HBO Max Gives Series Order to Rosario Dawson’s Futuristic Drama “DMZ”

Posted on November 21, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Rosario Dawson is heading to the demilitarized zone…

HBO Max has given a series order to Ava DuVernay and Roberto Patino’s DMZ, starring the 41-year-old Puerto Rican and Cuban American actress and activist.

HBO Max ordered four episodes of the limited series, a futuristic drama set amid a second American civil war and based on the DC Comics series.

Production on the series is scheduled to start in 2021.

DMZ stars Dawson and Benjamin Bratt in the lead roles, alongside Hoon Lee, Freddy Miyares and Jordan Preston Carter.

DMZ is set in the near future, when America is embroiled in a bitter civil war, leaving Manhattan a demilitarized zone (DMZ), destroyed and isolated from the rest of the world. It chronicles the harrowing journey of fearless and fierce medic Alma Ortega (Dawson) to find the son she lost in the evacuation of New York City at the onset of the conflict. Throwing gasoline on the flames of that conflict is Parco Delgado (Bratt), the popular, and deadly, leader of one of the most powerful gangs in the DMZ. He wants to rule this new world and will stop at nothing to secure that outcome.

The drama will examine the stark political and cultural divide in American society, where Alma must contend with the gangs, militias, demagogues and warlords that control this lawless no man’s land. In doing so, she becomes the unlikely source of what everyone there has lost…hope.

Patino, who will write all episodes and showrun the series, wrote the pilot episode, which was directed by DuVernay. Patino and DuVernay serve as executive producers on the series.

DMZ is produced by DuVernay’s ARRAY Filmworks in association with Warner Bros. Television.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled to bring this epic to the screen with my boundary-pushing partners at WBTV and HBO Max, a sublime cast led by Rosario and Benjamin, and my partner and friend, the inimitable and ever-inspiring Ava DuVernay,” said Patino. “DMZ offers up an explosive playground which, more than anything else, exalts the resilience of community and the human spirit. I can’t wait to welcome the die-hard fans of the comic books and new viewers alike to this intoxicating, haunting and inspiring world.”

Dawson’s television credits include The Mandalorian, Briarpatch and Jane the Virgin. She’ll soon appear in the upcoming miniseries Dopesick.

Tracy Vilar to Star in the Netflix Dramedy “Maid”

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Posted on October 12, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Tracy Vilar is maid to order…

The 52-year-old Latina actress has been cast as a series regular opposite Margaret Qualley in Maid, Netflix’s dramedy series from writer Molly Smith Metzler, John Wells Productions, Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television.

Written by Metzler, Maid is inspired by Stephanie Land’s bestselling memoir Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive. It revolves around Alex (Qualley), a single mother who turns to housekeeping to — barely — make ends meet as she battles against poverty, homelessness, and bureaucracy. Told primarily through her point of view, Maid is described as a beautiful, alive, gritty and inspiring exploration of poverty in America.

Vilar will play Yolanda, the owner of “Value Maids,” the cleaning business that eventually employs “Alex” (Qualley). A woman who suffers no fools and runs a tight ship, Yolanda has managed to survive in a world (and economy) that is not always kind to her.

In addition to Qualley, Vilar joins previously cast Andie MacDowell, Nick Robinson and Anika Noni Rose. Maid is currently filming in Vancouver.

Vilar co-starred on the CBS comedy series Partners. Her television series credits include major roles on Fox’s House and TNT’s Saved and guest shots on three Shondaland/ABC series, Grey’s Anatomy, How To Get Away with Murder and For the People. She also appeared in the features Grace of My Heart and K-Pax.

Martin Sheen & His “The West Wing” Cast Mates to Reunite for ‘When We All Vote’ Special on HBO Max

Posted on August 26, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Martin Sheen is returning to the West Wing…

Aaron Sorkin is reuniting his The West Wing cast, including the 80-year-old half-Spanish American actor, for the first time in 17 years with a special for HBO Max.

Sheen, Rob Lowe, Dulé Hill, Allison Janney, Janel Moloney, Richard Schiff and Bradley Whitford are getting back together with Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme for A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote.

