Charlie Sheen to Reunite with Chuck Lorre on Max’s Comedy Series “How To Be a Bookie”

Posted on April 19, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Charlie Sheen has bookie-ed his next project…

The 57-year-old part-Spanish actor and former Two and a Half Men star will reunite with Chuck Lorre on the Max comedy series How To Be a Bookie, according to Deadline.com.

Sheen is set for a recurring role in the single-camera comedy headlined by Sebastian Maniscalco, which hails from Two and a Half Men studio Warner Bros. Television where Lorre is based.

Reps for Max and WBTV declined comment.

The project is part of a television comeback for Sheen, who is also attached to star in the dramedy project Ramble On from Doug Ellin.

Sheen and Lorre’s eight-year collaboration on one of the most successful comedy series of the past two decades, CBS’ Two and a Half Men, starring Sheen and co-created and executive produced by Lorre, came to an abrupt end in the spring of 2011 when Sheen’s public meltdown and verbal attacks on Lorre led to his firing, triggering a $100 million lawsuit against Lorre and WBTV, which was eventually settled.

Since then, Sheen had taken responsibility for his actions and had expressed regret over his Two and a Half Men exit and an intent to make amends with the top comedy showrunner. That has now happened, resulting in the duo’s collaboration on How To Be a Bookie.

In How To Be a Bookie, co-written by Lorre and Nick Bakay, a veteran bookie (Maniscalco) struggles to survive the impending legalization of sports gambling, increasingly unstable clients, family, co-workers, and a lifestyle that bounces him around every corner of Los Angeles high and low.

Omar J. Dorsey, Jorge Garcia, Andrea Anders, Vanessa Ferlito and Maxim Swinton also star.

Lorre, who is directing the first episode, executive produces through his Chuck Lorre Productions and its overall deal with WBTV alongside Bakay, Maniscalco, Judi Marmel and Andy Tennant, who is directing multiple episodes.

The series is currently in production.

Sheen earned four Emmy nominations for his starring role on Two and a Half Men. Following the end of the multi-camera series, he headlined another sitcom, Anger Management, which aired 100 episodes on FX, and guest starred on ABC’s The Goldbergs.

Natalie Chaidez Signs Exclusive, Multi-Year Deal with Warner Bros. Television

Posted on April 5, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Natalie Chaidez has been warn(er)ed.

The Latina television writer and producer has signed an exclusive, multi-year deal with Warner Bros. Television.

As part of the deal, she’ll develop and create original programming via WBTV for all platforms.

The news comes ahead of HBO Max’s Season 2 premiere of The Flight Attendant on April 21, marking Chaidez’s debut as series executive producer and co-showrunner alongside Steve Yockey.

Chaidez is a veteran creator, executive producer and showrunner who works in both television and features. Prior to joining The Flight Attendant, she served as executive producer and writer on USA Network’s crime drama Queen of the South.

She previously created and executive produced the Syfy drama series Hunters. Her additional TV writing and producing credits include 12 Monkeys, In Plain Sight, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Heroes, Judging Amy and New York Undercover among many others.

She was nominated for an Emmy and WGA Award for her work on Heroes.

Most recently, Chaidez received a pilot order from Freeform for the coming-of-age story AZNBBGRL, a collaboration with Dinh Thai.

OWN Closes Deal for Third Season of Jessica Camacho’s Legal Drama “All Rise” Nearly Five Months After Its CBS Cancellation

Posted on October 1, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Jessica Camacho will Rise again…

OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network has closed a deal for a 20-episode third season of the Warner Bros Television-produced legal drama All Rise, starring the 38-year-old actress.

The series, led by Simone Missick, was canceled by CBS in May.

The new season is slated to air in 2022.

Streaming rights to the new episodes will be shared by WBTV sibling HBO Max and Hulu.

The bulk of the series’ cast, including Missick, Wilson Bethel, Camacho, J. Alex Brinson, Ruthie Ann Miles, Lindsay Mendez and Lindsey Gort, are set to return. Since the options on the actors had expired in June following the drama’s cancellation by CBS, they had to make new deals and all reportedly scored raises.

