Justina Machado Wins Imagen Award for Best Actress – Television

Posted on August 27, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Justina Machado is celebrating her big Day…

The 33rd annual Imagen Awards were announced over the weekend, with the 45-year-old Puerto Rican actress taking home one of the big prizes.

Machado was named Best Actress – Television for her starring role on Netflix’s One Day at a Time, which earned the award for Best Primetime Program.

It’s her second consecutive award for portraying Penelope Alvarez on the series.

The Imagen Awards are presented by the Imagen Foundation, an organization that encourages and champions the positive portrayal of Latinos in entertainment.

Pixar’s Coco took the trophy for Best Feature Film and Best Director for Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina.

Other winners included Overboard stars Eugenio Derbez and Eva Longoria, as well as a tie for Best Supporting Actress in television for Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s Stephanie Beatriz and Suits actress Gina Torres.

Here’s the complete list of winners:

Best Feature Film: Coco(Disney Pixar)
Best Director: Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina, Coco(Disney Pixar)
Best Actor – Feature Film: Eugenio Derbez, Overboard (3Pas Studios and Pantelion, Lionsgate MGM)
Best Actress – Feature Film: Eva Longoria, Overboard(3Pas Studios and Pantelion, Lionsgate MGM)
Best Primetime Program – Drama: Station 19(ABC; ABC Studios)
Best Primetime Program – Comedy: One Day at a Time(Netflix)
Best Primetime Program – Specials, Movies & Mini-Series: The Long Road Home(National Geographic; Phoenix Pictures, Finngate Television, and Fuzzy Door for National Geographic)
Best Actor – Television: E.J. Bonilla, The Long Road Home(National Geographic; Phoenix Pictures, Finngate Television, and Fuzzy Door for National Geographic)
Best Actress – Television: Justina Machado, One Day at a Time(Netflix)
Best Supporting Actor – Television: Jorge Diaz, The Long Road Home(National Geographic; Phoenix Pictures, Finngate Television, and Fuzzy Door for National Geographic)
Best Supporting Actress – Television (TIE):  Stephanie Beatriz, Brooklyn Nine-Nine(Fox; Universal Television, Fremulon, Dr. Goor Productions and 3 Arts Entertainment)
Gina Torres, Suits(USA Network; Universal Cable Productions)
Best Young Actor – Television: Jenna Ortega, Stuck in the Middle(Disney Channel; Horizon Productions, Inc.)
Best Variety or Reality Show: Pati’s Mexican Table(WETA/American Public Television; Co-production of Mexican Table LLC, WETA Washington DC, and FRANK)
Best Children’s Programming: Elena of Avalor(Disney Junior; Disney Television Animation)
Best Documentary: The Pushouts(Curious Matters, LLC)
Best Informational Program (Local or National): Noticias Telemundo: “Nuestra Gente Extraordinaria” (Telemundo Network)
Best Short-Form Non-Fiction Program: ESPN Features – SC Reportajes – “Hoops Sagrado” (ESPN Deportes; ESPN)
Best On-Air Advertising: Broken Crayons (brokencrayons.us; Republica

USA Titles Gina Torres’ Suits Spinoff “Second City”

Posted on May 15, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Gina Torres is officially a City gal…

The USA Network’s upcoming Suits spinoff, starring the 49-year-old Cuban American actress, now has a title — Second City.

The offshoot of the long-running legal drama centers on Torres’ popular character, powerhouse lawyer Jessica Pearson, as she enters the dirty world of Chicago politics.

Torres announced the title of the show at NBCU’s upfront in Manhattan, while introducing footage from the recent Suits season finale, which served as a pilot for the new series.

Suits and Second City will co-exist as the mothership series recently was renewed for an eighth season without two of its original stars, Patrick J. Adams and future British royal Meghan Markle. Returning cast members Gabriel Macht, Rick Hoffman and Sarah Rafferty will be joined by Dulé Hill, who is being promoted to a series regular after recurring this season, and new addition Katherine Heigl.

The backdoor pilot was written by Suits creator and executive producer Aaron Korsh and executive producer Daniel Arkin, and was directed by Suits alum Anton Cropper.