The special will feature a theatrical performance of Hartsfield’s Landing, an episode from the NBC drama’s third season that featured Sheen’s President Barlet playing chess against Sam (Lowe) and Toby (Schiff), while the Chinese are playing war games in the Taiwan Strait and Josh (Whitford) is nervous about the 42 votes in a remote New Hampshire town’s election, which always predict the winner of that state’s primary.

It marks the second high-profile special of a classic NBC series produced by Warner Bros. set to air on HBO Max following the much-delayed Friends reunion special.

The West Wing reunion has long been in the works with Schiff saying in June that the gang was getting back together in support of Black Lives Matter following the death of George Floyd. The crew have reunited in various forms, including at ATX in Austin, for The West Wing Weekly podcast, and for an ad for Bridget Mary McCormack, a candidate for Michigan’s Supreme Court. However, this is the first time that it will air on television.

The team behind the Warner Bros. Television-produced series have organized the reunion to raise awareness for and support When We All Vote, a non-profit, nonpartisan organization co-chaired by Michelle Obama, which was founded to increase participation in every election in America.

WarnerMedia will make a donation to When We All Vote.

Michelle Obama will make a guest appearance in the special, while additional cast members and special guests from the worlds of public service and the arts will be announced in the coming weeks.

A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote will shoot over multiple days at the Orpheum Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles in early October. Sorkin will write original exclusive material for the special, while Schlamme will serve as director of the production.

“Tommy and I are incredibly excited to be getting The West Wing cast back together for this staged reading and to support When We All Vote in their efforts to get all of us involved in this election,” said Sorkin.

“With A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote, we are excited to revisit this legendary series and offer our passionate fans something that is substantial, meaningful and unforgettable, while also promoting an important message for our time,” added Sarah Aubrey, head of original content, HBO Max. “Combined with WarnerMedia’s donation to When We All Vote, this special not only entertains, but also help ensure the organization can carry forth its mission to increase voter participation in every election.”

Sheen appeared on 140 episodes of The West Wing from 1999-2006. The won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of fictitious U.S. President Josiah “Jed” Bartlet.

Dania Ramirez to Star in Netflix’s DC Vertigo Comic-Based Series “Sweet Tooth”

Posted on July 30, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Dania Ramirez has landed a Sweet role…

The 40-year-old Dominican actress and Devious Maids star will star in Sweet Tooth, Netflix’s new drama series based on the DC Vertigo comic.

Ramirez will be part of the series’ core cast of series regulars, which includes Christian Convery, Nonso Anozie and Adeel Akhtar. Will Forte has a recurring role, while James Brolin serves as the series’ narrator.

The eight-episode Sweet Tooth follows the adventures of Gus (Convery) — part deer, part boy — who leaves his home in the forest to find the outside world ravaged by a cataclysmic event. He joins a ragtag family of humans and animal-children hybrids like himself in search of answers about this new world and the mystery behind his hybrid origins.

Ramirez will reportedly play Aimee, a pioneer in the middle of dystopic America, a lone scavenger in an abandoned city, rebuilding a sustainable habitat and giving orphaned hybrids a home.

The project hails from Robert Downey Jr. and Susan Downey’s Team Downey, Jim Mickle, Beth Schwartz and Warner Bros. Television.

Along with fellow new Netflix series Cowboy Bebop, Sweet Tooth was among of a handful of Hollywood television series and movies to be granted border exemptions by the New Zealand government several weeks ago, a crucial step for any overseas production to be able to film in the country, which has largely eradicated COVID-19.

The tentative plan is for the cast to travel to New Zealand in August, where they’ll self-isolate for two weeks ahead of a potential September 7 start of production, according to Deadline.com.

Ramirez can currently be seen as one of the leads in the first season of Kevin Williamson’s CBS All Access anthology drama series Tell Me a Story, airing on the CW.

She previously starred on Marc Cherry’s Lifetime series Devious Maids and had major roles on ABC’s Once Upon a Time and NBC’s Heroes.

