Eva Longoria to Host the Latino-Themed CBS Special “Essential Heroes: A Momento Latino Event”

Eva Longoria is celebrating the Latino population in a special way…

The 45-year-old Mexican American actress and former Desperate Housewives star will host an evening that shines a spotlight on Latino culture in America with Gloria Estefan and Ricky Martin.

Eva Longoria

Essential Heroes: A Momento Latino Event will herald America’s diversity with a focus on Latino culture. The CBS special will not only highlight the different facets of Latino culture, but will also bring attention to those in the community who’ve been deeply impacted by COVID-19, including essential workers.

The special will air on October 26 on CBS and CBS All Access.

“When COVID-19 hit the United States, people were quick to applaud our essential workers, many of whom are Latinos, for helping to keep food on our tables, delivering our packages and working in our healthcare system,” said Longoria. “The Latinx community has been the backbone of this country for hundreds of years, not just the last seven months, and it’s time that we not only know our own worth, but are also recognized, appreciated and celebrated accordingly for our contributions, pandemic or not.”

The one-night special, created by Henry R. Muñoz III and directed by Ron de Moraes, will feature musical performances, comedy sets, docu-shorts and appearances from notable Latino stars. CBS will announce performers and stars to participate at a later date.

“We created Momento Latino because we understand the challenges that Latinos in America face every day, and we knew we had to bring together a national infrastructure of opportunity to move the community forward into the future,” said Muñoz, founder of Momento Latino. “We’ve brought together more than 130 organizations, nonprofits, artists, activists and community leaders so far, and through this special we can share with the nation the inspiring stories of how Latinos served as the backbone of this country’s essential workforce throughout the pandemic despite being among the hardest hit by the disease and the economic fallout.”

Essential Heroes: A Momento Latino Event is produced by Funny Or Die, in partnership with Momento Latino, UnbeliEVAble Entertainment and Global Philanthropy.

Eva Longoria Developing Latinx Family Drama “Chicano,” Based on Richard Vasquez’s Novel, for ABC

Eva Longoria’s hoping to bring the Chicano story and struggle to the small screen.

The 45-year-old Mexican American actress and former Desperate Housewives star has joined forces with Natalie Chaidez and Forest Whitaker to develop the family drama Chicano, inspired by Richard Vasquez’s novel of the same name, for ABC.

Eva Longoria

Written by Chaidez, known for her work on 12 MonkeysHunters and The Sarah Connor Chronicles, the drama is a multi-generational saga about the Sandovals, a Mexican-American family that immigrates to Los Angeles in pursuit of the American Dream.  

It will follow the struggles and triumphs of the Sandoval family from 1920 through present and explores the question of what it means to be American.

Chicano by Richard Vasquez

20th Century Fox Television is the studio on the project, which is being produced in association with Longoria and Ben Spector’s UnbeliEVAble Entertainment and Whitaker and Nina Yang Bongiovi’s Significant Productions

ABC has handed the project a script and additional development material plus penalty commitment. Chaidez, Longoria, Spector, Whitaker, Yang Bongiovi serve as executive producers.

It’s the latest ABC project for UnbeliEVAble Entertainment, which is currently under a deal at 20th Century Fox Studios TelevisionThe company previously produced Grand Hotel. 

Development of the project began with one of the executive producers, Doug Pray, working with Sylvia Vasquez, daughter of Chicano author Richard Vasquez, while Chaidez is a third generation Mexican-American whose own family’s immigration journey closely parallels the story told in Chicano.

Chicano is just the first of many projects that we expect from Eva and Ben as we look to ramp up our slate of Latinx programming. As part of our studio family, they are valuable partners in helping us expand our commitment to compelling stories for underrepresented communities,” said Karey Burke, president, ABC Entertainment. “With Forest, Nina, Natalie and Doug also at the helm of this project, we know we have the perfect powerhouse team to bring this Mexican-American family’s story to life and cultivate the next generation of Latinx storytelling.”

Jencarlos Canela to Appear in ABC’s Soap Opera-Drama “Grand Hotel”

Jencarlos Canela has landed a Grand new project… 

The 30-year-old Cuban Americansinger, songwriter and actor is reuniting with his former Telenovela co-star Eva Longoria on ABC’s Grand Hotel, executive produced by the Mexican American actress/producer.

Jencarlos Canela

Canela will recur on the drama series from ABC Studios as El Rey, a popular Miami recording artist who’s sexy, charismatic, energetic, and amusingly cocky. He’s a major player both in the industry and with the women. He is offered a chance to be a staple performer at the hotel.

Written by Brian Tanen and based on the popular Spanish format series Gran HotelGrand Hotel is a soapy drama set against the backdrop of a Miami Beach hotel, centering on the family who owns the business, the staff who run it and the explosive secrets they hide under the perfect exterior.

Longoria and Ben Spector executive produce via UnbeliEVAble Entertainment alongside Tanen, as well as Ramon Campos and Teresa Fernandez-Valdes via Bambu Producctiones, showrunner of the original Spanish show.

