Hemky Madera Signs with Stewart Talent

Hemky Madera has new representation…

The 47-year-old Dominican American actor has signed with Stewart Talent for representation.

Madera is best known for his work as a series regular in USA Network’s Queen of the South across the drama’s five seasons. Madera worked closely alongside Alice Braga starring as her character Teresa Mendoza’s loyal right-hand man and ride-or-die, Pote Gálvez. The series is an adaptation of Telemundo’s hit telenovela La Reina del Sur starring Kate del Castillo as Teresa.

Most recently, Madera reunited with Queen of the South co-showrunner Dailyn Rodriguez on Season 2 of the hit Netflix series The Lincoln Lawyer, which Rodriguez co-showruns and executive produces alongside Ted Humphries. Madera played Agent Felix Vasquez.

His additional television credits include HBO’s Perry MasonThe Mandalorian for Disney+, Netflix’s Kaleidoscope, ABC’s The Good Doctor, IFC’s Brockmire, Showtime’s Weeds and Acapulco for Apple TV+, among others.

On the film side, he played Mr. Delmar in Spider-Man: Homecoming. His other big-screen credits include Muzzle (2023) alongside Aaron EckhartBad Hombres (2023) co-starring Thomas Jane and Luke HemsworthSatanic Hispanics (2022) as Vampiro; The Happy Time Murders (2018); and Rango (2011).

The New York-born actor began his career in the theater in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and continued on the stages of The Big Apple.

His credits include Inverse Theater’s production of Icarus and Aria and the New York Spanish Repertoire’s production of Feast of the Goat.

He continues to be represented by Luber Roklin for management and attorney Peter Sample.

Nina Lopez-Corrado Among New Directors for Season 2 of HBO’s “The Last of Us”

Nina Lopez-Corrado is preparing for her own Last hurrah…

The Latina producer/director is among the directors set to helm season two of HBO’s acclaimed drama series The Last of Us.

Nina Lopez-CorradoLopez-Corrado, who directed episodes of Perry Mason, is one of four new directors to board the post-apocalyptic zombie drama series, along with

Mark Mylod (Succession), Stephen Williams (Watchmen) and Kate Herron (Loki).

They join returning directors Peter Hoar, who was Emmy nominated for helming Season 1’s poignant Episode 3, “Long, Long Time,” as well as The Last Of Us co-creators, executive producers and showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann who will once again take on directing duties too.

It’s unclear whether any of the seven helmers will direct multiple episodes; Season 1 consisted of nine episodes helmed by seven directors.

In addition to directing multiple episodes of Perry Mason and The Nevers at HBo, At HBO, Lopez-Corrado’s other credits also ABC’s A Million Little Thingson which she served as producing director.

In its first season, The Last of Us earned 24 Emmy nominations, winning eight trophies.

Production on Season 2 is slated to begin next month in Vancouver.

Gabito Ballesteros Earns First No. 1 on Billboard’s Tropical Airplay Chart with Prince Royce-Collab “Cosas de la Peda”

Gabito Ballesteros is celebrating a Billboard first…

The 24-year-old Mexican singer-songwriter and record producer’s collaboration with Prince Royce, “Cosas De La Peda” rises to the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Tropical Airplay chart as their first partnership advances from the runner-up slot to lead the February 24-dated list.

Gabito Ballesteros, Prince RoyceThat translates into a 24th No. 1 for Prince Royce, while Ballesteros scores his first champ on first try.

“Cosas De La Peda,” Mexican slang for “drunken times,” lifts 2-1 on the tropical radio ranking with by a 37% gain in audience impressions, to 6.2 million earned in the U.S. during the February 9-15 tracking week, according to Luminate.

The track trades places with Marc Anthony’s “Punta Cana” which drops 1-2 with an 11% dip in impressions, to 5.2 million.

Prior to its release, “Cosas De La Peda” received its fair share of promotion. The Bronx-born singer premiered the song live for the first time, with Ballesteros, during Calibash festival at the Crypto Arena in Los Angeles on January 12. Plus, a performance on ABC’s Good Morning America followed on January 17.

With “Peda,” Royce collects his 24th No. 1 on Tropical Airplay, continuing with the third-most leaders since the chart’s inception in 1994. Only two soloists stand ahead him: Marc Anthony with 36 No. 1s and Victor Manuelle with 29. Here’s an updated look at the artists with the most No. 1 hits on the almost three-decade-old ranking:

36, Marc Anthony
29, Victor Manuelle
24, Prince Royce
18, Romeo Santos
14, Elvis Crespo
14, Gilberto Santa Rosa
13, Jerry Rivera
12, Juan Luis Guerra 440
11, India

Ballesteros, who seasoned “Peda” with his corridos tumbados flair, lands a first No. 1 on the Tropical Airplay —and on any airplay ranking— thanks to the bachata tumbada. The Mexican producer first landed a No. 1 on a Billboard chart as a producer of the two-week champ “Lady Gaga,” with Peso Pluma and Junior H (last September).