Netflix Releases Trailer for Fifth Season of Aimee Garcia’s Supernatural Series “Lucifer”

Posted on July 16, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Aimee Garcia is preparing for a Hell of time…

Netflix has released a trailer for Season 5 ofthe 41-year-old Puerto Rican and Mexican American actress’ series Lucifer,which will premiere on Friday, August 21.

Here’s the Netflix logline for the new series: “The stakes are higher than ever. Secrets will be revealed, beloved characters will die, and we’ll finally get an answer to the question, ‘Will they or won’t they?’”

Season 5 of the Warner Bros. Television-produced show, starring Tom Ellis as the Devil, will be split into two eight-part blocks of episodes. It was meant to be the show’s last season, but Netflix recently renewed Lucifer for a “FINAL final” sixth season.

In addition to Ellis and Garcia, who portrays Ella Lopez, the series also stars Kevin Alejandro as Detective Dan Espinoza, Lauren German and D.B. Woodside.

Netflix originally rescued the supernatural drama from Fox, where it was canceled in May 2018 after three seasons. The pickup followed a big #SaveLucifer campaign that played out on social media for more than a month.

NBC Renews J.R. Martinez’s “Manifest” for a Third Season

Posted on June 15, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

It’s J. R. Ramirez manifest destiny…

NBC has given the green light for a third season of the missing plane drama series Manifest, starring the Cuban-American actor.

From Jeff Rake and Warner Bros. Television, the series is influenced by the mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. When Montego Air Flight 828 landed safely after a turbulent but routine flight, the crew and passengers were relieved. Yet in the span of those few hours, the world had aged five years and their friends, families and colleagues, after mourning their loss, had given up hope and moved on. Now, faced with the impossible, they’re all given a second chance. But as their new realities become clear, a deeper mystery unfolds and some of the returned passengers soon realize they may be meant for something greater than they ever thought possible.

The season 2 finale drew solid numbers, earning a 0.8 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic and 4.58 million viewers, with the series averaging a 1.5 rating in adults 18-49 and 7.7 million viewers in live plus seven, according to Nielsen.

In addition to Martinez, who portrays Detective Jared Vasquez, Manifest also stars Melissa Roxburgh, Josh Dallas, Athena Karkanis, Luna Blaise, Jack Messina, Parveen Kaur and Matt Long.

Johnathan Fernandez to Star on HBO Max’s “Gossip Girl” Series Reimagining

Posted on March 3, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Johnathan Fernandez is ready to spill the tea…

The 46-year-old Colombian and Honduran American actor joined Emily Alyn Lindin Gossip Girl, HBO Max’s upcoming series reimagining of the pop culture phenomenon that made household names of stars like Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Penn Badgley, Chace Crawford and Ed Westwick.

Fernandez joins a roster of new cast additions that includes Whitney Peak, Eli Brown and Jason Gotay.S

The 10-episode series hails from Joshua Safran, Josh Schwartzand Stephanie Savage’s Fake Empire, Alloy Entertainment, Warner Bros Televisionand CBS Television Studios.

Like the original series, the new iteration of Gossip Girl, written by Safran, is based on the book by Cecily von Ziegesar. Eight years after the original website went dark, a new generation of New York private school teens are introduced to the social surveillance of Gossip Girl.

The prestige series will address just how much social media — and the landscape of New York itself — has changed in the intervening years.

No official character descriptions for the quartet are being released. The new series is said to have a similar character dynamic to the original, with Peak, Brown and Lind as the leading trio and Fernandez and Gotay as members of the core ensemble.

Gossip Girlran for six seasons from 2007-2012 on the CW across 121 episodes. Its influence extended beyond television.Fernandez was a series regular on another WBTV series, Fox’s Lethal Weapon. For three seasons, he played the dry-toned medical examiner on the series reboot. Fernandez will next appear in the Marvel feature Morbiusand the indie Together-ish.

