Floriana Lima to Star in NBC’s Drama Pilot “Blank Slate”

Posted on March 28, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Floriana Lima is going blank…

The 41-year-old part-Spanish American actress has been cast as one of the leads in NBC’s Blank Slate, a drama pilot from Dean Georgaris, John Fox, Davis Entertainment and Universal Television.

The series is created by Georgaris and Fox, written by Georgaris and will be directed by Richard Shepard.

Blank Slate draws some parallels to Davis Entertainment’s long-running NBC series The Blacklist.

In Blank Slate, Special Agent Alexander McCoy is a legend in law enforcement, the agent we all hope is out there, the agent we’d all like to be. The only issue is — he doesn’t actually exist. He’s a ghost, a phantom. So what happens when a man claiming to be Alexander McCoy walks through the door with all of his skills and knowledge but with an agenda nobody will see coming?

Lima plays Maya Logan, the seasoned head of a team of Homeland Security agents who’s always a step ahead of everyone else.

Georgaris executive produces via his Georgaris Inc. banner; John Davis and John Fox executive produce for Davis Entertainment. Shepard also executive produces. Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, is the studio.

Lima recently starred in the third season of ABC’s drama A Million Little Things.

She previously was seen in the second season of Netflix and Marvel’s The Punisher, opposite Jon Bernthal.

She joined the CW’s Supergirl in the second season, starring as special crimes investigator Maggie Sawyer, one of the first openly gay characters in mainstream comics.

Tyler Alvarez to Star in Netflix’s Workplace Comedy Series “Blockbuster”

Posted on March 3, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Tyler Alvarez is the new kid on the block(buster)…

The 24-year-old Puerto Rican and Cuban-American actor has joined the cast of Blockbuster, Netflix’s upcoming single-camera workplace comedy.

Alvarez is part of a roster of new cast additions that includes Madeleine Arthur and Olga Merediz as series regulars. JB Smoove and Kamaia Fairburn have also joined the cast in recurring roles.

They join previously announced leads Randall Park and Melissa Fumero.

Blockbuster, from Universal Television, is a 10-episode ensemble comedy that takes place in the last Blockbuster Video store in America. It explores what it takes – and, more specifically, who it takes – for a small business to succeed against all odds.

Alvarez will play Carlos. As a first-generation son of immigrants, he learned English by watching movies, and they quickly became his love language. He dreams of being a filmmaker, but can’t help but feel like he owes it to his parents to live the American life they planned for him.

Merediz will play Connie. She works at Blockbuster to make friends, not money. She’s the unintentionally blunt mother figure to not just the employees, but many of the Blockbuster regulars.

The series is created by Vanessa Ramos, with David Caspe and Jackie Clarke also serving as writers/executive producers. John Davis and John Fox executive produce for Davis Entertainment. Payman Benz will direct and co-executive produce four episodes, including the pilot.

Alvarez’s previous credits include Never Have I Ever and American Vandal.

Merediz previously appeared in In the Heights and Encanto.

Amazon Studios Renews Meagan Good’s Comedy “Harlem” for Second Season

Posted on February 18, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Meagan Good isn’t leaving Harlem anytime soon…

Amazon Studios has renewed Tracy Oliver’s comedy Harlem, starring the 40-year-old part-Afro-Puerto Rican actress, for a second season.

The Prime Video series hails from Amazon Studios, Amy Poehler’s Paper Kite Productions and Universal Television, where Poehler is under a deal.

Created, written, and executive produced by Oliver, Harlem follows four stylish and ambitious best girlfriends in Harlem, the mecca of Black culture in America. Camille (Good) is a popular young anthropology professor at Columbia University who has an extensive knowledge of the dating norms of many cultures but has a hard time navigating her own love life. Tye (Jerrie Johnson) is the successful creator of queer dating app who prefers keeping vulnerability — and romantic partners — at arm’s length. Quinn (Grace Byers) is a hopeless romantic and trust-fund fashion designer trying to give back to the world while running a struggling business. Angie (Shoniqua Shandai) is a confident, vibrant and filter-free singer and actress who also lives rent-free and fabulously with Quinn. Together, they level up from their 20s into the next phase of their careers, relationships and big-city dreams.

