Apple TV+ Lands Untitled Six-Part Documentary of Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi’s move to Major League Soccer is getting the doc treatment…

Apple TV+ has landed a new untitled six-part documentary featuring the 36-year-old Soccer star with exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the football great  s he arrived in America to play for MLS and Inter Miami CF, chronicling his debut in Leagues Cup and beyond.

Lionel MessiThe new docuseries will join the previously announced Apple Original documentary that will track the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner through his storied career, including five FIFA World Cup appearances, capped by his FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 win.

After over twenty years with Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, and winning the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 with the Argentina national football team, Messi recently decided to join Major League Soccer and Inter Miami CF, whose games are available on MLS Season Pass, the subscription service from Apple and Major League Soccer.

“I couldn’t be happier coming to Miami and joining such an amazing group of people and organization,” said Messi. “I’m joining with the desire to compete, win and help the club continue to grow. I also think we’re going to really enjoy ourselves, have a good time and that very special things are going to happen.”

The yet untitled documentary is produced by Smuggler Entertainment in association with Major League Soccer. It is executive produced by Emmy Award winner Tim Pastore (Free Solo), Emmy and Tony Award winners Patrick Milling Smith and Brian Carmody, and Emmy Award winner Matt Renner (Free Solo) of Smuggle, alongside Scott Boggins (The Circus).

Michaela Jaé Rodriguez to Star in 12th Season of Ryan Murphy’s “American Horror Story”

Michaela Jaé Rodriguez has a new story in the works…

The 32-year-old half-Puerto Rican Golden Globe-winning actress will reunite with Pose co-creator Ryan Murphy on the 12th season of FX’s American Horror Story.

Rodriguez joins already cast Kim Kardashian, Emma Roberts and Cara Delevingne in what’s being dubbed thematically as ‘delicate.’

The latest season of Murphy and Brad Falchuk’s American Horror Story is based on the Danielle Valentine thriller novel, Delicate Conditiondue out in August.

Season 12 is being adapted and showrun by Halley Feiffer.

It’s the first time that the anthology series drew inspiration from a novel.

The season reportedly follows a woman who becomes convinced that a sinister figure is going to great lengths to make sure her pregnancy never happens. Season 12 is also being billed as a feminist update of Rosemary’s Baby. Rodriguez’s role is being kept under wraps.

Rodriguez played Blanca Rodriguez-Evangelista on Murphy’s award-winning series Pose, and became the first trans actress to be Emmy nominated in a lead acting category, and the very first trans individual to win a Golden Globe (in Best Actress TV Drama). Rodriguez was also nominated in the Lead Actress category at the Primetime Emmys for Pose in 2021

Rodriguez is currently filming the second season of Apple’s Loot, and will next appear in Paramount’s Transformers: Rise of the Beasts voicing the character of “Nightbird”, that film is due out on June 9. She is also set to produce and star in the upcoming indie drama Mudfire, being produced by Randy Jackson.

Jaime Camil to Star on Season 3 of Apple’s “Acapulco”

Jaime Camil is resorting to new work…

The 49-year-old Mexican actor has joined the cast of Apple’s Acapulco for Season 3. Production on the 10-episode new season is currently underway.

Jaime CamilCamil will guest star as Alejandro, the brother of one of the wealthiest men in Mexico and a new co-owner of Las Colinas who makes his co-owner Diane Davies’ (Jessica Collins) life miserable at the hotel.

From Lionsgate TV, 3Pas Studios, Zihuatanejo Productions and The Tannenbaum Company, in Season 3 of Acapulco, it’s time to reconcile past mistakes and exciting new beginnings. In the present story, older Maximo (Eugenio Derbez) finds himself returning to a Las Colinas he no longer recognizes. While in 1985, younger Maximo (Enrique Arrizon) continues his climb up the ladder of success while potentially jeopardizing all the relationships he’s worked so hard to build.

The cast also includes Fernando Carsa (as Memo), Damián Alcázar (Don Pablo), Camila Perez (Julia), Chord Overstreet (Chad), Vanessa Bauche (Nora), Regina Reynoso (Sara), Raphael Alejandro (Hugo), Jessica Collins (Diane), Rafael Cebrián (Hector), Carlos Corona (Esteban) and Regina Orozco (Lupe). Sam Laybourne serves as showrunner.

Acapulco is inspired by 3Pas Studios and Lionsgate/Pantelion Films’ box office hit How to Be A Latin Lover. Austin Winsberg, Eduardo Cisneros and Jason Shuman created the series.