The new series, which hails from Universal Cable Prods., is executive produced by Korsh, showrunner Arkin, Torres and Suits executive producers Doug Liman, David Bartis and Gene Klein of Hypnotic.

Torres Closes Deal to Star in Potential “Suits” Spinoff Series

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

It’s official… Gina Torres is suiting up for a spinoff…

The 47-year-old Cuban American actress has finalized a deal with the studio behind the hit USA legal drama series Suits, Universal Cable Productions, to headline and produce a potential spinoff series centered on her Suits character, uber attorney and office style icon Jessica Pearson.

The project will be shepherded by Suits creator/showrunner Aaron Korsh, whose deal is still being worked out.

The new series, in the very early stages of development, is based on an idea Torres brought to UCP, with Torres’ deal closing quickly as she was fielding offers for broadcast pilots.

“I’m beyond grateful for this opportunity and the level of confidence Bonnie Hammer, Jeff Wachtel and everyone at UCP have in me and the potential of this project,” Torres said in a statement to Deadline. “Can’t wait to get started.”

Korsh will serve as an executive producer and showrunner on the spinoff series, while maintaining his showrunner duties on Suits.

“Gina had the idea and went to the studio. She pitched an idea of what happens if we follow Jessica into the future a little bit,” Korsh told Deadline. “She has a specific take on it that we’re still mulling over right now. They were excited about it, I was excited about it, and we decided to move forward with thinking about what it is.”

Torres’ deal comes as Jessica Pearson made a surprise return to Suits in the final minutes of Suits’ Season 6 finale. It was Torres’ first time back on the show since exiting as a series regular in the Season 6 summer finale in September.

Torres In Talks with USA Network to Headline Potential “Suits” Spinoff

Posted on February 25, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Gina Torres may be suiting up for a spinoff…

The 47-year-old Cuban American actress is in early talks to headline a new series for USA Network based on her former Suits character.

While a Jessica Pearson (Torres) spinoff had been talked about on- and off- for more than a year as USA’s interest in an offshoot has grown, conversations have reportedly heated up recently as Torres has been fielding broadcast pilot offers for a second straight year.

Last year, she was cast as the lead in the ABC drama pilot The Death of Eva Sofia Valdez, which didn’t move forward, but the threat of potentially losing Torres for years, if the pilot she chooses this time around becomes a successful series, is likely motivating USA and Suits producer Universal Cable Productions to act now.

Deadline reports that negotiations are in preliminary stages, with no deals in place, and no fully formed concept yet. But the new series would center on Torres’ intrepid and stylish attorney character, Jessica Pearson.

Torres’ Jessica Pearson was one of Suits’ most popular characters. Torres left the show midway through the current sixth season after approaching Korsh earlier with the request because it was getting difficult for her to be away from her family, who are based in Los Angeles, since Suits films in Toronto.

She has been selective in her post-Suits choices, currently doing a season-long arc on ABC drama The Catch, which films in Los Angeles.

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).

Torres Lands Recurring Role on ABC’s “The Catch”

Posted on September 15, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Gina Torres has landed The Catch of the day…

The 47-year-old Cuban American actress has landed a recurring role on the second season of the ABC drama series The Catch, from Shonda Rhimes’ ShondaLand and ABC Studios.

As usual with ShondaLand shows, no details about Torres’ character have been revealed.

Executive produced by Rhimes, The Catch centers on Alice Vaughan (Mireille Enos), a private investigator for high-end clients. Torres joins T.R. Knight, who also was recently cast in a recurring role.

Torres just wrapped her starring role as Jessica Pearson on USA Network’s Suits in this week’s Season 6 summer finale, having been with the legal drama series since its launch.

At ABC and ABC Studios, Torres toplined the drama pilot The Death of Eva Sofia Valdez this past season and previously recurred on Revenge.

Her other notable television roles include the shotgun-toting mercenary Zoe Washburne on Joss Whedon’s Firefly, (she also played the character in Whedon’s feature Serenity), the soul-eating Jasmine on Whedon’s Angel and a recurring gig on NBC’s Hannibal.

Torres film work includes The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions and I Think I Love My Wife opposite Chris Rock.

