Taylor Zakhar Perez Signs with Paradigm

Taylor Zakhar Perez has new representation…

The 32-year-old part-Mexican American actor and breakout star of Amazon’s hit rom-com Red, White & Royal Blue, has signed with Paradigm for representation.

Taylor Zakhar PerezIn the film from director Matthew Lopez, which adapts the New York Times bestselling novel from Casey McQuiston, Perez plays Alex Claremont-Diaz, son of the American President (Uma Thurman), whose feud with a British prince (Nicholas Galitzine) threatens to drive a wedge in U.S./British relations. Subsequently, the pair are forced into a staged truce that sparks something deeper.

Produced by Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schecter, the film premiered in August 2023 and became the No. 1 movie globally on Prime Video in its premiere weekend, remaining the platform’s most-watched film worldwide for the first three weeks after its release.

Touted by Amazon as spurring “a huge surge in new Prime membership signups,” the film is also now among Prime Video’s top three most-watched romantic comedies of all time.

Previously, Perez caught attention when he joined Netflix’s hugely popular YA film series The Kissing Booth, based on the novels by Beth Reekles, for its second and third installments. Additionally, he was featured in the first season of Max’s critically acclaimed series Minx, opposite Ophelia Lovibond, as well as Buzzfeed Studios’ 1UP, available on Prime Video.

He was recently named a SAG Awards Ambassador for the 30th annual SAG Awards, an appointment given to actors exemplifying the utmost values of the profession,

Tubi Acquires Rights to Olivia Goncalves’ Former Max Series “Gordita Chronicles”

Olivia Goncalves is preparing for a tubi-ular time…

The Max original Gordita Chronicles, starring the Latina actress, is getting a second life on Tubi after the company acquired the rights to Season 1 and will be the exclusive AVOD home of the comedy.

Olivia Goncalves

All 10 episodes of the single-cam series will be available on March 29 at 7:30 a.m. PT.

Created by Claudia Forestieri based on her real-life childhood experiences, Gordita Chronicles is about family, opportunity, love, resilience and boldly defying the status quo in pursuit of the “American Dream.”

It tells the story of Cucu “Gordita” Castelli (Goncalves), who has just said goodbye to all of her friends and family in Santo Domingo and moved to Miami with her marketing executive father Víctor (Juan Javier Cardenas), bold and vivacious mother Adela (Diana-Maria Riva) and status-obsessed older sister Emilia (Savannah Nicole Ruiz). While life in America is far from what they imagined, the Castellis are determined to take charge of their strange new world.

Additionally,  Dascha Polanco voiced adult Cucu.

The series also boasted a list of executive producers with big names from Latino Hollywood like Eva Longoria, who also directed the pilot, and Zoe Saladana alongside her sisters/producing partners, Cisely and Mariel Saldana. Additional EPs are Josh Berman, Jennifer Robinson and Christopher King.

Gordita ChroniclesGordita Chronicles was one of the only series showing an authentic representation of a Latino family living in the U.S. Max canceled the series last summer as the streamer decided to pull back on live-action kids and family programming following WarnerMedia’s acquisition by Discovery. The show’s studio Sony Pictures Television was also behind the series One Day at a Time—also a show about a Latino family— developed by Gloria Calderón Kellett and Mike Royce, which found a second and third life at PopTV and CBS following Netflix’s cancellation after three seasons.

“Thanks to the tireless folks at Sony and my favorite new streamer Tubi, Gordita lives! Beyond happy to give the shows’ fans another chance to view our episodes and looking forward to sharing them with a new audience, too,” Forestieri, who also served as co-showrunner, writer and Executive producer, tells Deadline in an exclusive statement.

Adds co-showrunner and executive producer Brigitte Muñoz-Liebowitz, “We’re so thrilled that Gordita Chronicles now has a home at Tubi. This is a huge win for comedy, for underrepresented audiences, and for fans who have been relentless in their support of the show. It gives me hope that all the stories and incredible creative work we lost in the streaming purge can continue to live on.”

Teaser Clip Released for Max’s “The Batman” Spinoff Series, “The Penguin,” Starring Rhenzy Feliz

Rhenzy Feliz is returning to the City

The 26-year-old Dominican American actor is starring opposite in Colin Farrel in The Penguin, a spinoff series of The Batman coming this fall to Max.

Rhenzy FelizFarrell returns to Gotham City as Oz Cobb, aka Oswald Cobblepot, in the trailer for The Penguin, which takes place immediately following the events of DC’s 2022 blockbuster.

The series traces Cobblepot’s rise to power in the Gotham underworld as he becomes one of the most prominent villains in the “Batman” universe.

Farrell gives a classic gangster monologue throughout the trailer, which slowly ramps up the violence and gunfights in Gotham City’s seedy underground.

