José Andrés Launching New Half-Hour Special “Dinner Party Diaries with José Andrés”

Posted on February 10, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Chef José Andrés is inviting some special guests for dinner…

The 54-year-old Spanish James Beard Award-winning chef, television personality, humanitarian and philanthropist is launching a new half-hour special, Dinner Party Diaries with José Andrés, coming to Prime Video on March 19, 2024.

The Prime Video and Amazon Freevee collaboration celebrates the joy of cooking together and how food is a source of hope, inspired by Andrés’ work with the non-profit he founded in 2010, World Central Kitchen.

Andrés will host Jamie Lee Curtis, Bryan Cranston and O’Shea Jackson Jr. to join him in the kitchen, getting their hands dirty with approachable Spanish-influenced recipes while sharing stories that inspire them. Beyond cooking and conversation, the Chef will give viewers important takeaways to apply in their own homes while embracing imperfection and spontaneity in the kitchen.

Dinner Party Diaries with José Andrés is executive produced by José Andrés, Richard Wolffe, Matthew Goldberg, Ellen Rocamora, Max Wagner, Ryan Schiavo, and Michael Antinoro. The series is from Amazon MGM Studios.

Andrés is an internationally recognized humanitarian, culinary innovator, New York Times bestselling author, educator, Emmy award-winning television personality and owner of the award-winning José Andrés Group, which operates nearly 40 restaurants in the US and beyond.

In 2010, Andrés founded World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit organization that is first to the frontlines, providing meals in response to humanitarian, climate and community crises. His work has earned awards and distinctions including the 2015 National Humanities Medal from President Barack Obama, the 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Association of Culinary Professionals and the Princess of Asturias Foundation’s 2021 Concordia Prize for his humanitarian work.

In 2023, Andrés founded the Global Food Institute at George Washington University in Washington DC, and he currently serves as the Co-Chair of President Biden’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition. As a naturalized citizen originally from Spain, Andrés has been an advocate for immigration reform.

Aaron Dominguez to Star in the Indie Action Thriller “Red Dirt”

Posted on November 6, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Aaron Dominguez is hitting pay dirt…

The 29-year-old Latino actor, who stars on Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building, will star in Red Dirt, an indie action thriller from director Crash Buist that has been handed an interim agreement from SAG.

Dominguez is among a cast that includes Melissa Fumero, Alejandro Edda, Sebastian Chacon and Carlos Pratts.

Written by Buist, Jonathan Medina and Lauren Senechal, the film is a family-driven revenge tale about two brothers, Miguel (Dominguez) and Dom (Edda) who are thrust back together after years apart when their family is murdered by cartel gangsters in a New Mexico border town. The brothers are the only surviving members of a family that dies crossing the border between Mexico and the United States. Upon doing so, they’re found and cared for by a white couple, Brent and Margaret. The backdrop of their struggle arises with the opposing realities of where they were born and where they are raised. This is reflected in the choices they make as the younger Miguel becomes a cop, and his older brother, Dom, is forced to work in the world of drug trafficking.

Buis and Senechal are producing under their Sthenic Studios banner, alongside Medina. Jamie Ember and Marisa DeFranco handled casting.

In a statement accompanying the project announcement, Buist shared that he’s been “humbled and inspired by the level of talent and innovation in the New Mexico film community, and there is no richer backdrop for the world of Red Dirt.”

Co-writer and producer Senechal praised the film’s “truly…special” cast and the “depth, gravity, and creativity” they’ve brought to their work.

Added Medina: “Beyond excited to bring this latine-led story to life, and support SAG-AFTRA, my fellow writers, crew, teamsters, and everyone involved in our amazing business. The interim agreement works, so we can too!”

Recently appearing in the films Sitting in Bars with Cake and The Inspection from Amazon and A24, respectively, Dominguez is also known for a starring role in the first season of Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building. Among other upcoming projects for the actor is a reimagining of the 1986 horror classic Witchboard from filmmaker Chuck Russell, which sees him starring alongside Madison Iseman and Jamie Campbell Bower.

Known for starring on Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Netflix’s comedy series Blockbuster opposite Randall Park, Fumero has also been seen of late on George Lopez series Lopez vs. Lopez, also getting behind the camera to direct episodes of shows like Primo, Shea Serrano and Mike Schur’s hit comedy for Amazon Freevee.