Executive producers include Winsberg and director Jay Karas; Derbez and Ben Odell for 3Pas Studios; Eric and Kim Tannenbaum, as well as Jason Wang on behalf of The Tannenbaum Company. Sonia Almanza Gambaro co-executive produces for 3Pas Studios.

Seasons 1 and 2 of Acapulco are now streaming globally on Apple TV+.

Camil is currently starring in Season 2 of Apple’Schmigadoon! where he portrays Sergeant Rivera, Schmicago’s chief of police. He is most notably known in the U.S. for his series regular role as Rogelio de la Vega in the CW’s Jane the Virgin across all 5 seasons. He also starred in and executive produced the CBS comedy series, Broke. Most recently, he brought to life the legendary Vicente Fernandez in Netflix’s El Rey, Vicente Fernandez.

Before making a splash in the English-language market, Camil was already a bona fide star in his native Mexico and stateside for his work in Spanish-language projects both in TV and film. Hits include the telenovela La Fea Más BellaPor Ella Soy Eva and Qué Pobres Tan Ricos, to name a few.

Camil currently has a first-look deal with VIS (a division of Paramount) to develop an array of TV and film projects for Paramount+.

Alfred Molina to Star in the Apple Original Films’ “The Instigators”

Alfred Molina is an instigator

The 69-year-old half-Spanish English actor has joined the cast of Apple Original Films’ The Instigatorsstarring Matt Damon and Casey Affleck.

Alfred MolinaMolina is among a roster of new cast additions that includes Ving Rhames and Ron Perlman.

The A-list ensemble also includes Hong Chau, Paul Walter Hauser and Michael Stuhlbarg. Doug Liman is directing.

The film follows two thieves who go on the run with the help of one of their therapists after a robbery goes awry. The script was penned by Chuck MacLean and Casey Affleck and was developed by Robinov, Graham and Casey Affleck.

Damon and Ben Affleck are producing through their banner Artists Equity, along with Jeff Robinov and John Graham through Studio 8 and Kevin Walsh through his The Walsh Company.

Molina is coming off reprising role as Doc Ock in Spider-Man: No Way Home and also was seen in the most recent season of FX’s Feud.

Ana de Armas to Make Hosting Debut on “Saturday Night Live”

Ana de Armas is ready to make a special late night debut.

The 34-year-old Cuban and Spanish Oscar-nominated actress will soon be making her hosting debut on Saturday Night Live.

Ana de Armas, No Time to Diede Armas, who earned her first Oscar nod for her portraying Marilyn Monroe in Blonde, will take on hosting duties on April 15.

It comes as she is starring in Apple’s Ghosted, which premieres on April 21.

She will be joined by Karol G, who recently released album Mañana Será Bonito, as musical guest.

It will be Karol G’s first appearance on the long-running NBC sketch comedy series.

Saturday Night Live is produced in association with Broadway Video. The creator and executive producer is Lorne Michaels.

Cristo Fernandez & “Ted Lasso” Cast to Discuss Mental Health at White House

Cristo Fernandez is heading to Washington, D.C.

The 32-year-old Mexican actor and former professional footballer and his Ted Lasso cast mates will visit the White House on Monday to participate in a discussion with President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden on “the importance of mental health to promote overall wellbeing.

Cristo FernándezApple announced the meeting Sunday afternoon.

President Biden teased the appearance minutes before Apple’s confirmation, posting a reference to the Apple TV+ hit comedy: “Tomorrow.”

Ted Lasso has inspired the world through its universal themes around optimism, kindness, and determination and the Lasso philosophy to ‘believe,’” reads Apple’s announcement of the meeting of the minds.

Excerpts from the event will be released on the White House’s official social media channels.

The third season of Ted Lasso debuted on Apple TV+ on March 15, kicking off its 12-episode season. There remains uncertainty whether a fourth season of the show will be approved by showrunner and star Jason Sudeikis, who has stated that such a matter “will always be dictated by the stories.”

Sudeikis developed Ted Lasso along with Bill Lawrence, Joe Kelly and Brendan Hunt. It’s based on the existing format and characters first featured on NBC Sports.

Sudeikis serves as an executive producer in addition to starring. Lawrence executive produces via Doozer Productions. Hunt, Kelly and Bill Wrubel also executive produce along with Doozer’s Jeff Ingold and Liza Katzer as well as Jane Becker and Jamie Lee. Goldstein is a writer and co-executive producer on the series.

It’s produced by Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television.