Not coming back is Marg Helgenberger, who in July was cast in NBC’s drama pilot Getaway. The door is reportedly open to Helgenberger and any other All Rise alums to appear on the new season subject to availability.

Dee Harris-Lawrence, who is also executive producer/showrunner on OWN/WBTV’s acclaimed series David Makes Man, is set to return as executive producer/showrunner of All Rise‘s third season.

All Rise follows the chaotic, hopeful and sometimes absurd lives of its judges, prosecutors and public defenders as they work with bailiffs, clerks and cops to get justice for the people of Los Angeles amidst a flawed legal process. It centers on Judge Lola Carmichael (Missick), a highly regarded and impressive deputy district attorney who doesn’t intend to sit back on the bench in her new role, but instead leans in, immediately pushing the boundaries and challenging the expectations of what a judge can be.

“All Rise has been a great performer, achieving strong ratings and growing its share from season one to two. Featuring a strong character front and center, Judge Lola Carmichael’s story reflects our audience with powerful affirmation,” said Tina Perry, president, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. “A special thanks to Warner Bros Television and our incredible showrunner and longtime partner Dee Harris-Lawrence. We can’t wait to get started on season three and bring this show back for long-standing and new fans alike.”

Negotiations between OWN and Warner Bros Television started three months after All Rise was canceled by CBS and OWN parent Discovery days later announced its plans to merge with Warner Bros’ TV parent, AT&T-owned WarnerMedia.

“We are incredibly thrilled that All Rise will be back in court, and we are so thankful to our great partners at OWN for ruling in favor of another season of this powerful drama,” said Brett Paul, President, Warner Bros Television. “Dee Harris-Lawrence and the creative team have done an incredible job of telling important stories about timely subjects which have been brought to life by Simone Missick and the show’s outstanding ensemble cast. We can’t wait for audiences to see what the All Rise team has in store for season three. And we are also grateful to our partners at HBO Max and Hulu, without whose support this would not be possible.”

HBO Max Gives Series Order to Rosario Dawson’s Futuristic Drama “DMZ”

Posted on November 21, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Rosario Dawson is heading to the demilitarized zone…

HBO Max has given a series order to Ava DuVernay and Roberto Patino’s DMZ, starring the 41-year-old Puerto Rican and Cuban American actress and activist.

HBO Max ordered four episodes of the limited series, a futuristic drama set amid a second American civil war and based on the DC Comics series.

Production on the series is scheduled to start in 2021.

DMZ stars Dawson and Benjamin Bratt in the lead roles, alongside Hoon Lee, Freddy Miyares and Jordan Preston Carter.

DMZ is set in the near future, when America is embroiled in a bitter civil war, leaving Manhattan a demilitarized zone (DMZ), destroyed and isolated from the rest of the world. It chronicles the harrowing journey of fearless and fierce medic Alma Ortega (Dawson) to find the son she lost in the evacuation of New York City at the onset of the conflict. Throwing gasoline on the flames of that conflict is Parco Delgado (Bratt), the popular, and deadly, leader of one of the most powerful gangs in the DMZ. He wants to rule this new world and will stop at nothing to secure that outcome.

The drama will examine the stark political and cultural divide in American society, where Alma must contend with the gangs, militias, demagogues and warlords that control this lawless no man’s land. In doing so, she becomes the unlikely source of what everyone there has lost…hope.

Patino, who will write all episodes and showrun the series, wrote the pilot episode, which was directed by DuVernay. Patino and DuVernay serve as executive producers on the series.

DMZ is produced by DuVernay’s ARRAY Filmworks in association with Warner Bros. Television.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled to bring this epic to the screen with my boundary-pushing partners at WBTV and HBO Max, a sublime cast led by Rosario and Benjamin, and my partner and friend, the inimitable and ever-inspiring Ava DuVernay,” said Patino. “DMZ offers up an explosive playground which, more than anything else, exalts the resilience of community and the human spirit. I can’t wait to welcome the die-hard fans of the comic books and new viewers alike to this intoxicating, haunting and inspiring world.”

Dawson’s television credits include The Mandalorian, Briarpatch and Jane the Virgin. She’ll soon appear in the upcoming miniseries Dopesick.