Edda will next be seen starring in Kevin Costner’s Western epic Horizon: An American Saga, having previously been seen in film and TV projects like American Made, The Forever Purge, Narcos: Mexico and Snowfall.

Most recently seen starring in Amazon’s hit series Daisy Jones & The Six and comedic thriller Emergency, Chacon will next appear alongside Jay Baruchel, Emily Hampshire, Peter Gallagher and Enrico Colantoni in the thriller Humane.

Hulu Releases First Look Images of Tyler Dean Flores’ Coming-of-Age Comedy “Miguel Wants to Fight”

Posted on July 19, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Tyler Dean Flores is a brawler…

Hulu has released first look photos of Miguel Wants to Fight, its coming-of-age comedy starring the Puerto Rican actor.

The film, the streamer’s eighth Original Film from American High, will premiere on the streaming platform on August 16.

Starring Flores, who rose to acclaimed after appearing in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the film has him playing high school junior Miguel, who despite living in a neighborhood where fighting is stitched into the fabric of everyday life, has never found himself in one. And, to be honest, he’s perfectly fine with that. But when a combination of events turn his life upside down, Miguel and his three best friends — the stoic David (Christian Vunipola), the rowdy Cass (Imani Lewis) and the quick-tongued Srini (Suraj Partha) — enter into a series of hilarious misadventures as he tries to get into his first ever fight.

Emmy winner Oz Rodriguez (SNL) directed from a script by Jason Concepcion and Shea Serrano of Amazon Freevee’s Primo.

Raúl Castillo, Dascha Polanco and Andrea Navedo round out the cast.

CJ Franco to Compete on Amazon Freevee’s New Reality Series “The GOAT”

Posted on May 4, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

CJ Franco is vying for GOAT status…

Amazon Freevee has given the green light to The GOAT, a new reality series that hopes to name the greatest reality star of all time, with the 32-year-old Latina comedian/actress/television personality among the competitors.

From the producers of The Bachelor and FBoy Island, the series aims to put fan favorite reality stars from other popular series through a series of mental, physical, and social challenges to see who will come out on top.

Fourteen will enter, but only one will win the cash prize and America’s respect as they claim the coveted GOAT title. Daniel Tosh will host the series, which started production in Atlanta last month.

The celebrity cast for Season 1 includes audience favorites from The Bachelor, Love Is Blind, the Bravo-verse and more.

Franco appeared on the first season of FBoy Island as one of the three women tasked to meet, date, and ultimately identify the “FBoys” and “Nice Guys” from a group of 24 eager-for-camera-time men.

The GOAT is executive produced by Elan Gale and Bill Dixon.

The celebrity cast for Season 1 is:

Tayshia Adams (The Bachelor franchise)
Joe Amabile (The Bachelor franchise, Dancing with the Stars)
Kristen Doute (Vanderpump Rules)
Reza Farahan (Shahs of Sunset)
CJ Franco (FBoy Island)
Wendell Holland (Survivor)
Teck Holmes (The Real World, The Challenge)
Justin Johnson/Alyssa Edwards (RuPaul’s Drag Race)
Paola Mayfield (90 Day Fiancé)
Da’Vonne Rogers (Big Brother, The Challenge)
Joey Sasso (The Circle, Perfect Match)
Jason Smith (Holiday Baking Championship)
Lauren Speed-Hamilton (Love Is Blind)
Jill Zarin (The Real Housewives of New York City)

Brandon Larracuente to Star in Amazon Freevee’s Half-Hour Drama “On Call”

Posted on April 28, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Brandon Larracuente is officially on call…

The 28-year-old Puerto Rican actor will star opposite Troian Bellisario on On Call.

Originally set up at Amazon Freevee, the half-hour drama, from Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, will stream on Amazon’s main platform, Prime Video.

Amazon Studios has handed an official eight-episode order to the project, co-created by Tim Walsh and Elliot Wolf, which marks Wolf Entertainment’s first streaming series and its 10th current scripted series overall.

On Call is an adrenalized half-hour series following Traci Harmon, a veteran female training officer (Belisario) and her rookie male ride-along, Alex Diaz (Larracuente), as they navigate the loss of a fellow officer and politics of modern day policing — in the department and on the streets of Long Beach.

Belisario’s Traci Harmon is a veteran officer who’s disillusioned with the job and struggles to find her place in the department while training the next generation of officers.

Larracuente’s Alex Diaz is an ambitious Latino trainee who grapples with holding onto his optimistic outlook as he realizes the challenges he’ll face as a police officer in today’s climate.