Season 2 will return with its core group of four ambitious girlfriends, continuing to level up in New York’s vibrant Harlem.

Harlem sparked social media buzz when it premiered late last year, with much of the conversation centered on celebrating the series for highlighting Black joy. Harlem has since scored a GLAAD Award nomination for its inclusive LGBTQIA+ storyline featuring a queer character in one of the lead roles, as well as an NAACP Award nomination for its authentic representation of Black culture.

“When I walked into a bar in Harlem and overheard folks excitedly discussing the show, I knew we had a hit,” said Oliver. “Harlem has resonated with so many people, and I’m beyond grateful to Amazon for giving it a second season. Most of all, I’m excited to reunite with the beautiful cast.”

“Culturally relevant, critically acclaimed and hysterical, Harlem and Tracy Oliver accomplished something very special with the first season of this show,” said Vernon Sanders, head of global television at Amazon Studios. “Tackling real-life strife with levity and laughs, the show means so much to our global Prime Video customers and perfectly fits the types of stories we aim to tell. We look forward to following the Season 2 journey of Camille, Quinn, Angie and Tye and giving fans more reasons to laugh out loud as they cheer on these four dynamic Black women doing it their way.”

Melissa Fumero to Star Opposite Randall Park in Netflix’s Workplace Comedy Series “Blockbuster”

Posted on February 16, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Melissa Fumero has landed a blockbuster role…

The 39-year-old Cuban American actress and former Brooklyn Nine-Nine star will appear as the female lead opposite Randall Park in Blockbuster, Netflix’s upcoming single-camera workplace comedy.

Fumero will play Eliza, a dedicated mother whose marriage to her high school sweetheart is on the rocks. She left Harvard after one semester to start a family and now works at Blockbuster alongside Timmy (Park) as his trusty Number 2 — and maybe more.

The series is created by Vanessa Ramos, with David Caspe and Jackie Clarke also serving as writers/executive producers. John Davis and John Fox executive produce for Davis Entertainment. Payman Benz will direct and co-executive produce four episodes, including the pilot.

Fumero is segueing to Blockbuster from,Brooklyn Nine-Nine, on which Ramos did a stint as a writer-producer and Benz as an episodic director.

Fumero starred as Det. Amy Santiago on the cop comedy, which recently wrapped its eighth and final season on NBC.

She is shooting Jim Mahoney’s independent comedy feature Bar Fight, alongside Rachel Bloom.

Fumero’s credits also include the voice of Melissa in Marvel’s animated series M.O.D.O.K. for Hulu, a recurring role on Netflix’s One Day at a Time and a guest-starring role on HBO’s Room 104.

NBC Renews Nicholas Gonzalez’s Disaster Drama “La Brea” for Second Season

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Nicholas Gonzalez’s disaster continues…

NBC has renewed is disaster drama series La Brea for a sophomore run after the ratings success of the Natalie Zea-fronted thriller starring the 45-year-old Mexican American actor.

La Brea stars Gonzales, Zea, Eoin Macken, Jack Martin, Zyra Gorecki, Jon Seda, Chiké Okonkwo, Karina Logue, Veronica St. Clair, Rohan Mirchandaney, Nicholas Gonzalez, Lily Santiago, Chloe De Los Santos and Josh McKenzie.

The series is centered on a mother and son separated from father and daughter after a massive sinkhole mysteriously opens up in Los Angeles.

La Brea hails from writer David Appelbaum, who executive produces with Avi Nir, Alon Shtruzman, Peter Traugott, Rachel Kaplan, Steven Lilien, Bryan Wynbrandt and Ken Woodruff.

It is produced by Universal Television in association with Keshet Studios.

The show is the No 1 new show of the fall in the adults 18-49 demographic and NBC said that it had reached more than 47 million viewers across linear and digital platforms.

The pilot, which aired September 28, stands at a 3.6 in 18-49 and 19.8M viewers.

It has also become the best launch of any new NBC show on the network’s sister streamer Peacock and is the No. 3 new show of the season in total Live+3 viewers after NCIS: Hawai’i and FBI International.