“When I was a kid, there was a gangster, real old-school type. Rex Calabrese. He was a big deal. He helped people. He saw you on the street, he’d call out to you,”

Cobblepot narrates in the trailer. “When I was 14 or something, he has a heart attack and dies, still holding a cigar. In my neighborhood, they throw a parade in his honor. A friggin’ parade. It wasn’t fancy, but it was a gesture, a show of love, of what he meant. Can you imagine to be remembered like that?”

Farrell’s transformative performance as the iconic villain in The Batman earned him much critical acclaim, and the prosthetics made the actor unrecognizable. In previous “Batman” movies and shows, Burgess Meredith, Danny DeVito and Robin Lord Taylor have played the Penguin.

Joining Farrell are Cristin Milioti as Carmine Falcone’s daughter Sofia, Michael Zegen as Carmine’s son Alberto and Clancy Brown as Salvatore Maroni, one of Gotham’s former top gangsters. The rest of the cast is comprised of Feliz, Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Deirdre O’Connell, Carmen Ejogo, François Chau and David H. Holmes.

The series’ executive producer and showrunner is Lauren LeFranc, known for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Matt Reeves, The Batman writer-director, will executive produce through his production company 6th & Idaho.

Executive producer Craig Zobel will direct the first three episodes. Farrell, Dylan Clark, Daniel Pipski and Bill Carraro are also executive producing, with Ravi Crohn co-executive producing. The series will consist of eight episodes. Production began in March 2023 but was halted in June due to the writers’ and actors’ strikes, with shooting resuming the week after Thanksgiving.

A sequel to The Batman, titled “The Batman: Part II,” was delayed by a year and will now release in theaters on Oct. 2, 2026.

Max Releases Official Trailer for Season 3 of “Hacks,” Featuring Mark Indelicato

Mark Indelicato is making a run for it…

Max has released the official trailer for the third season of its award-winning series Hacks, with the 29-year-old part-Puerto Rican actor and Ugly Betty alum seen running down an airport runway.

Mark IndelicatoHacks, starring Jean Smart, will return to the streamer on May 2 for nine episodes. The season concludes on May 30.

A year after parting ways, Deborah Vance (Smart) is riding high off the success of her standup special while Ava (Hannah Einbinder) pursues new opportunities back in Los Angeles.

In addition to Smart, Einbinder and Indelicato, who portrays Damien, Deborah’s personal assistant, others returning to the comedy include Paul W. Downs, Megan Stalter, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Kaitlin Olson, Christopher McDonald, Rose Abdoo and Chilean actress/model Lorenza Izzo.

Previously announced guest stars include Helen Hunt, Christina Hendricks, Christopher Lloyd, Dan Bucatinsky, George Wallace and Tony Goldwyn.

Hacks is created and showrun by Emmy winners Downs, Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky.

It ‘s executive produced by Downs and Aniello via their Paulilu banner, Statsky via First Thought Productions, as well as Emmy winners Michael Schur via Fremulon, David Miner for 3 Arts Entertainment and Morgan Sackett.

The studio for the series is Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.

Zión Moreno to Star in American High and Hartbeat Hulu’s “Prom Dates”

Zión Moreno has secured a prom date(s)

The 28-year-old Mexican American actress and Gossip Girl reboot star has been cast in Prom Dates, an American High and Hartbeat Hulu film.

Zión MorenoChelsea Handler, John Michael Higgins, Julia Lester, Antonia Gentry, Kenny Ridwan, JT Neal, Jordan Buhat and Terry Hu also star.

The film will hit the service this spring.

The Kim O. Nguyen directed, D.J. Mausner scripted film follows best friends Jess and Hannah (Gentry and Lester), who make a pact at 13 to have the perfect senior prom. Despite the impending changes that college will bring over the next four years, the two are committed to honoring their prom pact. But with only 24 hours left before the big event, everything falls apart when they break up with each of their dates. Jess and Hannah are left with one night to find new dates and live out their middle-school fantasies.

Producers are Jeremy Garelick, Will Phelps and Molle DeBartolo for American High; Kevin Hart, Bryan Smiley and Luke Kelly-Clyne for Hartbeat; and Mickey Liddell and Pete Shilaimon for LD Entertainment. EPs are Kevin Healey and Thai Randolph for Hartbeat, Michael Glassman for LD Entertainment, and Mausner and Andrew Reyes. Jason Zaro will serve as co-producer for Hulu and Axelle Azoulay as associate producer.

Moreno plays Heather, a college party girl who grabs life by tegh horns. The actress has appeared on Max’s Gossip Girl and Netflix’Control Z.

Mausner currently serving as a staff writer on Nickelodeon’s Max and the Midnights and consulting on various projects for Netflix Animation. They previously won a Canadian Screen Award for best writing in a variety sketch comedy series for their work on CBC/IFC’s Baroness Von Sketch Show. Additionally, they were featured in the 2023 CBS TALENT SHOWCASE and starred opposite Ruby Rose, Paris Berelc and Barbie’s Hari Nef in the Amazon/Lionsgate comedy feature 1UP.

