ABC Renews Gina Rodriguez’s “Not Dead Yet” for Second Season

Posted on May 16, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Gina Rodriguez’s latest starring project is still alive…

ABC has renewed the hit workplace comedy series Not Dead Yet, starring the 38-year-old Puerto Rican Golden Globe-winning actress, for a second season.

From creators David Windsor and Casey Johnson, Not Dead Yet is based on Alexandra Potter’s 2020 book Confessions of a Forty-Something F**k Up.

It follows Nell Serrano (Rodriguez), a broke and newly single self-described disaster, working to restart the life and career she left behind 10 years ago. When she lands the only job she can find – writing obituaries – Nell starts getting life advice from an unlikely source.

Johnson and Windsor executive produce with Rodriguez, Dean Holland, Wonderland Sound and Vision’s McG, Mary Viola and Corey Marsh.

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

Rodriguez rose to acclaim while starring on CW’s Jane the Virgin. Her other credits include Someone Great, Miss Bala and I Want You Back.

Gina Rodriguez to Star in ABC’s Comedy Pilot “Not Dead Yet”

Posted on March 29, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Gina Rodriguez is stayin’ alive…

The 37-year-old Puerto Rican actress and television producer has been cast as the lead in ABC’s single-camera comedy pilot Not Dead Yet.

Hailing from Casey Johnson and David Windsor, McG and 20th Television, the project is based on Alexandra Potter’s Confessions of a Forty-Something F**k Up.

Published in 2020, broke, newly single and feeling old, Nell Stevens (Rodriguez) – a self-described disaster – works to restart the life and career she left behind 10 years ago. Moving back home to Pasadena – a world where everyone seems to have a better life than she does (kids, careers, happy marriages, etc.) Nell can only afford to share an apartment with a stranger who monitors how much electricity she uses and pesters her about her recycling habits (which lately include a lot of empty White Claws.) A once successful journalist, Nell put her career on hold to help her fiancé get his restaurant off the ground. Following their break up, she takes the only job she can get – writing obituaries – which at first seems like a step backwards but ultimately may be exactly what she needs to move forward.

Johnson and Windsor, who wrote the script, executive produce with Wonderland Sound and Vision’s McG, Mary Viola and Corey Marsh. 20th Television is the studio.

Rodriguez is best known for playing the title role on the hit series Jane The Virgin, for which she won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Series Musical or Comedy. Her upcoming projects include Netflix’s film Awake and Netflix’s miniseries Lost Ollie.

Rodriguez founded I Can and I Will Can Productions, whose mission is to create art and tell stories from those who are traditionally unseen and unheard. The company is behind Diary of a Future President, the series which Rodriguez directed, produced, and appeared in as the future president. It ran on Disney+ for two seasons.

Benjamin Flores Jr. Signs with Hyperion for Agency Representation

Posted on October 29, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Benjamin Flores Jr. is under new representation…

The 19-year-old Latino actor and rapper has signed with Hyperion for agency representation.

Flores most recently starred in the Leigh Janiak-directed Netflix feature trilogy Fear Street, released this past summer.

He’s also a series regular on the Showtime drama Your Honor alongside Bryan Cranston and Michael Stuhlbarg. The series, which has been picked up for a second season, became the most-watched debut season ever on Showtime as well as the network’s most watched series.

Flores was previously a lead in the McG-directed Netflix feature comedy Rim of the World and played a supporting role in the $605M-global grossing Transformers: The Last Knight for Paramount.

The actor got his start as a series regular on Nickelodeon’s The Haunted Hathaways followed by Game Shakers.

He is a recipient of the Imagen Award for Best Young Actor-Television.

Martinez to Star in Fox’s Drama Pilot “Behind Enemy Lines”

Posted on March 19, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Benito Martinez is facing an Enemy…

The 45-year-old Mexican American actor will star in Fox’s drama pilot Behind Enemy Lines, loosely based on the 2001 movie, in a recasting.

Written by Nikki Toscano and directed by McG, Behind Enemy Lines is described as a military soap thriller wherein a group of U.S. soldiers find themselves trapped behind enemy lines. It closely follows our soldiers on the ground and the officers and service men and women on a nearby aircraft carrier, along with intelligence officers in D.C. as they attempt to bring our heroes home safely and under the radar.

Martinez will play Mateo Rodriguez, a respected career Navy man and Executive Officer on the aircraft carrier USS Tyson. He replaces Nestor Carbonell, who originally was cast in the role. The decision was made after the Thursday table read, with the character getting slightly reconceived.

The pilot’s cast includes Marg Helgenberger, B.J. Britt, Gabriel Chavarria, Melia Kreiling, Colm Feore, Willa Fitzgerald and Dylan Bruno.

Martinez, an alum of The Shield, is doing a major arc on the current third season of ABC’s American Crime after co-starring in the first installment and guest starring in the second.

He’s finishing production on the Menendez Brothers movie for Lifetime. Martinez, who worked opposite Tom Cruise on the crime thriller American Made and had recurring roles on How to Get Away with Murder and The Blacklist.

Behind Enemy Lines hails from 20th Century Fox Television — whose feature sibling was behind the movie — studio-based Temple Hill and Davis Entertainment.

Carbonell to Star in Fox’s Drama Pilot “Behind Enemy Lines”

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Nestor Carbonell is reading behind the lines…

The 49-year-old Cuban/Spanish American actor has been cast opposite Marg Helgenberger and B.J. Britt in Fox’s drama pilot Behind Enemy Lines, a drama pilot loosely based on the 2001 movie.