Gina Torres to Star in ABC’s Supernatural Drama Pilot “The Brides”

Posted on March 3, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Gina Torres is vampin’ things up…

The 50-year-old Cuban American actress will lead the cast of The Brides, ABC’s supernatural drama pilot from Riverdale and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina developer/executive producer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television.

Written by Aguirre-Sacasa and directed by Maggie Kiley, The Brides, a sexy contemporary reimagining of Dracula, is a family drama with a trio of powerful female leads at its heart. With strong horror elements, The Brides is a vampire soap about empowered, immortal women and the things they do to maintain wealth, prestige, legacy — and their nontraditional family.

Torres plays Cleo Phillips. One of the three Brides of Draculaand the leader of this vampire trio, Cleo is an imperious woman with a queenly manner —understandably, as she was a queen in her former life who was turned by Dracula after the death of her husband. Now a maven of New York City real estate, Cleo is challenged professionally by a mysterious newcomer — even as her ties to her sisters are dangerously fraying.

While the focus will be on the women, the character of Dracula is featured in the show.

Torres recently played Jessica Pearson, first on USA Network’s popular original series Suits and then in the network’s Chicago-set spinoff series Pearson, which Torres headlined and executive produced. The role has earned Torres an ALMA Award, an Imagen Awardand the National Hispanic Media Coalition’s Award for Outstanding Performance in a Television Series.

At ABC, Torres co-starred on the Shondalanddrama series The Catch, recurred on Revenge and toplined the 2016 pilot The Death of Eva Sofia Valdez. Angel and Firefly alumna Torres also did an arc on HBO’s Westwood.

Jason Diaz to Appear on the CW’s Sci-Fi Drama Series “The 100”

Posted on December 13, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

Jason Diaz has 100 reasons to celebrate…

The Latino actor has landed a recurring role on the upcoming seventh and final season of the CW’s sci-fi drama series The 100.

Diaz will play Levitt, a brilliant mind who has always lived by the book, doing exactly what he’s told. But when life throws him a curveball, he’ll come to discover that there’s a bit of an artist — and a rebel — buried within.

Based on the book series by Kass Morgan, The 100hails from Alloy Entertainment, Warner Bros. Televisionand CBS Television Studioswith executive producers Jason Rothenbergand Leslie Morgenstein.

The series follows a group of post-apocalyptic survivors who are among the first people from a space habitat, the Ark, to return to Earth after a devastating nuclear apocalypse.

Diaz’s previous TV credits include guest-starring roles on The Handmaid’s Tale, The Detective’s Club: New Orleans and Paranormal Witness.

Chelsea Rendon to Appear on New Season of Showtime’s “Shameless”

Posted on September 6, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

There’s a little Shame in Chelsea Rendon’s game…

The Latina actress has landed a recurring role on Showtime’s long-running series Shameless.

The 10th season of the William H. Macy-fronted series from Warner Bros. Televisionpicks up six months after last season’s finale with Frank (Macy) using his leg injury to collect as many prescription drugs as possible and his exploits leading him to an old friend. Meanwhile, Debbie (Emma Kenney), emboldened by the $50,000 left to her by Fiona, has stepped in as the new matriarch, ruling over the Gallagher household with an iron fist. Lip (Jeremy Allen White) navigates his relationship with a newly affectionate Tami (Kate Miner). Carl (Ethan Cutkosky) has to decide what to do with his life as he finishes military school and heads back to the South side. Liam is committed to learning more about black history and culture under the tutelage of V (Shanola Hampton) as Kev (Steve Howey) faces an identity crisis. Gallavich returns this season as Ian (Monaghan) and Mickey (Noel Fisher) rekindle their romance in prison as both cellmates and lovers.

Rendon will portray Anne, the charismatic — and dangerously fun — new coworker of Carl (Ethan Cutkosky) at Captain Bob’s. Early on, the two have contentious relationship but then she shows Carl a different perspective on being poor on the South Side.

Shameless returns on Sunday, November 3 on Showtime.

Rendon stars in Tanya Saracho’s critically acclaimed Starzseries Vida as well as theSundancedrama The Infiltrators from Cristina Ibarraand Alex Rivera.

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