Trailer Released for Netflix’s “That ’90s Show,” with Wilmer Valderrama Returning as Fez

Posted on December 26, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a reunion to remember for Wilmer Valderrama…

The 42-year-old Venezuelan and Colombian American actor and some of his fellow That ’70s Show cast mates are reuniting to welcome the next generation in the first trailer for Netflix’s That ’90s Show.

Season 1 premieres on January 19.

In addition to Valderrama, who portrayed Fez on That ‘70s Show, other returning stars include Debra Jo Rupp as Kitty Forman and Kurtwood Smith as Red Forman in series regular roles; Topher Grace, Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, Laura Prepon, Valderrama, and Tommy Chong will reprise their roles on the series as special guests.

The trailer also reveals the identity of Michael Kelso (Kutcher) and Jackie Burkhart’s (Kunis) son: Jay Kelso, who is played by previously announced regular Mace Coronel.

In That ’90s Show, it’s 1995 and Leia Forman (Callie Haverda) is desperate for some adventure in her life or at least a best friend who isn’t her dad (Grace). When she arrives in Point Place to visit her grandparents, Red and Kitty, Leia finds what she’s looking for right next door when she meets the dynamic and rebellious Gwen (Ashley Aufderheide).

With the help of Gwen’s friends, including her lovable brother Nate (Maxwell Donovan), his smart, laser-focused girlfriend Nikki (Sam Morelos), the sarcastic and insightful Ozzie (Reyn Doi), and the charming Jay, Leia realizes adventure could happen there just like it did for her parents all those years ago. Excited to reinvent herself, she convinces her parents to let her stay for the summer. With a basement full of teens again, Kitty is happy the Forman house is now a home for a new generation and Red is, well…Red.

The multi-cam That ’90s Show was created by That ’70s Show alum Gregg Mettler — who serves as showrunner — That ’70s Show co-creators Bonnie Turner and Terry Turner, and their daughter Lindsay Turner. The quartet executive produces alongside Rupp, Smith as well as Marcy Carsey, and Tom Werner under the Carsey-Werner Company, which produced That ’70s Show and its offshoot That ’80s Show.

Wilmer Valderrama Developing Drama Series Based on Anthony Almojera’s Memoir “Riding the Lightning”

Posted on December 20, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Wilmer Valderrama is riding high…

The 42-year-old Venezuelan and Colombian American actor is developing a drama series alongside Eric I. Lu based on Anthony Almojera’s memoir Riding the Lightning: A Year in the Life of a New York City Paramedic.

CBS Studios is the studio.

Riding the Lightning will follow a veteran team of EMS workers in New York City grappling with life-or-death emergencies while welcoming an eager group of new recruits to their tight-knit unit.

Lu will serve as the writer and executive producer; Valderrama and Kaitlin Saltzman will executive produce through his WV Entertainment. Almojera will serve as a consultant on the project.

Lu will feel right at home working on a medical drama due to his four years working as a writer and producer on Fox’s The Resident. He joined the show in Season 2 and departed after the sixth season.

Valderrama is an actor and producer who’ll next reprise the role of Fez in Netflix’s That ’70s Show spinoff That ’90s Show. The series’ freshman season premieres on January 19. Projects under development include the straight-to-series drama Keep This to Yourself for Peacock/Telemundo and a reimagined Zorro series for Disney Branded Television.

Wilmer Valderrama Open to Reprising Role of Fez in Netflix’s “That ’90s Show”

Posted on April 17, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Wilmer Valderrama may be reprising his star-making role…

The 42-year-old Venezuelan and Colombian American actor hasn’t completely ruled out reprising his character, the fan-favorite Fez, on That ’90s Show, if time permits.

Valderrama is having a jam-packed year between starring in the CBS crime procedural NCIS and preparing for the titular role on the ABC reboot of Zorro, but he he’s hoping to squeeze in a return to Point Place, Wisconsin.

“I’m a little busy now, but I support them so much. I’m rooting for them. I wish them nothing but the best,” Valderrama said in a TV Line interview.

“If the timing is right, I’d never say no,” suggesting his return to the Netflix That 70’s Show spinoff is possible.