Keshet Studios president Traugott says he was pleased with the amount of marketing support surrounding the show, which took a long time to make it to air as a result of the pandemic — it was in the middle of producing its pilot when Covid-19 hit and was picked up straight-to-series in January 2021.

“The only thing worse than a network not liking you show is that they love it so much that there’s that pressure. We have no control with the ratings,” he added. “NBC and Universal have been so supportive because La Brea has the potential to draw in audiences, and if they turn up, the pressure is on us to keep bringing them back.”

Diany Rodriguez to Appear on Season Nine of NBC’s “The Blacklist”

Posted on October 18, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Diany Rodriguez is makin’ the (Black)list…

The Latina actress has joined the cast of NBC’s long-running drama The Blacklist for its upcoming ninth season of the series.

Rodriguez, who has appeared on Law & Order: Organized Crime, will appear in a heavily recurring role.

Rodriguez will play Weecha Xiu. With a tough physical presence and a hardened demeanor, Weecha is more than capable of defending herself against anyone who might threaten her or her associates.

The Blacklist, starring James Spader, Diego Klattenhoff and Amir Arison, will jump forward two years in its season 9 return airing on October 21 (8/7c) on NBC.

In The Blacklist, in the two years following the death of Elizabeth Keen, Raymond Reddington (Spader) and the members of the FBI Task Force have disbanded – their lives now changed in unexpected ways and with Reddington’s whereabouts unknown. Finding themselves each at a crossroads, a common purpose compels them to renew their original mission: to take down dangerous, vicious and eccentric Blacklisters.

The Blacklist is produced by Sony Pictures Television Studios and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.

Rodriguez is best known for her role as A.D.A. Maria Delgado on NBC’s Law & Order: Organized Crime. She will soon be seen opposite Eugenio Debrez in Hulu’s upcoming rom-com The Valet.

Other credits include HBO’s The Outsider, Showtime’s Ray Donovan and NBC’s New Amsterdam, among others.

E.J. Bonilla to Star in the NBC Drama Pilot “Getaway”

Posted on July 29, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

It’s getaway time for E.J. Bonilla…

The 32-year-old Puerto Rican actor has been cast as a series regular in the NBC drama pilot Getaway, which hails from The Blacklist duo John Davis and John Fox and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.

Bonilla will star opposite Matt Long, Marg Helgenberger, Jasmine Mathews and Annie Ilonzeh on the pilot.

Written and executive produced by JJ Bailey and Moira Kirland, Getaway centers on a destination wedding at an isolated luxury resort that quickly descends into chaos after a group of dangerous criminals takes the island hostage. The small group of guests, led by a fearless female Army vet (Ilonzeh), will do everything they can to stay alive.

Bonilla will play Rafi Salinas. Rafi claims to be a fisherman on the run with his friends from a gang of cartel members, but he’s hiding a dark secret that will put everyone at the resort in danger.

Bonilla is a series regular on the upcoming FX on Hulu series The Old Man, whose Season 1 production is currently on hold while star Jeff Bridges undergoes cancer treatment. Bonilla will reportedly be able to fulfill his obligation to the FX series before he segues to Getaway should the pilot go to series.

Bonilla most recently appeared in Nat Geo’s miniseries The Long Road Home and was previously a series regular on the final season of A&E’s Unforgettable.

NBC to Premiere Jon Seda’s New Drama Series “La Brea” in September

Posted on July 18, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Jon Seda will be officially sinking into his new project in September…

NBC has set the fall premiere date for its new drama series La Brea, starring the 50-year-old Puerto Rican actor, for Tuesday, September 28 at 9:00 pm ET.

In La Brea, written by David Appelbaum, when a massive sinkhole mysteriously opens in Los Angeles, it tears a family in half, separating mother and son from father and daughter. When part of the family find themselves in an unexplainable primeval world, alongside a disparate group of strangers, they must work to survive and uncover the mystery of where they are and if there is a way back home.

Seda plays Dr. Sam Velez. The father of a teenage girl, he carries himself like the general of an Army.

In addition to Seda and Zea, the cast also includes Nicholas Gonzalez, Lily Santiago, Vanessa Buckley and Chloe de los Santos.

Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, is the studio, producing with Keshet Studios.

Here are the complete premiere dates announced by NBC:

MONDAY, AUGUST 9
10 p.m. The Wall (Time slot premiere)

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11
9 p.m. Family Game Fight! (Time slot premiere)

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20
8 p.m. The Voice (Season 21 premiere)
10 p.m. Ordinary Joe (Series premiere)

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21
10 p.m. New Amsterdam (Season 4 premiere)

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22
8 p.m. Chicago Med (Season 7 premiere)
9 p.m. Chicago Fire (Season 10 premiere)
10 p.m. Chicago P.D. (Season 9 premiere)

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23
8-10 p.m. Law & Order: SVU (two-hour Season 23 premiere)
10 p.m. Law & Order: Organized Crime (Season 2 premiere)

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24
9 p.m. Dateline (Season 30)

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28
9 p.m. La Brea (Series premiere)

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21
8 p.m. The Blacklist (Season 9)

Dascha Polanco to Star in the NBC pilot “Dangerous Moms,” Based on Spanish Series “Señoras del (h)AMPA”

Posted on June 14, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a dangerous time for Dascha Polanco…

The 38-year-old Dominican actress has been cast as a co-lead opposite Shanola Hampton in the NBC pilot Dangerous Moms, from Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television.

Written by Janine Sherman Barrois and based on the Spanish series Señoras del (h)AMPA, Dangerous Moms is an off-center dark dramedy about four diverse mothers — two of them played by Hampton and Polanco — who accidentally kill the queen bee of their school’s PTA during the demonstration of a new high-end food processor.

The story becomes a female anthem about friendship and family as it tells the story of one completely unprepared group of women who must juggle their everyday lives while their worlds are turned upside down.

Polanco will play Pia, the impeccable nemesis of Monique (Hampton). Pia is the No. 1 salesperson for the state-of-the-art TurboThunder3000 food processor and a popular mommy blogger. She also is the landlord of a few apartment buildings in the community, which she hopes to gentrify.

Barrois executive produces with Rachel Kaplan, Intrigue Entertainment’s Tariq Jalil and Lucas Carter as well as Arantxa Écija from Mediaset España Comunicación and Santi Botello from Producciones Mandarina SL, who produced the original series.

Polanco, currently co-starring in Warner Bros.’ In the Heights, is best known for her work on Orange Is the New Black, for which she shared in three comedy ensemble SAG Awards.

She’s set to star in the upcoming MGM superhero thriller film Samaritan, opposite Sylvester Stallone, and will make her leading film role debut in Adrian Martinez’s indie dark comedy iGilbert.

Morena Baccarin to Star in NBC’s Untitled Bank Heist Drama Pilot

Posted on June 11, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Morena Baccarin is reaching new heists…

The 42-year-old Brazilian actress will star alongside Ryan Michelle Bathé in NBC’s untitled bank heist drama pilot from Nick Wootton and Jake Coburn; Julie Plec’s My So-Called Company; and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.

Written by Wootton and directed by Justin Lin, the project is a high-stakes two-hander about Elena Federova (Baccarin), a recently captured international arms dealer and brilliant criminal mastermind who orchestrates a number of coordinated bank heists throughout NYC for a mysterious purpose, and Val Fitzgerald (Bathé), the principled, relentless and socially outcast FBI agent who will stop at nothing to foil her ambitious plan.

The sexy and twisted heist series reveals how far some people will go for love, justice and the most valuable commodity in the world: the truth.

Known for playing the female lead in the Deadpool franchise, Baccarin co-starred opposite Gerard Butler in STX’s disaster-thriller Greenland.

In 2019, she wrapped two features, The Good House opposite Sigourney Weaver and Kevin Kline; and Waldo, an action-suspense film opposite Charlie Hunnam and Mel Gibson.

Baccarin, Emmy-nominated for her role on Showtime’s Homeland, was the romantic lead in the latest season of Brazil’s Sessao de Terapia. Based on international format In Treatment, which was adapted by HBO in the U.S., Sessao is now in its fourth season in Baccarin’s native country.

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