The 47-year-old Puerto Rican and Cuban American actor will star opposite Jenna Ortega in Winter Spring Summer or Fallfor MPCA.
Percy Hynes White is also on board for the film, which Ortega will also executive produce.
The romantic drama is being helmed by writer Tiffany Paulsen, marking her feature debut.
The script was written by Dan Schoffer with revisions by Paulsen.
The film is being described as Before Sunrisemeets The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the story follows two teens (Ortega and Hynes White) on the cusp of adulthood who meet and fall in love over four significant days of the year. Rodriguez will play Ortega’s father in the film.
In addition to starring in iconic shows like the international hit series CSI: Miamiand Criminal Minds, Rodriguez was also an executive producer on multiple projects including HBO’s The Real Magic Mike, a spinoff of Steven Soderberg’s original hit film which he starred opposite Channing Tatum and is also in the upcoming Magic Mike’s Last Dance.
The Motion Picture Corporation of America (MPCA) has a long history of producing successful romantic comedies, most recently the No. 1 Netflix holiday rom-com Falling for Christmasand The Princess Switchtrilogy, starring Vanessa Hudgens.
Previously, Rodriguez starred in and executive produced A Christmas Proposalwith MPCA for CBS and Paramout+, one of the first Christmas movies on CBS which encompassed an all Latine cast.
The 46-year-old Puerto Rican and Cuban American actor and Magic Mike star has shared the official trailer for his upcoming holiday film A Christmas Proposal. The CBS film premieres on Sunday, December 12 at 8:30 pm ET/8:00 pm PT and will be available on demand via Paramount+.
Rodriguez— who executive produces and stars in the project—is proud to bring a holiday story featuring a Latino family to the small screen that focuses on the lives of the characters and steers clear of stereotypes.
“It was my goal from the beginning [that we’re represented in a non-stereotypical way],” Rodriguez tells Deadline.”The script was never written for a Latino family, to begin with. It was written, I’m sure, with a white family in mind. And CBS had the foresight to jump aboard and get a Latin cast in there. I was really happy to get to participate in that and help give it shape because we wanted this to be authentic. We wanted this to be about the people in it and not having to make those people characters that we’ve seen so many times before. It’s really time to see something fresh and I think we accomplished that.”
In the film, Rodriguez plays Julian Diaz, an attorney willing to do whatever it takes to win his father’s favor over his brother to ascend to the role of managing partner of the family firm upon their dad’s retirement.
When Julian meets Maria Winters (Jessica Camacho),—a chef who is hustling as a rideshare driver for extra income—he sees an opportunity to impress his parents. The pair go down this rabbit hole together but could it all be a huge recipe for disaster?
“Julian is a guy that has become obsessed with getting what he thinks is ahead like getting ahead at work, being the most important person there, and the best dressed. He’s so caught up in this competition with his brother, which really feels like it’s just a competition to see who gets the most attention from their parents. It’s sad. He’s in a place in his life where he’s missing out. He’s missing out on the things in life that are really important,” Rodriguez revealed.
He continued, “Julian doesn’t even think about slowing down until all of a sudden this person with a completely different outlook on life, forces him to do that. And the only reason she forces him to do it is that he needs her. Without that, he would have kept being the Julian he was—somebody that looks past people and is not really evaluating his life in any way.”
Rodriguez hopes A Christmas Proposal helps open up the floodgates for more Black and brown love stories in the future, especially in holiday-themed projects.
“I’ll be honest, in my head, I look at these things all on a big scale. We don’t see enough of [Black and brown love stories] and slowly but surely we’re seeing more of it. But especially in the Christmas genre, you never see it,” he shared. “I think just by putting it out there and hopefully having it be something that pops with people, they’ll be excited about the next one. Not even necessarily with these characters but where’s the next brown Christmas movie?”
Although he wasn’t specifically referring to a sequel for A Christmas Proposal, he clarifies he would be open to exploring Julian and Maria’s relationship further.
“Listen, I had a great time working with Jessica and would work with her again anytime. She’s a wonderful actress and a great person. I’m on board!” he exclaimed.
Percy Hynes White is also on board for the film, which Ortega will also executive produce.