Elsewhere, “Cosas De La Peda” flies 26-11 on the overall Latin Airplay tally. It bests Ballesteros’ previous No. 37 entry with “La Pelinegra,” with La Adictiva, last October.

Cosas De La Peda” is one of 23 songs from Royce’s latest seventh full-length album, Llamada Perdida, released February 16 through Sony Music Latin; it has not entered any Billboard charts yet. The song was produced by Edgar Barrera and Luis Miguel Gómez Castaño, better known as Casta.

ABC Looking to Air More Episodes of Selena Gomez’s “Only Murders In The Building” on Network TV

Selena Gomez’s hit series may be returning to network television…

Only Murders In The Building, the Hulu comedy starring the 31-year-old Mexican American actress/singer, Steve Martin and Martin Short, could remain on ABC in addition to streaming.

Only Murders in the Building, Selena GomezThe Hulu original premiered on its sibling linear network earlier this month, coming as the network had a largely unscripted fall slate due to the Hollywood strikes. It remains on the streaming service.

ABC and Hulu boss Craig Erwich, said, “We’re certainly open to doing it with Only Murders again and or other shows. When we look at both ABC and Hulu, it’s one big chessboard, so you’re able to see where certain audiences watch certain shows, some migrate from one platform to another. Only Murders was really a perfect show to put on ABC, not only did we know that not a lot of people had watched it yet, as popular as it is, which is hard to believe, but Only Murders has that broad, comedic, aspirational tone and quality that I think aligns very well with the ABC brand.”

It’s not clear if there are concrete plans to launch season two on ABC but the series has three seasons on Hulu and has been renewed for a fourth.

But Erwich added that it pairs well with its hit comedy from Quinta Brunson. “You can imagine watching Abbott Elementary and Only Murders In The Building in the same session. That’s why we think the experiment was very successful, we were really happy.”

Erwich said that Only Murders In The Building generated “hundreds of millions of hours of viewing since it launched on Hulu in 2021”.

“Everything Steve, Marty and Selena do, wear, say, becomes part of the zeitgeist… And yet, we realized there were still viewers who hadn’t seen the show, that we knew would love it,” he added.

He said the results were “fantastic” and that the series has reached over 11M viewers on linear.

“But the impact on streaming was even greater. Many of those ABC viewers migrated over to Hulu to continue watching the series,” he said.

Erwich pointed out that after it launched on ABC, first streams increased by 40% and hours streamed rose by 39%.

“Again, underscoring how these platforms are additive and complementary to one another. This experiment created an incredible opportunity for us and our audience. As we evolve the broadcast model, this is something we will look to do again,” he added.

From co-creators and writers Martin and John Hoffman, the first season of Only Murders in the Building follows three strangers (Martin, Short and Gomez) who share an obsession with true crime and suddenly find themselves wrapped up in one. When a grisly death occurs inside their exclusive Upper West Side apartment building, the trio suspects murder and employs their precise knowledge of true crime to investigate the truth. As they record a podcast of their own to document the case, the three unravel the complex secrets of the building, which stretch back years. Perhaps even more explosive are the lies they tell one another. Soon, the endangered trio comes to realize a killer might be living amongst them as they race to decipher the mounting clues before it’s too late.

Martin and Hoffman executive produce along with Short, Gomez, Jamie BabbitThis Is Us creator Dan Fogelman and Jess Rosenthal.

The series is produced by 20th Television, a part of Disney Television Studios.

Natalie Morales to Appear on Season 20 of ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy”

Natalie Morales is taking the Hippocratic Oath.

The 38-year-old Cuban American actress has joined the cast of Grey’s Anatomy for the ABC medical drama series’ 20th season.

Natalie MoralesMorales will head to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital as a guest star.

She’ll appear as Monica Beltran, a pediatric surgeon whose pragmatism and level-headedness have made her one of the best in her field. Her willingness to push boundaries can be admirable and aggravating, but it’s always aimed at providing top-quality care to her patients.

But Morales isn’t the only Latinx artist set to appear on Season 20.

Freddy Miyares has also joined the cast.

The Latino actors will appear in a recurring role as Dorian, an intelligent, warm and likable patient who is involved in a serious accident and is struggling with his future.

Grey’s Anatomy Season 20 premieres on ABC on March 14 at 9:00 pm ET/PT with next day streaming on Hulu.

