Eva Longoria to Appear on Season Four of Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building”

Posted on February 22, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Eva Longoria is entering the building…

The 48-year-old Mexican American actress, who recently made her feature film directorial debut with Flamin’ Hot, has been cast in Hulu‘s Only Murders in the Building Season 4 in a recurring role.

Details regarding the new season’s plot and character descriptions remain under wraps. However, new episodes will reportedly focus on unraveling the murder of Sazz Pataki (Jane Lynch), Charles-Haden Savage’s (Steve Martin) mind-bogglingly identical stunt double from his years on the series Brazzos and its 2020 revival.

Disney Television Group President Craig Erwich revealed in a recent Deadline interview that the Only Murders In the Building trio: Charles, Oliver (Martin Short) and Mabel (Selena Gomez), will kick off the new season with a trip to Los Angeles before returning to The Arconia in their search of Sazz’s killer.

Longoria’s character becomes integral to the twists and turns of this season’s investigation, sources close to production reveal.

She joins Molly Shannon, the first new cast member announced for Season 4, in the role of a high-powered LA businesswoman who finds herself drawn into the world of the investigation in New York.

Meryl Streep recently set her Season 4 return reprising the role of Loretta Durkin.

In the Season 3 finale—following her highly praised performance in Oliver’s Broadway hit Death Rattle Dazzle— Loretta received two offers in productions that would require her to relocate to Los Angeles. Her new beau Oliver is into this idea as it would allow him to visit the City of Angels. Mabel’s new love interest Tobert (Jesse Williams) is also headed west, and surprisingly, she’s also keen on taking a little break from New York.

The Emmy-nominated comedy, produced by 20th Television, is co-created and co-written by Steve Martin and John Hoffman who also executive produce alongside Short, Gomez, Dan Fogelman and Jess Rosenthal.

Longoria recently kicked off promotions for her new Apple TV+ series Land of Women in which she executive produces and stars opposite Carmen Maura. The six-episode dramedy series is inspired by Sandra Barneda’s best-selling novel of the same name and will be presented in both Spanish and English.

In addition to her work directing, acting and producing through her production company UnbeliEVAble Entertainment, Longoria partnered last fall with Cris Abrego to form the new media holding company and premium content studio, Hyphenate Media Group. Land of Women is the company’s first project.

Up next, she is set to star in Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Longoria will also produce and star in the TV adaptation of Isabel Allende’s bestselling novel The House of the Spirits for FilmNation Entertainment. The series is a family saga following the extraordinary lives of three generations of women in the Trueba Family, Longoria will portray Blanca Trueba, one of the passionate and courageous women leaders.

Other upcoming projects include the Disney+ original series, from 20th Television, Paola Santiago and the River of Tears, currently in development. The series is inspired by the legend of La Llorona (the weeping woman) and follows teenage Paola on a quest to save her best friend from a different world steeped in Latin folklore that defies logic and legend; and the HBO film A Class Apart, which tells the incredible true story of a group of Mexican Americans fighting for their civil rights during a landmark case that leads to the Supreme Court.

Sarah Shahi to Star in ABC’s Drama Pilot “Judgement”

Posted on March 16, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Sarah Shahi isn’t passing (on) judgement…

The 43-year-old part-Spanish actress and Sex/Life will star in and produce Judgement, ABC’s drama pilot from showrunner Joey Falco and 20th Television.

Shahi had been in talks for the project since January as ABC and the producers had to work through her commitment to Sex/Life, which she headlines.

Netflix just released the second season of the drama, inspired by BB Easton’s book 44 Chapters About 4 Men.

While there has been chatter for a while that this might be Sex/Life‘s final chapter, creator Stacy Rukeyser has shared hopes for a third season. If the show is renewed, Shahi will be able to reprise her role, subject to availability as Judgement now reportedly has her in first position.

Written and executive produced by Falco, Judgement is a high-stakes legal soap that redefines the genre by playing out over two timelines. Fifteen years from now, a woman (Shahi) being vetted for a Supreme Court seat recounts her experience at a prominent D.C. law firm in 2023, where the only thing more controversial than the cases was her messy love life, caught between two feuding brothers. Now, with a Supreme Court seat on the line, all of her darkest secrets are at risk of coming out, threatening her nomination, her reputation and her marriage.

We meet Shahi’s Mia Bahari in two distinct periods of her life. In one, she’s a brilliant, successful Appeals Court judge being vetted for the U.S. Supreme Court — so long as her dark and painful secrets don’t derail the nomination. In another, she’s a young spitfire of an attorney, painfully awkward at times but ingenious when it comes to navigating the many nuances of the law. She’s also caught romantically between two feuding brothers who are at the root of the very things she’s trying to hide from her Supreme Court investigators.