Written by Nikki Toscano and directed by McG, Behind Enemy Lines is a military soap thriller wherein a group of U.S. soldiers find themselves trapped behind enemy lines. It’s described as a multiple-perspective narrative that closely follows our soldiers on the ground and the officers and service men and women on a nearby aircraft carrier, along with intelligence officers in D.C. as they attempt to bring our heroes home safely and under the radar.

Carbonell will play Mateo Rodriguez, a respected career Navy man and Executive Officer on the USS Tyson aircraft carrier.

The project hails from 20th Century Fox Television — whose feature sibling was behind the movie — studio-based Temple Hill and Davis Entertainment.

Carbonell’s previous credits include ABC‘s drama series Lost and A&E‘s drama-thriller series Bates Motel.

Chavarria Joins the Cast of Fox’s Drama Pilot “Behind Enemy Lines”

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Gabriel Chavarria has lined up another project…

The 27-year-old Latino film and television has joined the cast of Fox’s drama pilot Behind Enemy Lines, a drama pilot loosely based on the 2001 movie.

Written by Nikki Toscano and directed by McG, Behind Enemy Lines is a military soap thriller wherein a group of U.S. soldiers find themselves trapped behind enemy lines. It’s described as a multiple-perspective narrative that closely follows our soldiers on the ground and the officers and service men and women on a nearby aircraft carrier, along with intelligence officers in D.C. as they attempt to bring our heroes home safely and under the radar.

Chavarria will play Ziggy Rodriguez, a Navy pilot, and the son of lifetime career Senior Navy Executive Officer Mateo Rodriguez. He joins a cast that includes Marg Helgenberger and B.J. Britt.

The project hails from 20th Century Fox Television — whose feature sibling was behind the movie — studio-based Temple Hill and Davis Entertainment.

Chavarria, who played Jacob Aguilar in East Los High, will next be seen in War for the Planet of the Apes, which opens in theaters this July, and the upcoming Hunter Killer. He also appeared in feature Lowriders.

Thorne Signs with Creative Artists Agency (CAA)

Posted on May 3, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Bella Thorne is getting Creative…

The 18-year-old half Cuban American actress/singer and former Disney Channel star has signed with the Creative Artists Agency (CAA).

The move comes as Thorne, who has been branching out fast into feature films as both an actress and producer, just finished filming Midnight Sun opposite Patrick Schwarzenegger, Tyler Perry’s Boo! A Madea Halloween and The Babysitter with Robbie Amell and directed by McG.

On the TV side, her Freeform pilot Famous in Love, adapted by Marlene King, has landed a series order.

Her recent credits include the SXSW pic Shovel Buddies, which she also produced, and Thorne now is in production on a second Awesomeness Films movie, You Get Me, in which she will also star and produce. She is voicing a role in Focus Features’ animated Ratchet and Clank and over the summer will begin production on Xavier Dolan’s The Death and Life of John F. Donovan.

She had been repped by WME.

Thorne has 11.3 million Instagram followers, 9.9 million Facebook fans and 6.3 million Twitter followers. She also has a novel, Autumn Falls, and another, Autumn’s Kiss, coming in the fall.

Fernandez to Star in Fox’s “Lethal Weapon” Pilot

Posted on March 18, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

There’s a lethal dose of Hollywood action in Johnathan Fernandez’s future…

The Afro-Latino actor has been cast opposite Clayne Crawford and Damon Wayans Sr. in Lethal Weapon, Fox’s hour-long pilot based on the movie franchise.

In the pilot, written by Matt Miller and directed by McG, when Texas cop and former Navy SEAL Riggs (Crawford) suffers the loss of his wife and baby, he moves to Los Angeles to start anew. There, he is partnered with LAPD Detective Roger Murtaugh (Wayans), who, having recently suffered a “minor” heart attack, must avoid stress in his life.

Fernandez will play Scorsese, a dry-toned and creative pathologist with the LAPD who works with Riggs and Murtaugh.

Fernandez’s credits include Girls, Younger, Hey Girl and Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll.

Alonso to Star in NBC’s Drama Pilot “The Mysteries of Laura”

Posted on February 23, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a mysterious time for Laz Alonso…

The 39-year-old Afro-Cuban American actor has signed on to co-star opposite Debra Messing in NBC’s drama pilot The Mysteries of Laura.

Directed by McG, from a script written by Jeff Rake, the project is based on the popular Spanish series Los misterios de Laura.

The telelvision project centers on the life and relationships of Laura Diamond (Messing), a female homicide detective who can handle murderous criminals — but not her hell-raising twin children.

Alonso will portray Billy, Laura’s partner in crime.

Alonso’s casting stems from a talent holding deal the network inked with him following his stint on last season’s short-lived drama Deception.

The Mysteries of Laura is being produced by Warner Bros. Television, Greg Berlanti’s Berlanti Productions and Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment.

Alonso’s previous credits include Breakout Kings and Avatar.

English Adaptation of Spain’s “Los misterios de Laura” to Star Debra Messing

Posted on February 20, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Spain’s popular drama series Los misterios de Laura has its American star…

Producers of the NBC hour-long pilot project, an adaptation of the Spanish-Language version, have cast former Smash star Debra Messing in the lead role.

The casting of Messing in the pilot, entitled The Mysteries of Laura, has helped lift the project’s cast-contingency.

Written by Jeff Rake and directed by McG, the pilot is based on the popular Spanish series Los misterios de Laura.

It follows the life and relationships of Laura Diamond (Messing), a female homicide detective who can handle murderous criminals — but not her hell-raising twin children.

Production on the pilot and the series will be moved to New York, where Messing is based.

The Mysteries of Laura extends Messing’s long history at NBC where she became a household name with her Emmy-winning starring role on the hit comedy Will & Grace.

Hispanically Yours

Celebrating the Latino Influence

Tag Archives: McG