Netflix Releases Final Trailer for Fourth & Final Season of David Castañeda’s “The Umbrella Academy”

Posted on July 10, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

It’s one final world-saving mission for David Castañeda.

Netflix has released the final trailer for the fourth and final season of its time-travel drama The Umbrella Academy, starring the 34-year-old Mexican American actor.

The trailer offers a glimpse of Nick Offerman’s character as Dr. Gene Thibedeau.

“The world we live in is one big phony baloney lie,” Offerman’s Thibedeau is heard in a voiceover. “That tentacle boy is the key to understanding all the timelines.”

Tentacle boy is an apparent reference to Justin H. Min’s Ben Hargreeves, who died during a mission but whose storyline appears to be a focus in Season 4.

Created by Steve Blackman, based on Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá’s Dark Horse comic book series, The Umbrella Academy’s final chapter launches August 8 on Netflix.

In the upcoming final season, the Hargreeves siblings have scattered after the climactic showdown at the Hotel Oblivion led to a complete reset of their timeline. Stripped of their powers, each is left to fend for themselves and find a new normal — with wildly varying degrees of success. Yet the trappings of their uncanny new world prove too hard to ignore for very long. Their father Reginald, alive and well, has stepped out of the shadows and into the public eye, overseeing a powerful and nefarious business empire. A mysterious association known as The Keepers holds clandestine meetings believing the reality they’re living in is a lie and a great reckoning is coming. As these strange new forces conspire around them, the Umbrella Academy must come together one last time — and risk upsetting the shaky peace they’ve all endured so much to secure — to finally set things right.

In addition to Castañeda and Min, Season 4 returning cast includes Elliot Page, Tom Hopper, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan, Aidan Gallagher, Ritu Arya, Colm Feore, Megan Mullally and David Cross.

The Umbrella Academy is produced by UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, for Netflix.

UCP Extends Overall Development Deal with Tanya Saracho

Posted on January 22, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Tanya Saracho is getting an extension…

UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, has extended an overall development deal with the Latina Mexican-American actress, playwright, dramaturge and screenwriter.

She will develop and produce original projects for broadcast, cable and streaming platforms under the agreement.

Saracho is currently in development on several projects including the series The Wild Wild, inspired by the lives of Annie Oakley, America’s most famous sharpshooter, and the renowned trick-rider Señorita Rosalie, who were both stars of the famed Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.

She’ll serve as co-creator and executive producer of the project along with Jenniffer Gomez, with Jamie Babbit attached to direct and executive produce.

“It’s a pleasure and honor working with Tanya and her company, Ojalá. Their creative brilliance and entrepreneurial approach to producing and writing is so rare, and we are thrilled to continue our partnership,” said Beatrice Springborn, President, UCP and Universal International Studios, in a statement to Deadline.

“I am grateful to continue my relationship with UCP and be able to keep crafting the stories that matter most to me – brown, queer narratives which are still missing from the landscape and are so important to tell, and which UCP has proven a commitment to nurturing,” shared Saracho.

Saracho most recently served as creator, showrunner and executive producer of the critically acclaimed series Vida on Starz. The show featured all Latine writers and directors, including Saracho, who made her TV directorial debut. Vida won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comedy Series and was also honored by the National Hispanic Media Coalition with the 2019 Impact Award.

Additionally, the series won the Audience Award at the 2018 SXSW Film Festival and made its Season 2 premiere as an Official Selection of the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival.

She was the recipient of the Norman Lear Writers Award at the Imagen Awards in 2021 and was honored by the LGBTQ California Legislative Caucus as their 2020 Pride Month Honoree. She received the Rising Star Award at the Outfest Legacy Awards and was awarded the New Voice Award by Final Draft.

Saracho co-founded the Untitled Latinx Project, whose mission is to increase Latine representation in television through content created by Latine writers, along with co-founding the Writers Access Support Staff Training Program to help increase representation and opportunities for underrepresented communities.

In addition, Saracho launched the Ojalá Ignition Lab in 2021, aimed to nurture, amplify and empower intersectional Latine voices.

Edgar Ramirez to Star on Season Two of Peacock’s Anthology Series “Dr. Death”

Posted on November 9, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Death becomes Edgar Ramirez.

The 45-year-old Venezuelan actor will star in Peacock’s Dr. Death for the anthology series’ second season.