Falco executive produces with Melvin Mar, Jake Kasdan and Jordan Cerf. Paul McGuigan directs and also executive produces. 20th Television is the studio.

This marks Shahi’s return to ABC, where she had a major recurring role on The Rookie.

She also recently recurred on Showtime’s City on a Hill and was seen on the big screen in Warner Bros’ DC feature Black Adam alongside Dwayne Johnson.

Lin-Manuel Miranda & His “Hamilton” Musical Team Up with Prizeo for Fundraising Campaign to Support Abortion Access

Posted on August 9, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Lin-Manuel Miranda is taking a stand for women’s reproductive rights…

The 42-year-old Puerto Rican actor, rapper, songwriter, playwright and filmmaker and his Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Hamilton are teaming up with Prizeo on Ham4Choice, a fundraising campaign to support organizations providing abortion access and other reproductive health services.

“We are devastated by the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling eliminating the right to abortion which has been a right since 1973,” the production said in a statement. “In response, we are teaming up with organizations providing support, access and travel expenses to those seeking these services.”

The effort is part of the show’s larger Ham4Progress philanthropic platform, run by a collective of Hamilton cast members and staff.

Launched in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision in June, the show — which has its own constitutional connection — said funds raised through Ham4Choice will support the Abortion Support Network, ARC Southeast, Ciocia Basia, Deeds Not Words, Planned Parenthood, Profamilias Puerto Rico, The Brigid Alliance, The National Network of Abortion Fund and The Tuscan Abortion Support Collective.

“We’re stronger when we work together,” the statement, which urged fans to support reproductive access and reproductive choice, continued. “We can stand up for every person’s right to make decisions about their own body and their own lives.”

Ham4Choice asks fans to donate funds — as little as $10 — from Aug. 9 to Sept. 22, which will automatically enter them for a chance to win a special Hamilton package. The grand prize winner and a guest will be flown out to Hamilton‘s opening night in Hamburg, Germany, where the musical will be performed in German in its first non-English translation.

While there, they’ll meet Miranda at an exclusive pre-show reception and attend the post-show celebration before being flown out, along with tickets and hotel accommodations, where they’ll get to watch and meet the casts in London and New York. Signed memorabilia will be given to the winner to help commemorate the experience.

Each donation serves as a single entry, with no limit on the number of donations, which can be made at Ham4Choice.com. The fundraiser is just the latest Ham4Progress initiative, the collective focused on highlighting social justice causes, serving as a gathering place for discussion and acting as a platform for progress and organizations the group wants to support.

Miranda has worked with Prizeo in the past on similar efforts, including a 2017 fundraising campaign for Planned Parenthood that gave winners tickets to the Broadway show.

Camila Cabello to Perform at UEFA Champions League Opening Ceremony

Posted on May 9, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Camila Cabello is in a (Champions) League of her own…

The 25-year-old Mexican and Cuban singer is set to headline the Opening Ceremony of the 2022 UEFA Champions League final.

Cabello announced the news with a colorful video in which she sings her 2017 smash “Havana” in a colorful, blossoming AI universe. In it, she struts across a stage before spinning around as her blue dress transforms into a flowing pink gown, and she transitions into her recent single “Bam Bam” as a virtual version of the champion’s cup floats high above her.

“I’m excited to announce that I’ll be performing at the UEFA @championsleague Final Opening Ceremony presented by @pepsiglobal #PepsiShow. I’ve got lots of surprises in store for you,” Cabello wrote in a message to fans. The showdown between Liverpool and Real Madrid will take place at Stade de France on May 28.

Marshmello headlined last year’s opening ceremony with a mind-bending six-minute virtual performance that was two years in the making.

On May 5, Cabello was honored at Variety’s Power of Women event for her work with the Movement Voter Fund to launch the Healing Justice Project, and used her time on the floor to discuss the Supreme Court’s leaked draft opinion that experts suspect could lead to an overturning of the seminal 1973 Roe v. Wade case that has guaranteed women the right to an abortion.

“It’s atrocious,” the 25-year-old singer said during her speech in which she also encouraged people to get involved by voting on the local level and donating to relevant causes. “Obviously it’s going to affect poor women the most, because women that have resources — even like me — will be able to handle things if if they’re needed. The idea of having one moment transform the course of a woman’s life is tragic. And it’s tragic [that] the people affected are not having a say.”

