the daytime talker on Monday as the show’s first-ever Latina co-host.

Perez is considered the panel’s most under-the-radar addition despite being an Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe nominee. She served as a guest host on The View in February. And she’s been a guest on Rachel Maddow’s MSNBC program, formerly executive-produced by Bill Wolff, the ABC talker’s new executive producer.

Monday’s premiere, which also saw the return of the polarizing Rosie O’Donnell registered 3.902 million viewers — the show’s biggest opening audience in eight years — which is also the time when O’Donnell joined the show the first time back in 2006.

Monday’s opening was the long-running show’s second-biggest opening on record and hit a three-year high in target demos of women 18-49 and 25-54 with year-to-year opening leaps of 15% and 20%, respectively. In the younger demo, Monday’s debut logged 683,000 viewers and in the older it posted 911,000.

In addition to the two Rosies, former Republican political operative Nicolle Wallace also joins the The View. Whoopi Goldberg, meantime, is the only returning host from last season.

Wallace and Perez replaced Sherri Shepherd and Jenny McCarthy.

Perez to Serve as the First-Ever Latina Co-Host on ABC’s Long-Running “The View”

Posted on September 4, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Rosie Perez is changing the view on television… And, she’s making history in the process.

The 49-year-old Puerto Rican actress, dancer and community activist will join ABC’s The View when it returns for its eighteenth season on September 15.

Perez, who is set to appear on Broadway early next year in Larry David’s Fish in the Dark, becomes the first-ever Latina host in the daytime talk show’s history.

“Excited to be a part of an amazing show and a great team of women,” tweeted the Oscar-nominated actress after the announcement was made.

In addition to Perez, political commentator Nicolle Wallace will also join The View next season. A former communications director for George W. Bush, she appeared on the daytime talker last month as a guest co-host.

The women join a show with a very different makeup following the recent exits of Barbara Walters, Sherri Shepherd and Jenny McCarthy. Whoopi Goldberg is the only member from the previous season returning, while Rosie O’Donnell is coming back to the show after having held a seat in the 2006-2007 season.

The View has generally had five women in the mix, though Walters was not featured in every episode during her final years on the show.

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