American High’s collaboration with Hulu Originals has resulted in seven original films and one acquisition, which launched to critical and consumer acclaim, including hit films such as Pete Davidson’s lead debut, Big Time Adolescence, Natalie Morales’ Plan B and the company’s first-ever sequel, It’s a Wonderful Binge — directed by The Binge scribe, Jordan VanDina, in his feature directorial debut.

Prom Dates marks the eighth film under the original first-look slate deal with American High for Hulu.

Max to Begin Streaming “The Color Purple,” Starring Colman Domingo, on February 16

Colman Domingo is seeing purple to the Max

The Color Purple, starring the 54-year-old Belizean-Guatemalan American actor, will make its streaming debut on Max on February 16.

Colman Domingo, Color PurpleThe film musical remake from Warner Bros. and director Blitz Bazawule is up for an Academy Award, received two SAG Award nominations and earned 17 NAACP Image Award nods.

It stars Fantasia Barrino, who reprises the role of Celie after playing her on Broadway in 2007, as well as Danielle Brooks, who received a Tony nomination for the Broadway role and is now competing for a best supporting actress Oscar.

Domingo, who portrays Albert “Mister” Johnson, Taraji P. Henson and Halle Bailey also star in The Color Purple, which boasts producers including Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Scott Sanders and Quincy Jones, and is a film adaptation of the Broadway musical, which itself adapted the 1985 Spielberg film based on Alice Walker’s novel.

“Spielberg did justice to Alice Walker’s Pulitzer-winning novel, but he also left room to expand and improve,” wrote Variety chief film critic Peter Debruge in his review of the 2023 film. “Now, nearly four decades later, a rousing new version arrives from director Blitz Bazawule.”

He continued, “Instead of rejecting what came before, the Ghanian filmmaker embraces and builds upon it, collaborating with Spielberg, Quincy Jones and Oprah Winfrey to update the material for the next generation … The main change, apart from a cast with impossibly big shoes to fill, comes from incorporating the songs written for the Broadway musical — which also brings an additional freedom, as those numbers allow the story to transcend the characters’ harsh reality.”

In her November Variety cover story, Barrino talked about her trepidation in returning to the role of Celie. In fact, she initially said no to the movie role, turning down Winfrey herself before changing her mind. “I’m grateful that I did not allow those voices in my head to hold me back from stepping into this woman’s shoes,” Barrino said. “It was important that I did.”

Wilmer Valderrama’s Allied Management Group Signs a Slew of Latino Writers

Wilmer Valderrama is giving up-and-coming Latino writers their big break…

The 44-year-old Venezuelan & Colombian American actor’s Allied Management Group, which he set up with John Pollak, has signed a number of Latino writers to its roster.

Wilmer ValderramaThe company has signed Luisa Leschin, Raphael Draccon & Carolina Munhóz, The Original Content Society’s Raúl Campos and Felix de Valdivia, and Daniel and Diego Ayala López.

The goal is for Allied to bring these Latino writers to networks, streamers and studios in the U.S English-language market.

Leschin has worked on nearly 500 episodes of television including Netflix’s Gentefied, where she was a co-exec producer on its second season, Max’s Head of the Class, where she was a co-EP and Hulu’s East Los High. She has also worked on series including Everybody Hates Chris and The George Lopez Show.

Draccon and Munhóz are a husband-and-wife writing team who showran The Chosen One and Invisible City for Netflix and have a first-look deal with Warner Bros. Discovery LatAm to work with Max. They have also written comic books for both Marvel and DC

Campos and de Valdivia are brothers, born in Mexico, who run The Original Content Society. They created, wrote, directed and produced the first YouTube Original sitcom in Latin America – Sobrevivi – as well as Spotify’s first original comedy series, El Grupo, and are co-exec producers for the third and fourth seasons of Amazon’s LOL starring Eugenio Derbez. In addition to producing and directing 24 Netflix comedy specials, they have a first look deal with ITV America, where they are developing an international comedy series called Güerita.

Daniel and Diego Ayala López, born in Colombia were behind Amazon series Manes, which was the most-watched series for Amazon Colombia, and Los BillisThey have worked with Colombia’s Caracol and are currently developing a number of projects with U.S. studios and production companies.

“These writers are currently helping to define the future of Latino story telling by creating universal stories that aren’t defined by borders or language, but instead reflect the modern content experience- groundbreaking storytelling that can be consumed by viewers in a global market,” said Pollak and Valderrama.  “As the need for fresh stories and unique points of view continue to be the priority for Hollywood, these writers will lead the charge and redefine how premium content is created and Allied Mgmt Group is honored to be working alongside them.”