Alex Padilla Sworn In by Predecessor Kamala Harris as California’s First Mexican American & Hispanic U.S. Senator

Posted on January 20, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Alex Padilla is officially representing the Great State of California…

Democrats took control of the U.S. Senate for the first time since 2015, as Vice President Kamala Harris swore in the 47-year-old Mexican American politician as her appointed successor, as well as Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, who won their races against Republican incumbents in Georgia his month.

On December 22, 2020, California governor Gavin Newsom appointed Padilla to succeed Harris in the Senate, after Harris was elected as vice president. He’s the first Mexican American and Hispanic senator from California, the first senator from Southern California since 1992, and the first male senator to represent the state since 1993.

“I need to catch my breath, so much is happening,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who now is the new majority leader.

The Senate split is 50-50 now, but Democrats will have the edge because Harris has a tie-breaking vote. That might be needed, as Joe Biden tries to usher through a series of legislative priorities, including a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package and immigration reform.

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) will be the president pro tem of the Senate, which is third in line for the presidency following the vice president and Speaker of the House.

With Democratic control of Congress and the White House, there is some expectation that legislation will face legal challenges, as Donald Trump was able to appoint more than 200 judges to the federal bench, including three Supreme Court seats.

.@VP Harris swears in Senators Ossoff (D-GA), Warnock (D-GA) and Padilla (D-CA). pic.twitter.com/rfws3jUrQb

— CSPAN (@cspan) January 20, 2021

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to Swear in U.S. Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris

Posted on January 17, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Sonia Sotomayor will make a special appearance at this week’s inauguration…

The 66-year-old Puerto Rican Supreme Court Justice will swear in U.S. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Wednesday, January 20, a ceremony in which the first woman of color to become vice president will take her oath of office from the first woman of color to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Harris chose Sotomayor for the task, according to a Harris aide who was confirming a report by ABC News. The vice president-elect and Justice Sotomayor have a shared background as former prosecutors. And Harris has called the justice a figure of national inspiration.

“Judge Sonia Sotomayor has fought for the voices of the people ever since her first case voting against corporations in Citizens United,” Ms. Harris wrote on Twitter in 2019. “As a critical voice on the bench, she’s showing all our children what’s possible.”

Justice Sotomayor, who was nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed to the Supreme Court in 2009, swore in Joseph R. Biden Jr. for his second term as vice president in January 2013 (first in a private ceremony and again in public the next day because of a quirk of the calendar).

Sotomayor was born in The Bronx, New York City, to Puerto Rican-born parents. She graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University in 1976 and received her Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 1979, where she was an editor at the Yale Law Journal. She worked as an assistant district attorney in New York for four and a half years before entering private practice in 1984. She played an active role on the boards of directors for the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, the State of New York Mortgage Agency, and the New York City Campaign Finance Board.

Sotomayor was nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by President George H. W. Bush in 1991; confirmation followed in 1992. In 1997, she was nominated by President Bill Clinton to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Her nomination was slowed by the Republican majority in the U.St Senate, but she was eventually confirmed in 1998. On the Second Circuit, Sotomayor heard appeals in more than 3,000 cases and wrote about 380 opinions. Sotomayor has taught at the New York University School of Law and Columbia Law School.

Demi Lovato to Take Part in “Honor Her Wish” Virtual Rally to Honor the Late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Posted on October 12, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Demi Lovato is celebrating an Supreme (Court) legend…

The 28-year-old half-Mexican American singer/actress will take part in a special rally to pay tribute to late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg‘s legacy.

Lovato joins an all-star roster that includes Miley Cyrus, Jessica Biel, Kristen Bell, Beanie Feldstein, Elizabeth Banks, Yvette Nicole Brown and Mae Whitman, who’ll all take part in the “Honor Her Wish” virtual event.

The program, set for Monday, October 12 at 8:00 pm ET, will demand the U.S. Senate honor RBG‘s dying wish that her seat be filled after the inauguration next January. The event will will coincide with the first day of Republican hearings to confirm Donald Trump’s nominee for a Supreme Court replacement.

The new group of celebrities join previously announced participants Hayley Williams, Phoebe Bridgers, Kesha, Michael Stipe, Margo Price, John Batiste and Kathleen Hanna.

Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Stacey Abrams, Elizabeth Warren and more leaders will also speak out at the event.

“Honor Her Wish” is open to the public.

RSVP here in advance.