Canela starred opposite Longoria as Xavier Castillo on Telenovela, which aired for one season on NBC. Canela also starred as Jesus Christ in the Fox musical The Passion.

Grand Hotel is slated for a midseason premiere on ABC.

Eva Longoria to Star in the Live-Action Film Adaptation of Nickelodeon’s “Dora the Explorer”

Eva Longoria is exploring a new role…

The 43-year-old Mexican American actress and former Desperate Housewives star has been cast in Paramount Players’ live-action feature of Nickelodeon’s Dora the Explorer.

Eva Longoria

Longoria is set to portray Elena, Dora’s mother.

The James Bobin-directed movie hits theaters on August 2, 2019 and is already in production over in Australia with castmembers Isabela Moner (as Dora), Eugenio Derbez, Micke Moreno, Nicholas Coombe, Madeleine Madden, Adriana Barraza, and Temuera Morrison.

In the movie, the young explorer takes on high school, and with her new pack of friends as well as her sidekick the monkey Boots and her cousin Diego, leads them on a Goonies-esque quest to save her parents and solve the impossible mystery behind a lost Inca civilization.

Longoria recently starred in LD Entertainment’s Dog Days and Pantelion/MGM’s Overboard.

Longoria, via her production company UnbeliEVAble Entertainment, is executive producing the ABC drama series Grand Hotel scheduled for a midseason release as well as the recently announced series Ambassador which received a big put pilot commitment from ABC. She was also the EP on Lifetime’s Devious Maids and NBC comedy Telenovela in which she also starred.

Eva Longoria In Talks to Star in the Feature “Dog Days”

Eva Longoria could be facing some dog days

The 42-year-old Mexican American actress and former Desperate Housewives star is in talks to join director Ken Marino’s sophomore feature Dog Days, from LD Entertainment (Megan Leavey, Jackie).

Eva Longoria

Written by Elissa Matsueda and Erica Oyama, the film is slated to go before cameras next month.

If she signs on, Longoria would join a cast that includes Nina Dobrev, Finn Wolford and Tone Bell.

Dog Days follows a group of humans brought together by their canine pets as they work through hardships in life.

Longoria is in talks to play Grace, a loving wife and mother who can’t bear to disappoint her adopted daughter Amelia when the girl falls in love with a lost dog.

Longoria just wrapped on the MGM/Pantelion remake Overboard with Anna Faris and Eugenio Derbez.

Recently, she was tapped to star in workplace comedy film 24-7, along with Kerry Washington, based on a pitch by screenwriter Sarah Rothschild, which Universal Pictures acquired. Longoria will also produce the project via her UnbeliEVAble Entertainment company.

Eva Longoria to Adapt the Chilean Comedy “Sin Filtro” for American Audiences

Eva Longoria is losing her filter

The 42-year-old Mexican American actress and producer’s UnbeliEVAble Entertainment will team up with Charles D. King’s MACRO for the American-set remake of Sin Filtro, the Chilean film by Nicolas Lopez.

Eva Longoria

They’re hoping to get into production in 2018 a comedy that follows a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Her life spirals out of control after an acupuncture treatment renders her unable to filter herself.

King’s MACRO will finance the film, and he’ll produce with Kim Roth and Poppy Hanks along with UnbeliEVAble’s Longoria and Ben Spector.

The exec producers are the original’s writer-director Lopez and Miguel Asensio Llamas, who produced the original through Sobras International.

Sin Filtro was the top-grossing live-action film in Chile in 2016, and became the second highest grossing film of all time in that country.

Lopez won’t direct the remake. His next film, Hazlo Como Hombre releases in Mexico on August 11 and in the US on Labor Day by Pantelion/Lionsgate, and No Estoy Loca bows in Chile on January 4.  ​

The producers will look to quickly set a writer and director for the remake.

Longoria to Executive Produce Comedy Project “940 Saturdays” for ABC

It’s all about Saturdays for Eva Longoria

The 41-year-old Mexican American actress/producer is reuniting with Chrissy Pietrosh and Jessica Goldstein, the creators of her NBC comedy series Telenovela, to executive produce a new single-camera comedy project for ABC.

Eva Longoria

The comedy, tentatively titled 940 Saturdays, hails from Universal Television and Longoria & Ben Spector’s studio-based UnbeliEVAable Entertainment.

Written by Pietrosh and Goldstein, 940 Saturdays refers to the number of Saturdays between the day your child is born and the day they turn eighteen. In this single-camera series, three families band together to enjoy… and survive them all.

This is the second sale at ABC for UnbeliEVAble this season, along with the Magnum P.I. sequel. The company also has NBC comedy project Big of Me, written by Awkward creator Lauren Iungerich.

Pietrosh and Goldstein’s Telenovela was one of two high-profile single-camera comedy projects vying for Longoria to star during the 2014-15 development season. She went with Pietrosh and Goldstein’s Telenovela, and the comedy, set behind the scenes of a telenovela, was picked up to series by NBC. It launched last midseason, with Longoria starring and Pietrosh, Goldstein, Longoria and Spector executive producing. It did not draw a wide enough audience for a second-season renewal but garnered solid reviews.