The Emmy-nominee will portray Paolo Macchiarini, the focus of Season 2 which is based on the third season of the Wondery podcast of the same name. Macchiarini is a visionary surgeon whose innovative organ transplants seduced the global medical community. When his fiancé, Benita Alexander, and a few suspicious colleagues launch investigations into his botched surgeries, cracks start to appear in Paolo’s charming persona. As Benita learns how far Paolo will go to protect his secrets, a group of doctors halfway across the world makes shocking discoveries of their own that call everything about him into question.

Season 2 hails from showrunner, writer, and executive producer Ashley Michel Hoban. Patrick Macmanus, who served as showrunner, writer, and EP of the show’s freshman season, will executive produce Season 2 via his Littleton Road Productions banner, under his overall deal with UCP.

Jennifer Morrison and Laura Belsey will split directing duties. Morrison is set to direct episodes one to four; Belsey will direct 5-8.

Ramirez most recently portrayed Detective Joe Mendoza in the HBO miniseries The Undoing alongside Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant. He will lead the Netflix drama series Florida Man in the role of Mike Valentine.

He’s most notably known for his portrayal of Gianni Versace in Ryan Murphy’s The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, which earned Ramirez an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series. He was also nominated for an Emmy for his portrayal of the titular character in the miniseries Carlos in 2011.

Netflix Renews David Castañeda’s “The Umbrella Academy” for Fourth & Final Season

Posted on August 28, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

David Castañeda has one final year at the Academy…

Netflix has picked up a fourth season of The Umbrella Academy, starring the 32-year-old Mexican-American actor. It will be the superhero series’ last.

The renewal comes a month after the Season 3 premiere of the comic-based drama, which opened at No. 1 in Netflix’s English-language TV weekly rankings with 124.5M hours viewed and spent five weeks in the Top 10.

The new season of the series, produced by UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, has been largely written, according to Deadline.com.

Steve Blackman, who has steered The Umbrella Academy from the start, is returning as executive producer and showrunner.

The Umbrella Academy cast members set to reprise their roles in Season 4 include Elliot Page, Tom Hopper, Castañeda, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan, Aidan Gallagher, Justin H. Min, Ritu Arya, and Colm Feore.

Not on the list are Season 3 series regulars Adam Godley, Genesis Rodriguez and Britne Oldford whose characters’ fates were left uncertain in the Season 3 finale.

“I’m so excited that the incredibly loyal fans of The Umbrella Academy will be able to experience the fitting end to the Hargreeves siblings’ journey we began five years ago,” Blackman said. “But before we get to that conclusion, we’ve got an amazing story ahead for season four, one that will have fans on the edge of their seats until the final minutes.”

The Umbrella Academy launched in 2019 as one of Netflix’s Top 3 most popular series of the year.

Tanya Saracho Developing Starz’s Half-Hour Drama “Lovesong”

Posted on May 19, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Tanya Saracho is seeing Starz again…

The Mexican American screenwriter, who created the network’s acclaimed series Vida, is currently developing the half-hour drama Lovesong for Starz.

Musician and actor Johnny Flynn will co-executive produce the project and serve as composer.

Lovesong follows two Mexican American childhood friends living in London as they both become entangled in a torturous love triangle with the same captivating singer-songwriter. A love story born out of betrayal and paid for with the cost of friendship. Steeped in the East London music scene, the series embarks on a cinematic contemplation of love, sex, identity, purpose, and the price of happiness.

The announcement came ahead of Starz’ inaugural #TakeTheLead summit on Thursday that will feature Saracho’s participation in the “Power of Allyship” panel about fighting for representation.

“We are beyond thrilled to partner with Tanya to bring her bold and tantalizing love story to life,” said Kathryn Busby, President, Original Programming, Starz. “Throughout her career and from Vida to Lovesong on Starz, her dedication to Latine representation embodies the spirit of #TakeTheLead.”

Through her overall deal with UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, Saracho will executive produce Lovesong, along with co-executive producer Christine Dávila, under her production banner Ojalá Productions.

