Tag Archives: American Vandal

Tyler Alvarez to Star in Netflix’s Workplace Comedy Series “Blockbuster”

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Tyler Alvarez is the new kid on the block(buster)… 

The 24-year-old Puerto Rican and Cuban-American actor has joined the cast of Blockbuster, Netflix’s upcoming single-camera workplace comedy.

Tyler AlvarezAlvarez is part of a roster of new cast additions that includes Madeleine Arthur and Olga Merediz as series regulars. JB Smoove and Kamaia Fairburn have also joined the cast in recurring roles.

They join previously announced leads Randall Park and Melissa Fumero.

Blockbuster, from Universal Television, is a 10-episode ensemble comedy that takes place in the last Blockbuster Video store in America. It explores what it takes – and, more specifically, who it takes – for a small business to succeed against all odds.

Alvarez will play Carlos. As a first-generation son of immigrants, he learned English by watching movies, and they quickly became his love language. He dreams of being a filmmaker, but can’t help but feel like he owes it to his parents to live the American life they planned for him.

Merediz will play Connie. She works at Blockbuster to make friends, not money. She’s the unintentionally blunt mother figure to not just the employees, but many of the Blockbuster regulars.

The series is created by Vanessa Ramos, with David Caspe and Jackie Clarke also serving as writers/executive producers. John Davis and John Fox executive produce for Davis Entertainment. Payman Benz will direct and co-executive produce four episodes, including the pilot.

Alvarez’s previous credits include Never Have I Ever and American Vandal.

Merediz previously appeared in In the Heights and Encanto.

Jorge Diaz to Star in Pilot for HBO Max’s “Head of the Class” Sitcom Reboot

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Jorge Diaz is moving to the head of the class…

The 37-year-old Mexican American actor has joined the cast of HBO Max’s multi-camera comedy pilot Head of the Class, a reboot of the popular 1980s ABC sitcom.

Jorge Diaz

Diaz joins a roster of new additions to the cast that includes Dior Goodjohn, Brandon Severs, Adrian Matthew Escalona and Christa Miller.

They join previously announced Isabella Gomez, Gavin Lewis and Jolie Hoang-Rappaport in the reboot which hails from American Vandal writers Amy Pocha and Seth Cohen, Bill Lawrence and his Doozer Productions; and Warner Bros. Television, which produced the original series.

Written by Pocha and Cohen, based on the original series created by Rich Eustis and Michael Elias, the reimagined Head of the Class revolves around a group of overachieving high school students who meet their greatest challenge — a teacher Alicia Adams (Gomez), who wants them to focus less on grades and more on experiencing life.

Diaz plays Elliot Olsen, a goofy English teacher who loves his job and is genuine to a fault. Goodjohn is Robyn Rook. Stem queen turned Twitch streamer, Robyn’s the defacto leader of the class – though she’d never admit it. Severs will portray Terrell Smith, is a year-round athlete, who is uber-positive and all about team mentality. Escalona is Miles Mendelson, the shy, introverted, overthinking coder, who’d rather spend time with computers than people. Miller recurs as Principal Maris, an intimidating, tough love boss that always puts the students first.

Diaz has appeared on a number of hit comedies including the CW’s Jane The Virgin, NBC’s The Good Place and Netflix’s Arrested Development. He also starred as SPC Israel Garza in Nat Geo’s Critics Choice-nominated Iraq war drama, The Long Road Home. On the film side, Diaz portrayed Hector Estrella in Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, earning a nomination for an Imagen Foundation Award for his performance.

Escalona was first discovered in 2018, when a video of him singing “She Used To Be Mine” from the Broadway musical Waitress went viral with almost 4 million views and counting. He went on to be invited by Waitress writer and composer Sara Bareilles to make a guest appearance during her tour stop in Pittsburgh, near his home town. Head of the Class is Escalona’s first major TV role.

Tyler Alvarez to Appear on Season Two of Mindy Kaling’s Netflix Series “Never Have I Ever”

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It’s a special game of Never Have I Ever for Tyler Alvarez…

The 23-year-old Puerto Rican and Cuban American actor has landed a recurring role for season two of Mindy Kaling’s Netflix series Never Have I Ever.

Tyler Alvarez

Alvarez will play Malcom. A “Young Hollywood” type, Malcom went to elementary school with Devi and her friends but left when he was cast in a Disney Channel show. He’s recently returned to Sherman Oaks High while continuing his acting career.

Co-created by Kaling and Lang Fisher, Never Have I Ever stars Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as high school student Devi Vishwakumar, alongside returning cast including Poorna Jagannathan, Richa Moorjani, Jaren Lewison, Darren Barnet, Lee Rodriguez and Ramona Young.

The show follows the complicated life of a modern-day first-generation Indian American teenage girl, dealing with issues of family, sexuality and high school. Ramakrishnan’s Vishwakumar is a 15-year-old from Sherman Oaks, CA, who wants to change her social status after a horrible year that included losing her father and being confined to a wheelchair for three months.

Alvarez is best known for his starring role as Peter Maldonado in Netflix’s American Vandal. His other notable credits include Netflix’s Orange is the New Black and the Hulu revival of Veronica Mars.

Eduardo Franco to Star in the USA Network’s “Masters of Doom” Drama Pilot

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Eduardo Franco has found a new Master-y…

The Mexican-American actor has been cast as one of the leads in USA Network’s Masters of Doom pilot, a drama based on David Kushner’s non-fiction book, from James and Dave Franco’s Ramona Films, The Gotham Group and UCP. 

Eduardo Franco

Franco will star opposite Patrick Gibson, John Karna, Jane Ackermannand Siobhan Williams in the project. Peter Friedman is set to recur, and Rhys Thomas has been tapped to direct.

Written and executive produced by Tom Bissell, Masters of Doom is the true story of two computer geniuses in an obscure corner of America who, along with a group of rebellious misfits, created one of the biggest franchise hits of the ’90s, the video game Doom. Franco and Gibson play best friends who became bitter rivals, as they created a video game empire and transformed pop culture forever.

Franco’s John Romero is a brilliant young programmer and designer determined to become the video game industry’s first rock star.

Franco is best known for his role as Theo in the Olivia Wilde-directed feature Booksmart, as well as his role as Jeremy in the feature The Package, directed by Jake Szymanski. 

Franco recurred on the first season of the series American Vandal, and his other television credits include Adam Ruins Everything, You’re the Worstand The Skinny. 

He’ll next be seen in feature The Binge directed by Jeremy Garelick.