Longoria Signs First-Look Deal with Universal Pictures

Eva Longoria is going universal…

The 41-year-old Mexican American actress, producer and activist and her production company UnbeliEVAble Entertainment have agreed to a two-year, first-look deal with Universal Pictures.

Eva Longoria

Universal president of production Peter Cramer made the pact.

First up is Universal’s acquisition of rights to My Daughter’s Quinceañera, a pitch from Lauren Iungerich, creator of the MTV series Awkward.

Longoria and producing partner Ben Spector will produce.

It’s the first crack at features for Iungerich, who’s attached to write, direct and co-produce the film that centers on an overwhelmed single father who is faced with the prospect of planning the quinceañera of his daughter’s dreams.

On the Universal deal, Cramer said: “While audiences have identified with Eva through her iconic television roles, she is also an extremely savvy producer with a keen eye for projects that appeal to a broad range of diverse audiences. We are fortunate that Eva has a found a home with Universal, sharing with us her creative instincts and passion for storytelling.”

Longoria, whose deal was made by CAA and Brillstein Entertainment Partners, is filming BBC Two’s high-end comedy miniseries Decline and Fall, an adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s classic social satire. She’ll next be seen in Ricardo de Montreuil’s Lowriders, which premiered at this year’s LA Film Festival. The film is produced by Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer and Blumhouse Production’s Jason Blum.

“Building upon our continued success as producers in television, we were seeking a home to expand the UnbeliEVAble brand into features,” said Longoria. “There’s simply no better place I could think of than Universal Pictures, whose diverse portfolio of releases is inspirational. Jeff, Donna and Peter’s passion was instrumental in keeping us in the Comcast family, and, beginning with My Daughter’s Quinceañera, we look forward to a long relationship with all our partners at the studio. Lauren’s pitch was so brilliant and funny, and to bring this experience to life is like reliving my 15th birthday.”

Longoria In Talks to Star in BBC Two’s “Decline and Fall” Project

Eva Longoria is Fall(ing) for her next project…

The 41-year-old Mexican American actress and former Desperate Housewives star is in final talks to star opposite British comedy star Jack Whitehall in BBC Two’s high-end adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s classic social satire Decline and Fall.

Eva Longoria

James Wood is adapting the three-part miniseries, which is set in 1920s Wales.

A bitingly funny satire, Decline And Fall follows the life and times of hapless Paul Pennyfeather (Whitehall), who is sent down from Oxford after a wild, drunken party and finds himself qualifying for the position of schoolmaster at a boys’ private school in Wales. There he meets the delectable Margot Beste-Chetwynde (Longoria), the wealthy, powerful, and beautiful South American woman, who becomes the object of his affections.

Guillem Morales is set to direct. Principal photography is set to commence July 18th for seven weeks in Wales.

Longoria is a Golden Globe-nominated and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning multi-hyphenate. Since breaking through on Desperate Housewives, Longoria has guest starred on Fox’s Brooklyn Nine Nine, Lifetime’s Devious Maids, and starred on NBC’s Telenovela — the latter two of which she also exec produced through her production banner UnbeliEVAble Entertainment.

Longoria also has several upcoming films including the Jason Blum/Brian Grazer produced Lowriders; and Refugio, written and directed by Academy Award-nominee Demian Bichir.

Additionally, Longoria has just secured a guest role on the new Lorne Michaels’ variety series for NBC Maya and Marty.

Longoria Developing Drama Project “Casino” NBC with Carlos Portugal

Eva Longoria’s gamble is paying off…

The 40-year-old Mexican American actress, producer and activist’s production company UnbeliEVAble Entertainment has sold another project, the drama Casino, to NBC.

Eva Longoria

Written by East Los High co-creator Carlos Portugal, the project centers on the aftermath of a mogul’s mysterious death when his ambitious young widow and his illegitimate son have to join forces to save his famed casino, while circumstances surrounding his death come to light and threaten to take them both down.

Portugal executive produces with UnveliEVAble Entertainment’s Longoria and Ben Spector.

Universal Television, where the company is based, is the studio.

Casino stems out of efforts by the former Desperate Housewives star — who holds a master’s degree in Chicano studies — to bring Hispanic voices to television.

Born in Cuba, Portugal began his career at San Francisco PBS station KQED, where he produced the Emmy-winning documentary Frida Kahlo: Portrait of an Artist.

For the past three seasons, he has served as creator, showrunner, head writer and director of Hulu’s original drama series East Los High, directing 42 of the 48 produced episodes to date.

Before East Los High, Portugal worked on Tyler Perry’s Meet The Browns and House of Payne for TBS.

UnbeliEVAble has midseason NBC comedy series Hot & Bothered, starring Longoria, as well as three other broadcast projects in development: genre drama Zone of Silence at NBC with Blumhouse Productions and writer Rashad Raisani, comedy Bonita & Mechelle at NBC with Will Packer Prods and writer Kriss Turner Towner and a comedy at ABC with veteran comedy writer Bobby Bowman.