Morales’ previous credits include White Collar, Dead to Me, Parks and Recreation and The Grinder.

Miyares’ previous credits include When They See Us, DMZ and The L Word: Generation Q.

Josh Segarra to Appear on Season 3 of ABC’s “Abbott Elementary”

Josh Segarra is headed back to elementary school…

Josh SegarraSegarra will portray Manny, a good-natured Philadelphia school district representative who aims to bring fresh perspectives to his role as a school ambassador.

The ABC hit comedy returns with two new episodes for premiere on February 7. The series picks up mid-school year and will consist of 14 episodes, following last year’s dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

Segarra currently stars in the Apple TV+ comedy, The Big Door Prize, opposite Chris O’Dowd. In 2023, Segarra starred in Scream 6 opposite Courteney Cox, Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera. Last summer, he starred as “Lance” in the third season of the HBO Max comedy series and opposite Stephen Amell as “Brooks Rizzo” in the Starz wrestling drama series Heels.

In 2022, Segarra joined the Marvel universe and starred in the Disney+ series She-Hulk, alongside Tatiana Maslany, Mark Ruffalo, Tim Roth and Ginger Gonzaga.

Dany Garcia & Dwayne Johnson Reveal United Football League Plans

Dany Garcia is springing forward with a football merger…

The 55-year-old Cuban American businesswoman, professional bodybuilder and producer and her ex-husband Dwayne Johnson have revealed plans for the United Football League, the new spring pro football league born from the merger of the XFL and USFL.

Dany Garcia, Dwayne Johnson, United Football League, UFLDuring an appearance this morning on Fox’s NFL on Fox, Garcia and Johnson announced that the UFL’s debut season will begin March 30, 2024 with a game between the Arlington Renegades and Birmingham Stallions, the previous champions from each league.

More details are expected soon regarding teams and markets.

Last year was Johnson and Garcia’s only season as co-owners with RedBird Capital Partners of the resurrected XFL, which was competing with the USFL for NFL-offseason eyeballs.

The USFL itself was in its second season of its own revival, operating with a joint broadcast deal with both NBC and Fox, with the latter also holding a minority stake in the league.

A release today noted five UFL partners: former XFL owners Johnson, Garcia and RedBird’s Gerry CardinaleFox Sports (led by CEO Erik Shanks) and ESPN (led by chairman Jimmy Pitaro). ESPN was the XFL’s broadcast partner last season.

Russ Brandon, former president and CEO of the XFL, will be president and CEO of the UFL. Daryl Johnston, former USFL President of Football Operations, will lead football ops.

A promo logo suggests games will be played on ABC, ESPN, Fox and FS1.

The XFL and USFL originally announced their intent to merge in September after low-key seasons for each.

The USFL Championship game in July drew about 1.16 million viewers on NBC, while the XFL title game a few weeks later pulled in 1.43 million viewers on ABC.

Cardi B to Perform from Miami During “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest” Program

Cardi B is preparing for a rockin’ New Year’s Eve.

Only five days before it airs, has added the 31-year-old half-Dominican American Grammy-winning rap superstar and hip-hop legend LL Cool J to its lineup.

Cardi BThe “Up” singer will appear poolside from Fontainebleau Miami Beach, while her “WAP” collaborator Megan Thee Stallion was previously on the bill.

Meanwhile, Brooklyn-raised rap icon LL Cool J will perform in Times Square just before midnight.

New Year’s Rockin’ Eve is also introducing a new vertical of comedic show segments with Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias, Matt Friend, Ms. Pat and Sebastian Maniscalco adding commentary on the past year.

Ryan Seacrest returns as host of the ABC and Dick Clark Productions live show with co-host Rita Ora leading the festivities from New York’s Times Square with artists Megan Thee Stallion, Jelly Roll, Sabrina Carpenter and Tyla.

Jeannie Mai will lead the Hollywood festivities, with Aqua, Doechii, Ellie Goulding, Green Day, Janelle Monáe, Loud Luxury x Two Friends with Bebe Rexha, Ludacris, Nile Rodgers & CHIC, Paul Russell, Reneé Rapp with Coco Jones and Thirty Seconds to Mars to perform in California.

New Year’s Rockin’ Eve will once again feature a Spanish language countdown with Dayanara Torres returning as co-host from Puerto Rico’s Convention Center.

Lisseth Chavez Promoted to Series Regular on ABC’s “The Rookie”

There’s more patrol time in Lisseth Chavez’s future…

The 34-year-old Salvadoran actress, who heavily recurred on Season 5 of The Rookie, has been promoted to series regular on the upcoming sixth season.

