Ektor Rivera to Star in Upcoming Hallmark Film “Groundswell”

Ektor Rivera is feeling (ground)swell…

The Puerto Rican actor, singer and visual artist will star opposite Lacey Chabert in the Hallmark film Groundswell. The project is set to premiere on August 21 on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.

Groundswell is an adaptation of Katie Lee Biegel’s debut novel. Beigel serves as executive producer on the project and will make a cameo appearance.

In Groundswell, on the heels of a personal and professional setback, Atlanta chef Emma (Chabert) travels to Hawaii where she meets Ben (Rivera), a handsome, reclusive surf instructor whose lessons help her to regain her footing.

“I am a huge fan of Lacey’s movies, and she has been my dream choice to play Emma, from Day 1,” said Biegel. “This project is close to my heart, and there is no one better to bring us along on Emma’s journey.”

Groundswell, from Crown Media Productions, is executive produced by Cameron Johann. Ric Galindez and Roy Tjioe are producers. Lee Friedlander is directing from a script by Carlie Mantilla & John Eliot Jordan.

Chabert signed a multi-picture deal with Crown Media Family Networks in February under which she will headline and executive produce movies and develop other content for Hallmark Channel and other Hallmark platforms over the next two years.

ABC to Launch Garcia Swisher’s “The Astronaut Wives Club” This June

JoAnna Garcia Swisher’s latest project is ready to blast off this summer…

ABC has scheduled The Astronaut Wives Club, starring the 35-year-old half-Cuban American actress, to premiere on Thursday, June 18, at 8:00 pm ET, leading to the two-hour season premiere of Mistresses

The Astronaut Wives Club

The long-in-the-works drama series adaptation of t Lily Koppel’s book of the same name, is being produced by ABC Studios, Fake Empire and Groundswell.

Originally picked up straight-to-series for last summer, The Astronaut Wives Club was pushed to midseason 2015 last April to undergo creative changes.

Written by Stephanie Savage, it tells the real story of the women who stood beside some of the biggest heroes in American history during the height of the space race. In its first incarnation, the series was to cover only the wives of the astronauts from the Mercury missions. Its scope was subsequently expanded to also include the Gemini and Apollo missions.

The Astronaut Wives Club stars Garcia Swisher as Betty Grissom; Yvonne Strahovski as Rene Carpenter; Dominique McElligott as Louise Shepard; Odette Annable as Trudy Cooper; Erin Cummings as Marge Slayton; Azure Parsons as Annie Glenn; Zoe Boyle as Jo Schirra; Desmond Harrington as Alan Shepard; Bret Harrison as Gordo Cooper; Wilson Bethel as Scott Carpenter; Kenneth Mitchell as Deke Slayton; Joel Johnstone as Gus Grissom; Sam Reid as John Glenn and Aaron McCusker as Wally Schirra.

The first episode was directed by Lone Scherfig.