Rosie Perez to Star in Apple TV+’s Limited Series “Before”

Rosie Perez is embracing the before

The 59-year-old Puerto Rican Oscar- and Emmy-nominated actress, choreographer, dancer and activist will star in the Apple TV+ limited series Before alongside executive producer Billy Crystal and Judith Light.

Rosie PerezPerez will portray Denise, a caring and strong-willed foster mother to Noah, one of Eli’s [Crystal] patients.

Written by Sarah Thorp, Before is a 10-episode atmospheric, character-driven psychological thriller about Eli, a child psychiatrist who, after recently losing his wife, Lynn (Light), encounters a troubled young boy who seems to have a haunting connection to Eli’s past.

Seductively enigmatic, Lynn is the love of Eli’s life, but her recent death may not be quite what it seems. As Eli digs deeper into the hidden life of the wife he thought he knew, he soon finds Lynn haunting him from beyond the grave.

Hailing from Paramount Television StudiosBefore will be showrun by Thorp. Emmy Award-winner Adam Bernstein will direct the pilot.

Most recently, Perez recurred in the Showtime drama series Your Honor opposite Bryan Cranston, Netflix’s Human Resources and as a series regular in Max’s The Flight Attendant.

Perez has dazzled audiences on the stage and screen for more than three decades while paving the way for Latinos and women in Hollywood.

She’s best known for her roles in various projects including her breakout in Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing and later White Men Can’t JumpIt Could Happen To You and Birds of Prey.

But it all began with her role as choreographer and Fly Girl on the Fox sketch comedy series In Living Colour, which earned her three Emmy nominations.

In 2021, she was nominated again for her work in The Flight Attendant. Additionally, she was nominated for an Academy Award in 1993 for her role in the Peter Weir-directed film Fearless.

Max Renews “Bookie,” Featuring Jorge Garcia, For a Second Season

Jorge Garcia’s bookie life continues…

Max has renewed its sports book series Bookie, featuring the 50-year-old Cuban & Chilean American actor and former Lost star, for a second season.

Jorge GarciaThe renewal comes two weeks after the season one finale of the show, which stars Sebastian Maniscalco.

From Chuck Lorre and Nick Bakay, the series follows bookie Danny (Maniscalco) as he and his partner, former NFL star Ray (Omar Dorsey), romp around Los Angeles trying to keep their illegal sports betting operation in play.

The series premiered on November 30.

Season 2 presumably will show whether Danny can win back the affections of his wife Sandra, played by Andrea Anders, after his Super Bowl win seems to have torn them apart, as well as Ray dealing with the fallout of his mother’s wedding, which saw the groom seemingly die at the alter.

Produced by Warner Bros. TelevisionBookie also stars Vanessa Ferlito as Danny’s side-hustling sister Lorraine, Garcia as reluctantly reformed drug dealer turned soccer expert Hector and Maxim Swinton as Sandra’s ten year old son.

Charlie Sheen also reunited with Lorre for a few appearances.

“The collaboration between Chuck and Sebastian has proven to be a winning hand and we’re looking forward to continuing the story with this incredibly talented cast and crew,” says Amy Gravitt, executive vice president, HBO Programming, Head of HBO & Max Comedy Series.

Channing Dungey, chairman, Warner Bros. Television Group added, “There’s no doubt that Chuck and Nick’s Bookie won big this season as they took us on a hilarious ride into the underbelly of illegal sports gambling, featuring a cast led by another dynamic duo: Sebastian Maniscalco and Omar J. Dorsey. I’m looking forward to watching more of their antics in Season 2.  Congratulations to the entire cast and crew, and thanks to our partners at Max.”

Onix Serrano to Star in Clint Eastwood’s “Juror No. 2”

Onix Serrano has been called for jury duty

The Puerto Rican actor will star in Clint Eastwood’s Juror No. 2 at Warner Bros.

Onix SerranoIn addition to Serrano, new cast additions include Amy AquinoAdrienne C. MooreCedric Yarbrough and Chikako Fukuyama.

The film follows Justin Kemp, played by Nicholas Hoult, who while serving as a juror in a high-profile murder trial, finds himself struggling with a serious moral dilemma — one he could use to sway the jury verdict and potentially convict–or free–the wrong killer.

Eastwood is producing under his Malpaso banner in addition to directing off of Jonathan Abrams’ screenplay.

The film is currently shooting in Georgia.

Also part of the ensemble are Toni Collette (prosecutor), Gabriel Basso (accused), Zoey Deutch (Kemp’s wife), Leslie Bibb (juror), Chris Messina (public defender), and Kiefer Sutherland (Kemp’s AA sponsor).

Serrano’s credits include the series Gordita Chronicles on Max and a recurring role on Fantasy Island on Fox.