“This story is very much a child of the pandemic, born from those times when we were yearning for love stories to soothe the soul and light the way through the dark times. This is also when the light of Johnny Flynn’s music found me and lit the way into the story. While I spent five months in London, Johnny was generous enough to lead me through his lived experience of the East London music scene, which now comprises the world of ‘Lovesong,’” said Saracho. “It’s wonderful to be coming home to Starz to conceive of my new story of love, a place that truly nurtured and supported me while I crafted the love story of the two Hernandez sisters in Vida, and I couldn’t be happier to return to bring this new narrative to life.”

Lovesong will be produced by UCP and Lionsgate Television for Starz.

Vida ran on Starz for three seasons.

Peacock to Premiere “Queer as Folk” Reboot, Starring Johnny Sibilly, in June

Posted on May 19, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

This upcoming Pride Month will be extra special for Johnny Sibilly…

Along with releasing the first official trailer for the 34-year-old Cuban and Dominican American actor’s Queer As Folk reboot, Peacock has announced plans to premiere the series on Thursday, June 9.

The series, a vibrant reimagining of the groundbreaking British series created by Russell T. Davies, explores a diverse group of friends in New Orleans whose lives are transformed in the aftermath of a tragedy.

From creator Stephen Dunn, Queer As Folk stars Devin Way, Fin Argus, Jesse James Keitel, CG, Sibilly and Ryan O’Connell. Recurring cast includes Kim Cattrall, Juliette Lewis, Ed Begley Jr., Chris Renfro, and Nyle DiMarco, among others.

Lee Eisenberg, Emily Brecht, original British series creator Russell T. Davies, Nicola Shindler, serve as executive producers, and Louise Pedersen on behalf of All3 Media International, which distributes the format and the original British series produced by Red Productions for Channel 4.

Creator, writer, and executive producer Stephen Dunn will direct the pilot and other episodes, while Jaclyn Moore will act as writer and executive producer. UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, is named producer on the show.

Netflix to Premiere Season 3 of David Castañeda’s “The Umbrella Academy” in June

Posted on March 14, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

David Castañeda is heading back to the Academy this summer…

Netflix has set a June premiere date for Season 3 of superhero series The Umbrella Academy, starring the 32-year-old Mexican American actor.

Series creator/showrunner Steve Blackman announced the news Sunday at SXSW that the third season will debut globally on Wednesday, June 22. The streamer also released two first-look photos and a teaser.

Based on the comic book series by Gerard Way, The Umbrella Academy revolves around a dysfunctional family of adopted sibling superheroes who reunite to solve the mystery of their father’s death and the threat of an imminent apocalypse.

In Season 3, after putting a stop to 1963’s doomsday, the Umbrella Academy return home to the present, convinced they prevented the initial apocalypse and fixed this godforsaken timeline once and for all. But after a brief moment of celebration, they realize things aren’t exactly (okay, not at all) how they left them. Enter the Sparrow Academy. Smart, stylish, and about as warm as a sea of icebergs, the Sparrows immediately clash with the Umbrellas in a violent face-off that turns out to be the least of everyone’s concerns. Navigating challenges, losses, and surprises of their own – and dealing with an unidentified destructive entity wreaking havoc in the Universe (something they may have caused) — now all they need to do is convince Dad’s new and possibly better family to help them put right what their arrival made wrong. Will they find a way back to their pre-apocalyptic lives? Or is this new world about to reveal more than just a hiccup in the timeline?

In addition to Castañeda, who portrays Diego Hargreeves (The Kraken/Number 2), the cast also includes Elliot Page, Tom Hopper, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan, Aidan Gallagher, Justin H. Min, Colm Feore, Ritu Arya, Justin Cornwell, Britne Oldford, Jake Epstein, Genesis Rodriguez, Cazzie David and Javon ‘Wanna’ Walton.

The Umbrella Academy is produced by UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, for Netflix.

Season 3 is executive produced by Blackman, Jeff F. King, who also directs, Keith Goldberg, Mike Richardson and Jeremy Webb. Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá co-executive produce. Steve Wakefield serves as producer.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Umbrella Academy (@umbrellaacad)

Luis Gerardo Méndez to Star in Peacock’s True-Crime Love Story Series “The Resort”

Posted on January 28, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Luis Gerardo Méndez is resort bound…

The 39-year-old Mexican actor and producer will star in Peacock’s The Resort, a true-crime love story from writer Andy Siara, Sam Esmail and UCP.

Méndez, who has starred in Narcos: Mexico and Murder Mystery, will star alongside Nina Bloomgarden and Gabriela Cartol as series regulars, and Debby Ryan, Dylan Baker, Michael Hitchcock and Becky Ann Baker will recur in the ensemble series.