Lisseth Chavez Chavez plays Officer Celina Juarez, the newest rookie at the station. She appeared in 19 episodes in Season 5.

The Rookie, which recently celebrated its 100th episode, stars Nathan Fillion as John Nolan, Mekia Cox as Nyla Harper, Alyssa Diaz as Angela Lopez, Richard T. Jones as Sergeant Wade Grey, Melissa O’Neil as Lucy Chen, Eric Winter as Tim Bradford, Jenna Dewan as Bailey Nune, Shawn Ashmore as Wesley Evers and Tru Valentino as Aaron Thorsen.

The ABC series is created and executive produced by Alexi Hawley, along with executive producers Mark Gordon, Nathan Fillion, Michelle Chapman, Bill Norcross and Terence Paul Winter.

Entertainment One is the lead studio and international distributor of The Rookie, a co-production with ABC Signature, a part of Disney Television Studios.

The Rookie Season 6 premieres on Tuesday, February 20 at 9/8c on ABC.

Chavez was a series regular on The CW’s Legends of Tomorrow and NBC’s Chicago P.D. 

Xochitl Gomez Named Winner of Season 32 of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars”

Xochitl Gomez is dancing on the ceiling…

The 17-year-old Mexican American actress and Marvel star and her professional dancing partner Val Chmerkovskiy have become the first pair to win Dancing With the Stars’ Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy.

Xochitl Gomez, Dancing with the StarsThe DWTS grand prize was renamed to honor Goodman in September. Goodman, who died at age 78 in April, served as a judge on the reality competition series from 2005 to 2022. 

Gomez and Chmerkovsky claimed the trophy during the Tuesday, December 5, season 32 finale of the long-running ABC celebrity ballroom dancing competition, making her the fourth Hispanic celebrity to win Dancing with the Stars and the first celebrity of Mexican descent to claim the trophy.

“I don’t want this show to end, and I think it’s gonna be really good for me to keep coming back,” she joked after her big win during the finale.

After redeeming their foxtrot and bringing it home with a fiery freestyle, Gomez and Chmerkovskiy received two back-to-back perfect scores from the judges. With their scores from the semifinals also included in their judges’ totals Tuesday night, they were the only couple to earn a perfect score of 120 across all four dances.

“Gosh, I didn’t think that [we did that]. I forgot until there had been like a little thing that said, this is your score something out of something, and it was the score. I was like, ‘What? We did that?’ Yeah, we did that. I’m proud of that,” Gomez said.

Ahead of Tuesday night’s performances, judge Bruno Tonioli visited Gomez and Chmerkovskiy in the studio to reassign them the foxtrot and give Gomez some pointers on how to improve in the dance style. Tonioli said during rehearsals that he was hoping to see more “refined sophistication” than the couple’s first attempt at the foxtrot in week three.

Gomez was the last to grace the stage for the redemption round, but certainly not the least. She made her latest foxtrot look effortless, earning praise from all three judges, including Tonioli, who told her she is a “delight” to watch.

Gomez told Deadline the judge’s advice in rehearsals was invaluable to be able to perfect her foxtrot, especially when it came to lengthening her arms.

“That was one of the things that I tried to do, but I was never that successful. And I tried a lot, but it was hard. So for someone else to have a different voice and tell me, ‘This is something that is one of your weakest points. So fix it.’ And also for him to show me how to do it. I thought that was really nice and definitely helped me out for the foxtrot,” she said.

Chmerkovskiy expressed pride for his partner, beaming as he explained he was most impressed with “how much dance she’s learned.”

“I mean, we put in the work at the studio. But usually we like do a lot more warming up and practicing during the show leading up to the performance. Today, we just trusted ourselves and came out and just danced,” he said.

In the final moments of the Season 32 finale, Gomez and Chmerkovskiy stood on stage next to Jason Mraz and his partner Daniella Karagach, anxiously awaiting the news on who’d eked out the victory. Just as host Alfonso Ribeiro was about to announce the victors, he instead cut to a final commercial — prompting a loud groan from the audience.

“The whole night was special. I keep saying it feels bittersweet because, for us, every week that we had a great performance felt like exactly like this feeling. Truly, every time we got called safe, we felt like we were winning. So tonight, it felt like that times 100.”

Here’s the list of the DWTS winners of Hispanic descent:

Season 5: Hélio Castroneves (Brazilian) and Julianne Hough
Season 13: J.R. Martinez (Salvadoran American) and Karina Smirnoff
Season 23: Laurie Hernandez (Puerto Rican) and Val Chmerkovskiy
Season 32: Xochitl Gomez (Mexican American) and Val Chmerkovskiy