On Call was originally picked up by then-IMDb TV — Amazon’s free, AVOD service which has since been rebranded as Amazon Freevee — in spring 2021, with Ben Watkins as showrunner and Elliot Wolf as executive producer. The creative team behind the project has since changed, with Walsh, former co-executive producer of Wolf Entertainment’s Chicago P.D., and Elliot as co-creators and executive producers. Elliot, son of Dick Wolf, has been leading Wolf Entertainment’s expansion into digital for the past five years, which now includes On Call as the company’s first streaming series.

Dick Wolf , Walsh, Elliot Wolf, former Chicago P.D. director/executive producer Eriq LaSalle, Arthur Forney and Peter Jankowski are executive producers. LaSalle is directing episodes 1, 2, 5 and 6 of the series, which recently started production in Long Beach.

Universal Television, a part of Universal Studio Group, produces in association with Wolf Entertainment and Amazon Studios.

“Everything old is new again. In 1958 there were 40 half-hour dramas and five one-hour dramas on television. Five years later, the numbers were basically reversed,” Dick Wolf said about doing On Call as a half-hour drama series back in 2021. “This is the perfect time to revive the half-hour format. It’s television popcorn. You can watch six episodes during a three-hour binge.”

Larracuente, is coming off a season-long stint as a series regular on ABC’s The Good Doctor. His other notable credits include Netflix series Bloodline and 13 Reasons Why and Freeform’s Party of Five.

Javier Bolaños’ Bilingual Limited Series “Casa Grande” to Stream on Amazon Freevee

Posted on March 20, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

You’ll soon be able to watch Javier Bolaños’ latest project on a tablet.

Amazon Freevee has announced that it will stream Casa Grande, a bilingual limited series starring the Colombian actor that examines the everyday realities and conflicts between California’s migrant workforce and the landowners who reap the profits.

Created by Lauren Swickard and Ali Afshar, Casa Grande follows the intertwining lives of various families in the farmlands of Northern California and is described as an “upstairs/downstairs story transposed from turn-of-the century English countryside to rural America.”

It stars John Pyper-Ferguson (The 100, Suits), Christina Moore (That ‘70s Show, 90210), Madison Lawlor (Juniper), Karen Bethzabe (Babylon), Bolaños (All American), Raquel Dominguez (Chicago Med), James Marsters (Buffy The Vampire Slayer), Kate Mansi (Days of Our Lives), Daniel Edward Mora (Coco), Loren Escandon (The Baxters) and Ali Afshar (He’s Just Not That Into You).

All five one-hour episodes of the English and Spanish language limited series will premiere on Monday, May 1.

“We molded Casa Grande as a Hispanic-influenced Yellowstone and feel the story will resonate powerfully with audiences appreciating elevated western themes and cultures presented through a different prism,” said Afshar. “Amazon Freevee is the perfect service for audiences to discover and binge the world of Casa Grande where the intensity never lets up and the traditional good vs. evil trope becomes skewed and more challenging to accept.”

“I’m immensely proud of the Casa Grande team for bringing authenticity to the forefront in ESX Entertainment’s debut series,” added Swickard. “Now more than ever, it’s important to deliver powerful, genuine stories and Casa Grande does just that. By touching on real-life themes related to family, class, culture and the never-ending pursuit of the American dream, our multi-layered narrative will captivate audiences of all backgrounds.”

Casa Grande is directed by Latin filmmaker Gabriela Tagliavini (Despite Everything) and written by Alex Ranarivelo, Michael Cruz, and Lauren Swickard, who also serves as the series showrunner. Series executive producers are Ava Rettke and Daniel Aspromonte.

Netflix Orders Reggaeton-Themed Comedy Series “Neon,” Starring Tyler Dean Flores

Posted on November 9, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Tyler Dean Flores is bringing a little reggaeton to Netflix…

Netflix has given a series order to Neon, a comedy series starring the Puerto Rican actor.

The project is set in the world of the musical genre that birthed the song “Despacito,” the second-most-viewed video ever on YouTube.

Flores, Emma Ferreira, Jordan Mendoza and Courtney Taylor star in the series, which hails from creator Shea Serrano with Max Searle set as showrunner.

Serrano, the author of The Rap Year Book, is behind Amazon Freevee series Primo with Mike Schur and Searle is co-showrunner of the second season of Chad and co-exec producer of Dave.