Jesse & Joy Release Star-Studded “Love (Es Nuestro Idioma)” Music Video in Support of LGBTI+ Community

Posted on June 15, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Jesse & Joy are spreading the love with some all-star assistance…

The Mexican Latin Grammy-winning brother and sister duo has released the official music video for “Love (Es Nuestro Idioma)” and it features appearances by nearly 200 people from around the world, including artists like Thalía, Juanes and more.

The music video speaks out against violence toward the LGBTI+ community and raises awareness about conversion therapies that to this day take place in Mexico and other parts of the world.

“Our music will always be there to remind you that you are beautiful just as you are,” the Mexican previously said about the song, included in their recently-released album Aire. “It’s called ‘Love’ and talks about love being the universal language, the language that all of us should speak.”

Toward the end of the video, the message is loud and clear: “A sexual orientation is nothing something that should be cured. Conversion therapies are acts of torture and violation of privacy.”

Featuring cameos by Latin artists like Mon Laferte, Natalia Jiménez, Ángela Aguilar, Alejandro Sanz, Laura Pausini, Kany García, Ana Bárbara, Tommy Torres, Sofía Reyes, Luis Fonsi, among others, the video was directed by Kacho López and Joy.

The release coincides with the landmark ruling officially protecting LGBTQ people from workplace discrimination issued by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Profits from the video will be donated to the YAAJ MEXICO Foundation to help the organization continue their social work in Mexico and for their work supporting sexual violence young victims.

Sonia Sotomayor Helping Develop Civics Education-Related Video Games

Posted on December 27, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Sonia Sotomayor is raising the game of children nationwide…

The 63-year-old Puerto Rican Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, the first Latina to serve in that role, is helping develop video games to mold the minds of young students.

Sotomayor – who sits on the board of iCivics (a nonprofit that promotes civics education) – envisioned a Spanish-language computer game that could make the subject more accessible to English learners.

The topic is often difficult for English learners, because the books are dense and written in academic language. In 2011, her idea became a reality with a game titled Do I Have a Right?, which has a Spanish-language version, ¿Tengo Algún Derecho?

Since its launch, it’s successfully helped English learners connect with civics material, according to NBC News.

Research shows that knowledge of civics leads to more engaged citizens. This means they’ll be more likely to vote and to understand what their rights are. In Do I Have a Right? players run their own law firms and take on pro-bono cases for clients who believe they have had their rights violated. Each game is about a half an hour long, and doesn’t feel as laborious as reading a chapter of a textbook.

Students have vouched for the game. For 12-year-old Yosviel, who arrived to the United States in March 2016, it allows him to learn about his rights in a fun way. “The games allow me to learn about the rights that I have as a citizen; to me that is important since I am a new immigrant,” he told NBC News. “The games are also very entertaining and much more fun than traditional homework.”

Teachers have similarly seen how this game makes a difference, which is what Sotomayor was shooting for. “Supporting students is a cause very near to my heart,” she said. “We need all young people engaged in the future of our democracy. Initiatives such as this one mark an important step towards ensuring that, no matter what language they speak, all young people have access to the knowledge and skills they need to fully participate in those important conversations.”

Quijano Named Anchor of CBS Weekend News

Posted on May 3, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Elaine Quijano’s weekends have filled up…

The Latina television journalist will anchor CBS News’ evening newscasts, which are being rebranded as CBS Weekend News starting this weekend.

Jim Axelrod, who has anchored the Saturday edition since 2012, and Jeff Glor, who has anchored Sundays, “remain in important roles in the organization,” CBS News said. Axelrod continues as senior national correspondent and Glor as national correspondent and 60 Minutes Sports contributor.

Quijano and Nina also anchor for CBSN, the news operation’s 24/7 digital news service, and the changes to the weekend broadcasts reflect those franchise’s closer ties to the streaming news service going forward. The broadcast network’s weekend newscasts routinely suffer frequent pre-emption and special-out-ings, owing to sports and other considerations. This season to date, the Saturday edition has aired in pattern – in time slot and at full length – just 11 times in 31 weeks, the Sunday edition has aired in pattern just four times.

Quijano, who will anchor Saturdays, joined CBS News in 2010 and has covered the Boston Marathon bombings, Superstorm Sandy and the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Quijano was also part of the CBS News team that received an Alfred I. duPont Award for the network’s coverage of the 2012 Newtown shootings.

In 2011, Quijano revealed in a report that the White House did not send presidential condolence letters to the families of service members who committed suicide, after which broadcast President Barack Obama reversed that policy. Prior to joining CBS News, Quijano worked for CNN since 2006, most recently as a Washington, D.C.-based correspondent, covering the Pentagon, White House and Supreme Court.

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