Written by Siara, The Resort is a multi-generational, coming-of-age love story disguised as a fast-paced mystery about the disappointment of time. An anniversary trip puts a marriage to the test when the couple finds themselves embroiled in one of the Mayan Riviera’s most bizarre unsolved mysteries that took place fifteen years prior.

Méndez will play Baltasar Frías, the head of security at the Oceana Vista Resort in 2007. He’s always in detective mode, quietly suspicious of all activity, and somehow connected to all of the unusual events in 2007.

Cartol is Luna, the concierge at the Emma and Noah’s resort. Prior to becoming the concierge, Luna was in housekeeping at the Oceana Vista Resort back in 2007 prior to its abrupt closure.

The series is produced by UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group and Esmail Corp.

Siara will write and executive produce the series alongside Allison Miller.

Ben Sinclair will also direct and executive produce episodes 1-4.

Rosanny Zayas to Star in Netflix’s Psychological Thriller Limited Series “Echoes”

Posted on August 12, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Rosanny Zayas is making (sound) waves…

The Afro-Latina actress will star as a series regular in Echoes, Netflix’s psychological thriller limited series from 13 Reasons Why showrunner Brian Yorkey.

Zayas joins a cast that includes Tony Award winner Ali Stroker, Karen Robinson, Michelle Monaghan, Matt Bomer and Daniel Sunjata.

Created and written by Vanessa Gazy, Echoes is a mystery thriller about identical twins Leni and Gina, both portrayed by Monaghan, who share a dangerous secret. Since they were children, Leni and Gina secretly have swapped lives, culminating in a double life as adults: They share two homes, two husbands and a child, but everything in their perfectly choreographed world is thrown into disarray when one of the sisters goes missing.

Zayas is Deputy Paula Martinez. She has enjoyed her first year working in the sleepy town of Mt. Echo where the crimes are as mild as the weather. But when her new friend Leni disappears, the true character of Mt. Echo reveals itself—and she finds herself caught in the middle.

Zayas currently stars on Season 2 of Showtime’s The L Word: Generation Q. She will next be seen in Sam Esmail’s limited series Angelyne for Peacock and UCP. She previously recurred on Orange Is The New Black, Modern Persuasion, The Code and Instinct.

Tanya Saracho to Make Film Directorial Debut with Adaptation of Her Off Broadway Play “Mala Hierba”

Posted on July 7, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Tanya Saracho is in the (bad) weeds…

The Mexican-American actress, playwright, dramaturge, screenwriter and Vida creator is bringing her 2014 Off Broadway play Mala Hierba to the big screen, and she’ll be directing the film adaptation of her acclaimed project.

In her film directorial debut, Saracho has teamed up with Anonymous Content to adapt the Texas border town set drama.

The film version of Mala Hierba will be produced by AC Studios, with Dawn Olmstead, David Levine, and Whitney Dibo overseeing the project for outfit.

Former Vida EP Stephanie Langhoff, and Christine Davila, head of development and production at Saracho’s Ojala Productions, will serve as producers on Mala Hierba.

Originally opening at Second Stage Uptown nearly six years ago, the play unravels the coiffured life of a Lone Star State trophy wife who begins to see the cracks in her life of wealth and privilege as her first and perhaps true love reappears. The possibility of a renewed life together for the two women forces the Liliana character to make a searing decision about what she wants and who she is.

The stage production of Mala Hierba was directed by Jerry Ruiz and starred Marta Milans, Sandra Marquez, and Ana Nogueira in the primary roles.

The union with Anonymous comes just over a couple of weeks after the active Saracho launched the Ojalá Ignition Lab in conjunction with UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group.

Part of the acclaimed playwright and filmmaker’s 2020 inked development deal with the studio, the incubator program for Latinx voices will provide five writers and their own proposed projects with mentoring from experienced showrunners and EPs, including self-described “den mother” Saracho and an extended network to draw on for the future.

Since Vida, which won a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comedy Series, finished its three-season stint on Starz in May 2020, Saracho stayed in Britain during the pandemic to work with musician and Lovesick actor Johnny Flynn for an upcoming project.

Hispanically Yours

Celebrating the Latino Influence

Tag Archives: UCP