There’s more Jane in Ivonne Coll’s future…
The 71-year-old Puerto Rican actress and Jane the Virgin star has landed a series regular role in Jane the Novela, the CW’s Jane the Virgin spinoff pilot.
The project will be headlined by Jacqueline Grace Lopezand narrated and executive produced by Jane the Virgin star Gina Rodriguez, with Coll providing a little continuity from the original series in front of the camera.
The telenovelaanthology offshoot will also star Remy Hii, Hunter Parrish, Benito Martinez and Holland Roden.
Written/executive-produced by Jane the Virgin writer Valentina Garza, directed/exec produced by Jane the Virgin EP Brad Silberling and executive-produced by Jane the Virgin creator/EP Jennie Snyder Urman, Jane the Novela is a soapy, telenovela-inspired anthology series in the tradition of Jane the Virgin, where each season is based on a different fictional novel “written by” Jane Villanueva and narrated by the author herself.
The first installment takes place at the intersection of Napa Valley wine country and the San Francisco art scene and pairs family secrets and sins of the past with twists, tropes and a bloody bottle of red. It centers on Estela (Lopez), an up-and-coming art curator who has spent years playing it safe and coloring within the lines. But a shocking secret changes everything and forces her to live a double life.
Being “in the tradition” of Jane the Virgin, Jane the Novela mirrors the setup of the original series. It too follows a driven, imaginative twentysomething Latina woman (Lopez) who is torn between her boyfriend, Luen (Hii), and Felix (Parrish), a handsome, rich guy. In this case, Luen is head of security while Felix is in the wine business vs. Jane Villanueva’s cop boyfriend Michael and love interest Rafael, a hotel heir.
Hii’s Luen is Estela’s sweet, dependable, long-term boyfriend. When the life he’s planned for himself and Estela is threatened by Felix, Luen will stop at nothing to win back the woman he loves.
Coll will play Camila, Estela’s adoptive mother. Camila would do anything to protect her daughter and the life they have built, even lie to her. On Jane the Virgin, Coll plays Jane’s grandmother and Xo’s mother Alba.
Martinez portrays Raul, the winery’s enigmatic riddler. Nobody knows Napa’s terrain like he does – he specializes in collecting dirt on everyone.
Coll’s other television credits include Switched at Birth, Teen Wolf, Glee, East Los High and Nip/Tuck.
Martinez is known for his portrayal of Los Angeles politician David Aceveda for seven seasons on FXpolice drama The Shield. He had a starring role in John Ridley’s anthology series American Crime Story alongsideFelicity Huffmanand Regina Kingand can next be seen in the upcoming seasons of 13 Reasons Why, The Blacklist, Jack Ryan, and the feature film Queen & Slim.