The eight-part series focuses on three friends who move from a small town in Florida to Miami with the hopes of making it big in the world of reggaeton. The show chronicles not only their larger than life dreams but the harsh comic realities of attempting to make it in the music industry.

Flores (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) plays Santi, a budding reggaeton artist who, with the help of his friends, Ness, played by (Ferreira) and Felix, (Mendoza) and A&R rep, Mia (Taylor) hopes to become the biggest reggaeton star in the world. Or at least make rent.

The series is executive produced by Serrano and Searle. It comes from Scooter Braun’s SB Projects with Braun executive-producing alongside Scott Manson and James Shin. Kyle Vinuya is co-executive producer. Mendoza also serves as consulting producer.

Flores’ previous credits include The Dark Knight Rises, When They See Us and Chicago Fire.

Rachel Juarez is Joining the Syndicated Courtroom Series “Hot Bench” for Season Nine

Posted on October 19, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Things are heating up on the bench for Judge Rachel Juarez…

The Latina judge and Judge Yodit Tewolde have joined the panel of the nationally syndicated courtroom series Hot Bench, now in its ninth season.

They join six-year Hot Bench veteran Judge Michael Corriero, who is continuing on the show.

Tewolde and Juarez, who will make their debut on October 31, replace Patricia DiMango and Tanya Acker, who left at the end of last season to join Hot Bench creator Judith Sheindlin’s new court show for Amazon Freevee Tribunal.

In its upcoming ninth season, Hot Bench will continue to feature a three-judge panel taking on real small claims cases from courthouses across the country.

“Judges Yodit Tewolde and Rachel Juarez bring an exciting new energy and a fresh, new dynamic to our series that viewers know and love,” said David Theodosopoulos, executive producer of Hot Bench. “Their diverse backgrounds and experiences are a beautiful complement to Michael, and I’m thrilled to welcome these strong, accomplished women to the bench.”

Juarez is a litigator who handled civil cases for large corporate clients, before co-founding a family law practice specializing in the representation of high-income individuals in divorce and other family law matters. She was also appointed to serve as a Temporary Judge by the Los Angeles County Superior Court Temporary Judge Program.

Hot Bench is the No. 1 syndicated court show in original production, averaging nearly 2 million viewers. It ranks in the top 10 first-run syndicated shows, with 28% of its audience watching the program at least 3 times a week.

The Emmy-nominated show is produced by Big Ticket Pictures and Queen Bee Productions. It is distributed by CBS Media Ventures.

Daniella Pineda to Star in Amazon Freevee’s Half-Hour Period Comedy Pilot “Western”

Posted on October 14, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Daniella Pineda is heading west(ern)…

The 35-year-old Mexican American actress will star in Amazon Freevee’s Western, a half-hour period comedy pilot from Sony Pictures Television, Amazon Studios and Lord Miller.

Pineda will star opposite Guy Burnet, Luca Diaz and Anna Konkle in the project.

Written by Michelle Morgan, Western is set in the 1800s. It follows Polly (Konkle), a young high-society woman from Philadelphia who travels out west on a desperate quest for a husband only to discover that she has been catfished by a teenage boy (Diaz). Now stranded in 1866 Montana, Polly, along with the town’s other inhabitants, must find their place in this ever-changing new world, confronting and defying all expectations society has of them along the way.

Pineda is Bess. The sexy, tough as nails, quick as a whip proprietress of Sumner’s most popular saloon; a woman who isn’t intimidated by the male dominated wild west landscape but with a heart of gold hidden not too far below the surface.

Diaz portrays Henry Johnson. A 14 going on 45, a wiley, wild-haired pre-teen with a penchant for writing letters to unsuspecting women and an unexpected amount of depth coursing through his pubescent veins.

Tony Yacenda serves as executive producer and directs.

Pineda most recently starred in Jurassic World: Dominion reprising her role as Zia Rodriguez from Fallen Kingdom.

She’ll next be seen in the comedy feature In Town, which she also executive produced, and starring opposite Gerard Butler and Mike Colter in The Plane, for Lionsgate and Di Bonaventura Pictures.

On television, she recently starred in the Netflix series Cowboy Bebop.

Diaz, who has been acting since the age of 6, can be heard in the voice cast of the upcoming Black Adam film and in Transformers: Earth Spark for Nickelodeon.

He also has appeared in commercials for Sam’s Club, Audi and Subaru.

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