USA Network Renews Torres’ “Suits” for a Seventh Season

Posted on August 4, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Gina Torres is suiting up for seven…

USA Network has renewed its longest-running original scripted series Suits, starring the 47-year-old Cuban American actress, for a 16-season seventh season for a premiere in 2017.

The news comes just three episodes into the legal drama’s Season 6 run and will push Suits through the 100-episode mark, the fifth USA scripted series to do that after Monk, Burn Notice, Psych and Royal Pains.

Suits, from Universal Cable Prods., continues to be a solid ratings performer, averaging more than 3 million total viewers and 1.1 million P18-49 in Live+3 in its sixth season to date. That is off slightly from Season 5.

The current season focuses on Mike (Patrick J. Adams) facing the tough reality of prison life, with his relationship with his fiancée Rachel (Meghan Markle), and the future of Pearson Specter Litt hanging in the balance. Gabriel Macht, Sarah Rafferty and Rick Hoffman also star.

The series, which airs Wednesdays at 9:00 pm, was created by Aaron Korsh.

USA Network to Premiere Season 6 of Torres’ “Suits” in July

Posted on May 7, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Gina Torres will be suiting up again this this summer…

USA Network will premiere Season 6 of Suits, starring the 46-year-old Cuban American actress, on July 13.

The drama series will return at 9:00 pm ET on Wednesday, July 13, serving as a lead-in for Season 2 of hacker drama Mr. Robot.

Everything changed last season for the nattily attired lawyers at Manhattan’s Pearson Specter Litt. The new season of Suits picks up after last year’s cliffhanger finale.

Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams), the not-so-legitimate associate of legendary attorney Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht), is in prison. He took a plea deal to spare his colleagues and is beginning a two-year stretch, confronted with the harsh realities of life inside.

Meanwhile, the once-bustling Pearson Specter Litt offices are a ghost town: The partners have defected, leaving Harvey, Jessica (Torres), Louis (Rick Hoffman), Donna (Sarah Rafferty) and Rachel (Meghan Markle) to pick up the pieces. But the firm’s troubles are far from over and they will have to deal with the fallout from Mike’s crime before they can even begin to rebuild.

Season 6 will feature recurring guest stars including Erik Palladino, Paul Schulze and Malcolm Jamal Warner.

Torres to Star in Title Role in ABC’s Drama Pilot “The Death of Eva Sofia Valdez”

Posted on March 5, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Death has knocked on Gina Torres’ door…

The 46-year-old Cuban American actress and Suits star has been cast as the lead in ABC’s drama pilot The Death of Eva Sofia Valdez.

Don’t despair! Torress’ casting shouldn’t impact her status on the popular USA drama series, which just ended its fifth season and has been renewed for Season 6. Torres is expected to remain a regular through season 6, fulfilling her six-year contract, with her character likely getting phased out.

Written by Cuban-American playwright Charise Castro Smith, The Death of Eva Sofia Valdez is described as a sexy revenge drama with supernatural elements and Macbeth with a Cuban twist.

It centers on Eva Sofia Valdez (Torres), an immigrant who rose from rags to riches and is a celebrated Miami entrepreneur and a champion for immigrant rights. But the success of this ” modern-day Havana-born Cleopatra” is fueled by an insatiable ambition that could destroy her family, a vendetta against the lover who betrayed her, and ghosts from the past who threaten to reveal the dark sacrifices Eva Sofia made to attain the American Dream.

Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters executive produce alongside Castro Smith for ABC Studios.

This would mark the first series lead role for the Firefly and 24 alumna who has been a standout on Suits as the smart and decisive Jessica Pearson. She also recurred on NBC’s Hannibal and ABC’s Revenge.

USA Network Schedules the Return of Torres’ Drama Series “Suits” for January

Posted on November 4, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Gina Torres is suiting up soon…

USA Network has slotted a January premiere for the mid-season return of drama series Suits, starring the 45-year-old Cuban American actress.

The first of the remaining six episodes of the fifth season of Suits will debut Wednesday, January 27 at 10:00 pm PM.

In Suits, in the wake of his arrest for conspiracy to commit fraud, Mike (Patrick J. Adams) finds himself at the center of an investigation – led by a ruthless government prosecutor, Assistant US Attorney Anita Gibbs (Leslie Hope) – that threatens to bring down the whole firm.

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