Valderrama played Fez on the eight-season run of That ’70s Show from 1998 to 2006. In the Fox sitcom, Fez – which stands for Foreign Exchange Student – quickly became a favorite among audiences for his flirtatious antics and ambiguous ethnicity.

Earlier, casting of several lead characters on the upcoming Netflix’s That ’70s Show spinoff, That ’90s Show.

Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp have been set to anchor the follow-up show as their original roles, Red and Kitty Foreman.

The spinoff will be led by Callie Haverda, who plays Leia Forman, daughter of Eric (Topher Grace) and Donna (Laura Prepon) from the original series.

Ashley Aufderhaide, Mace Coronel, Maxwell Acee Donovan, Reyn Doi and Sam Morelos round out the cast as new teen characters opposite fellow series regulars Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp.

Other original That ’70s Show cast members, including Grace, Prepon, Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, are in negotiations to recur in the 10-episode spinoff.

That ’90s Show is set in 1995 back in Point Place, Wisconsin where Leia Forman (Haverda), daughter of Eric and Donna, is visiting her grandparents for the summer. Leia ends up bonding with the new generation of town kids under the watchful eye of Kitty (Rupp) and the stern gaze of Red (Smith). Sex, drugs and rock ’n roll never dies, it just changes clothes.

Wilmer Valderrama Acquires Rights to Dave Gutierrez’s WWII Book “Patriots from the Barrio”

Posted on September 30, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a Patriots mission for Wilmer Valderrama…

The 37-year-old Colombian and Venezuelan American actor/producer and former That ’70s Show star and his WV Entertainment have acquired film and television rights to Patriots from the Barrio, Dave Gutierrez’s 2014 book that delves into the history of a segregated U.S. Army combat unit comprised entirely of Mexican Americans from South Texas that was part of the first division to set foot in Europe in World War II.

Gutierrez’s book came about while he was researching a relative, Ramon G. Gutierrez, who during the war was captured and escaped twice, both times able to make it back across Allied lines. He later received the Silver Star and three Purple Hearts, and the Soviet Union gave him the Order of the Patriotic War. His Company E in the 36th Division fought in Italy at San Pietro in the Liri Valley, and in 1944 was nearly wiped out in the Battle of Ripaldo River, one of the U.S. Army’s biggest losses of WWII.

“During Hispanic Heritage Month, this story is especially timely, and I’m honored as a proud Latin American to amplify the courage and contributions of these incredible men,” Valderrama said.

Valderrama, who joined as a regular on CBS’ NCIS last year, also has the animated film Charming coming next year on which his WV Entertainment serves as a producer.

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.”

Valderrama to Star Opposite Meagan Good in Fox’s Drama Pilot “Minority Report”

Posted on March 3, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Wilmer Valderrama is (minority) reporting for duty…

The 35-year-old Colombian and Venezuelan American actor has been cast opposite Stark Sands and Meagan Good in Fox’s drama pilot Minority Report.

The project is a sequel to the Steven Spielberg-directed movie set 10 years after the end of Precrime in D.C.

One of the three Precogs, Dash (Sands), struggles to lead a “normal” human life but remains haunted by visions of the future when he meets a detective, Lara Vega (Good), who’s haunted by her past and just might help him find a purpose to his gift.

Valderrama, best nown for the role of Fez in the sitcom That ’70s Show, will play Will Blake, a new police detective at the precinct who fills in for Vega when she’s out on leave, and when Vega sizes him up, she decides she doesn’t like him.

The pilot, written/exec produced by Max Borenstein and directed by Mark Mylod, comes from 20th Century Fox Television, Paramount Television and Amblin Television.

This marks the latest drama turn for Valderrama. He’s also returning for Season 2 of El Rey Network’s From Dusk Til Dawn.

Peña Attached to Star in Film Adaptation of NBC’s Cult Classic “CHiPS”

Posted on September 4, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Michael Peña is letting the chips fall where they may…

Warner Bros. has set actor/comedian Dax Shepard to write, direct and star in the film adaptation of the long-running television series CHiPS, with the 38-year-old Mexican American actor attached to play Frank “Ponch” Poncherello.