Johnathan Fernandez to Star on HBO Max’s “Gossip Girl” Series Reimagining

Posted on March 3, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Johnathan Fernandez is ready to spill the tea…

The 46-year-old Colombian and Honduran American actor joined Emily Alyn Lindin Gossip Girl, HBO Max’s upcoming series reimagining of the pop culture phenomenon that made household names of stars like Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Penn Badgley, Chace Crawford and Ed Westwick.

Fernandez joins a roster of new cast additions that includes Whitney Peak, Eli Brown and Jason Gotay.S

The 10-episode series hails from Joshua Safran, Josh Schwartzand Stephanie Savage’s Fake Empire, Alloy Entertainment, Warner Bros Televisionand CBS Television Studios.

Like the original series, the new iteration of Gossip Girl, written by Safran, is based on the book by Cecily von Ziegesar. Eight years after the original website went dark, a new generation of New York private school teens are introduced to the social surveillance of Gossip Girl.

The prestige series will address just how much social media — and the landscape of New York itself — has changed in the intervening years.

No official character descriptions for the quartet are being released. The new series is said to have a similar character dynamic to the original, with Peak, Brown and Lind as the leading trio and Fernandez and Gotay as members of the core ensemble.

Gossip Girlran for six seasons from 2007-2012 on the CW across 121 episodes. Its influence extended beyond television.Fernandez was a series regular on another WBTV series, Fox’s Lethal Weapon. For three seasons, he played the dry-toned medical examiner on the series reboot. Fernandez will next appear in the Marvel feature Morbiusand the indie Together-ish.

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa Signs New Multi-Year Deal with Warner Bros. Television

Posted on April 4, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasahas landed a major deal…

The 44-year-old Nicaraguan-American playwright, screenwriter, and comic book writer who is currently the Chief Creative Officer of Archie Comics and the key creative force behind Warner Bros. Television’s growing Archie comics-based TV universe, has signed a massive new multi-year overall deal with the studio.

No details are being disclosed but the pact is said to be for five years, and it’s in the high eight figures.

Under the agreement, Aguirre-Sacasa will develop, write, and produce new series through his banner, Muckle Man Productions, while also continuing as executive producer/showrunner on WBTV series Riverdale and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,as well as pilot Katy Keene, co-developed with Michael Grassi.

Shortly after he was named Chief Creative Officer of Archie Comics in 2014, Aguirre-Sacasa teamed with WBTV-based Berlanti Prods. to bring the Archie characters to television. He is the developer/executive producer behind Riverdale, which has been a major hit for the CWand Netflix, and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, which quickly established itself as a breakout for Netflix, and the co-developer/executive producer on the Riverdale spinoff pilot Katy Keene, which has been garnering solid early buzz at the CW.

Before becoming Archie Comics COO, Aguirre-Sacasa wrote two of the company’s best-selling horror series: Afterlife With Archie and Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina. He previously worked for Marvel Comics, scripting the adventures of Spider-Man, Nightcrawler, and the Fantastic Four.

Aguirre-Sacasa’s TV series writing-producing credits include Fox’s Glee, HBO’s Looking and Big Love, as well as a stint on WBTV/Berlanti Prods.’ Supergirl.

Aguirre-Sacasa is an accomplished screenwriter and playwright. He penned the feature remakes of Carrie and The Town That Dreaded Sundown, as well as the musical adaptation of American Psycho, which had runs in London and on Broadway.

Aguirre-Sacasa was part of the team that was brought in to overhaul Spider-man: Turn Off the Dark. This summer, Pasadena Playhouse will produce his prep school thriller, Good Boys and True, and he wrote the book to the Broadway-bound Magic Mike the musical, with Brian Yorkey (lyrics) and Tom Kitt(music).

Jessica Meraz Lands Major Recurring Role on The CW’s “Supergirl”

Posted on December 5, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Jessica Meraz has landed a superrole…

The half-Mexican American actress has landed a major recurring role on The CW’s drama Supergirl.

Meraz will portray Menagerie/Pamela Ferrer, an iconic DC villain and a member of Manchester Black’s “Elite.” Menagerie is a jewel thief who doesn’t mind hurting people.