CHiPS, whichran from 1977-83, centered on two officers who patrolled the highways of California on motorcycles in some scandalously tight khaki uniforms. Shepard will play Officer Jon Baker (played in the original by Larry Wilcox), with Peña starring in therole Erik Estrada originated. Rick Rosner created the NBC series.

This is the most serious Warner Bros. has been in turning CHiPS into a film. The studio attempted it years ago, after That ’70s Show star Wilmer Valderrama showed up in the office of executive Greg Silverman. Dressed in the signature tight-fitting uniform, Valderrama merely said, “Funny, right?” — and he walked out with a deal and an intention to play Ponch. But while television shows from that era like Starsky & Hutch and The Dukes Of Hazzard got movie transfers, CHiPS stalled out.

The new take is envisioned as much in the tone of Bad Boys and Lethal Weapon than a comedy. Shepard is known mostly in humorous roles and the series Parenthood. He’s actually a professional driver of racecars and motorcycles, and he expects to be performing his own riding and stunts.

Valderrama to Star in Robert Rodriguez’s “From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series”

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Prepare to witness Wilmer Valderrama from dusk ‘til dawn…

The 33-year-old Colombian and Venezuelan American actor has signed on to star in Robert Rodriguez’s television project From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series.

The 10-episode drama is based on the cult horror film by the Mexican American filmmaker and Quentin Tarantino for Rodriguez’s Latino-themed El Rey Network.

Valderrama, who rose to acclaim on Fox’s That ’70s Show, will portray enigmatic crime lord Carlos.

Valderrama, who has a first-look film and television deal with another venture targeting Latino audiences, Pantheon Films, joins a cast that includes Eiza González and Jesse Garcia.

Valderrama Returning to ABC’s “Suburgatory”

Posted on September 8, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

It appears that Wilmer Valderrama will be heading back to the ‘burbs…

The 32-year-old Venezuelan/Colombian American actor, who recently signed a deal with 20thCentury Fox Television, will be reprising his role as Yoni on Suburgatory this season, according to TVGuide.com.

When Dallas’ dog Yakult becomes extremely depressed after losing his dog walker, Dallas (Cheryl Hines) brings in Yoni to heal Yakult’s energy. Chatswin’s premier new age guru then attempts to steal Dallas back from George (Jeremy Sisto).

Valderrama’s episode is scheduled to air later in the season.

The That ’70s Show alum first appeared on the ABC comedy earlier this year when Yoni began dating Dallas after she split from her husband, Steven.

Valderrama is also set to guest-star on Raising Hope this fall as a love interest for Sabrina’s mom, played by Melanie Griffith.

He most recently co-starred on NBC’s Awake.

Season 2 of Suburgatory premieres Wednesday, October 17 at 9:30 pm ET on ABC.

Valderrama Signs Talent Deal with 20th Century Fox Television

Posted on August 24, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Wilmer Valderrama could soon return to the small screen full-time…

The 32-year-old Venezuelan/Colombian American actor has signed a one-year development and talent holding deal with 20th Century Fox Television.

As part of the deal, the studio will develop a television project for the former That ‘70s Show actor to star in and produce.

Valderrama will reportedly start meeting with writers next week to consider potential comedy and drama projects. He could also bring his own show ideas or elect to join a project already in development at the studio.

Should the project Valderrama gets attached to not get a pick up, the studio has the option to cast him in another pilot for next season.

Valderrama, who recently starred on the studio’s NBC drama series Awake, has had a similar development/holding deal in the past.

He’s already set to guest star on the 20th/Fox comedy series Raising Hope where he’ll play Melanie Griffith’s boyfriend.

“Wilmer is that great cousin who is funny and charming and talented, and you want him to come to every gathering,” said 20th Television’s head of casting Sharon Klein. “He is a breath of fresh air, all light and fun and smart.”

Along with his acting work on recent shows like Suburgatory and Are You There, Chelsea?, the actor is creator/executive producer of MTV Tr3s’ Ricardo Laguna Project and the webseries King Of The Floor for the YouTube channel NuevOn.

He’ll next be seen in Spike Lee’s The Girl Is In Trouble.

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