The DC/Berlanti Prods.drama Supergirl, from Warner Bros. Television, is now in its fourth season on the CW. The series is headed into the network’s annual DC crossover, which kicks off on Sunday.

The casting marks Meraz’s return to WBTV whose cable division produced Major Crimes for TNT. Meraz was a series regular on the final season of The Closer spinoff.

Meraz recently appeared on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse in the Jason Alexander-directed Native Gardens. She is currently recurring on Tacoma FD for TruTV and has also been working on Blue Ribbon Content’s Splash Damage, a VR experiment currently in development.

Ana Ortiz to Star in ABC’s Action-Comedy Pilot “Whiskey Cavalier”

Posted on February 22, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Ana Ortiz is getting a little cavalier…

The 47-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress and former Ugly Betty and Devious Maids star has been cast opposite Scott Foley and Lauren Cohan in Whiskey Cavalier, ABC’s hourlong action-dramedy pilot from Bill Lawrence, Dave Hemingson and Warner Bros. Television.

Written by Hemingson, Whiskey Cavalier, from WBTV and Lawrence’s studio-based Doozer Prods., follows the adventures of FBI agent Will Chase (codename: Whiskey Cavalier) — played by Foley — who, following an emotional break-up, is assigned to work with quick, cunning and completely fearless CIA operative Francesca “Frankie” Trowbridge (codename: Fiery Tribune) — played by Cohan. Together, they lead an interagency team of spies who periodically save the world (and each other) while navigating the rocky roads of friendship, romance and office politics.

Ortiz will play Susan Sampson. Based out of the FBI’s New York office, Dr. Susan Sampson is the FBI’s top behavioral scientist — and Will’s (Foley) best friend. However, that doesn’t stop her from developing a fast friendship with Will’s rival (and future partner), Frankie (Cohan).

This marks Ortiz’s return to ABC where she co-starred on popular dramedy Ugly Betty for its four-season run and also starred in Devious Maids, which was developed and piloted by ABC before landing a series order at Lifetime.

J.W. Cortes to Appear at Pop Culture Event “DC in D.C.”

Posted on December 15, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

J.W. Cortes is invading The District…

Warner Bros. Television Group, DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment are joining forces for DC in D.C., a pop culture Martin Luther King weekend event that merges the worlds of entertainment and public service in Washington, D.C.

DC in D.C. brings together stars, including the Puerto Rican Marine-combat-veteran-turned-actor and Gotham star, as well as producers from WBTV’s DC TV series, including Arrow, The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Gotham, Supergirl and Freedom Fighters: The Ray, with DC comic book writers and artists, along with invited guests from politics, government service, business academia and more.

The event, which takes place Friday, January 12 and Saturday, January 13, will explore the intersection of comic books, culture, entertainment and enlightenment through a series of panel discussions open to the public.

Events will take place both days at the Newseum, and will culminate with the world premiere screening of the upcoming DC series Black Lightning in the Warner Bros. Theater at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

A party will follow at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

In addition to Cortes, participants include Black Lightning stars Cress Williams, China Anne McClain, Nafessa Williams, Christine Adams, Marvin “Krondon” Jones III, Damon Gupton and James Remar — along with executive producers Salim Akil & Mara Brock Akil; along with executive producers Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter, plus TV series stars Caity Lotz (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow), Candice Patton (The Flash), Danielle Panabaker (The Flash), Russell Tovey (Freedom Fighters: The Ray) and others to be announced.

More information can be found at http://www.DCinDC2018.com.

Garcia Swisher Lands Lead Role in CBS Comedy Pilot

Posted on February 28, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

JoAnna Garcia Swisher is heading back to television…

The 35-year-old half-Cuban American actress has been cast as the female lead opposite Tommy Johnagin in CBS’ untitled CBS comedy pilot inspired by the comedian’s life.

The pilot, from writers Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker, WBTV and Bill Lawrence’s studio-based Doozer, stars Johnagin as Tommy, a stand-up comic raising a family in a small Midwestern town.

Garcia Swisher plays Michelle, an accomplished pediatrician married to Tommy, with whom she has a daughter, Ashley.

Garcia Swisher’s previous television credits include Better With You amd Once Upon A Time.

Hispanically Yours

Celebrating the Latino Influence

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