Fernandez portrays the lovable Dani Rojas on the series.

John Ortiz to Star in Netflix’s Limited Series “The Madness”

John Ortiz is embracing the madness

The 54-year-old Puerto Rican actor has been cast opposite Colman Domingo in Netflix’s limited series The Madness.

John OrtizThe conspiracy thriller hails from Chernin Entertainment via its first-look deal with Netflix, creator and co-showrunner Stephen Belber  and co-showrunner VJ Boyd.

In The Madness, media pundit Muncie Daniels (Domingo) must fight for his innocence and his life after he stumbles upon a murder deep in the Poconos woods. As the walls close in, Muncie strives to reconnect with his estranged family – and his lost ideals – in order to survive.

Ortiz plays Franco Quinones, a longtime FBI field agent with strong convictions and a relentless approach to his work.

Clément Virgo will direct and executive produce the first two and final two episodes. Quyen Tran and Jessica Lowrey will each direct two middle episodes.

Ortiz starred as Joe Sandoval in drama series Promised Land, which aired for one season on ABC. On the film side, he recently wrapped filming The Mothership opposite Halle Berry.

He’s currently filming a key recurring role in Apple’s Bad Monkey opposite Vince Vaughn.

Annie Gonzalez to Star as the Late Jenni Rivera in Family-Authorized Biopic “Jenni”

Annie Gonzalez will be portraying a late banda legend…

The Latina actress will star in an authorized biopic about the life of Jenni Rivera has been greenlit at ViX.

Annie GonzalezIn addition to starring, Gonzalez will also executive produce the film.

Filming of Jenni (wt) is underway in Bogota, Colombia, and will be completed in Los Angeles.

The project is set to premiere exclusively via ViX and in select movie theaters in the United States and Mexico later this year.

Jenni (wt) will follow Rivera’s journey from her humble beginnings in Long Beach, California, to her meteoric rise to the top of the charts, and her final days before her tragic and unexpected death. The film will also share a look at the struggles she endured in her personal life and how she became the artist fans all know and love today, and how she persevered and found strength from within.

The streamer notes, Jenni is a story of resilience and bravery that shows the building blocks of what made Jenni Rivera—also known affectionately as “La Diva De La Banda”— who she was and the remarkable legacy she left behind.

“My siblings and I are very excited about this biopic and we know our mother’s story will impact generations to come,” Jacqie Rivera, daughter of Jenni Rivera and CEO of Jenni Rivera Enterprises said in a statement. “It has been an uphill battle, but we are happy to see one of our mom’s dreams come to fruition. Although we still haven’t gotten used to seeing someone portray our mother, we have faith Annie will do a great job.”

As a multiple award-winning artist—including multiple Billboard Music Awards, 22 Billboard Latin Music Awards, 18 Lo Nuestro Awards, and four Latin Grammy nominations— Rivera is not only known as one of the best-selling Regional Mexican artists of all time but also for her role in disrupting cultural precedent by crossing into banda, a male-dominated music genre and eventually into pop music, where her presence posthumously continues to shine. Rivera died in a plane crash in 2012.

“I am beyond honored to portray the essence of this phenomenal survivor that is Jenni Rivera who despite adversity at every turn was never a victim and showed her daughters, her family, and her audience what grace, forgiveness, and true authenticity is— liberating us all,” Gonzalez shared. “Jenni’s messages of feminism, civil rights, and nonconformity within her music were well before her time and made space for all of us to feel empowered. With the support of the Rivera family, I cannot wait to help tell the beautiful story and the impactful legacy of what Jenni means to me personally and what it will mean to women and Latinas everywhere.”

Manuel Uriza will star opposite Gonzalez in the role of Pedro Rivera, Jenni’s father, and Regional Mexican entrepreneur. The cast also includes Cinthya Carmona (East Los High) as Jenni Rivera’s eldest daughter, Chiquis Rivera, Jero Medina (Narcos: Mexico) and Miguel Angel Garcia (The Long Game) who will dually portray Trino Marín, Rivera’s first husband and father of her three eldest children at later and earlier stages in his life, respectively.

Additionally, Gabriela Reynoso (Si Nos Dejan) will be portraying Jenni’s mother Rosa Saavedra, J.R. Villarreal (Ultra Violet) will play Juan “Cinco” Lopez, Jenni’s late second husband, and newcomer Tatiana Juarez will portray Rivera during her early years.

“ViX is thrilled to be the official home and distributor of this powerful story about Jenni Rivera. Our commitment to this project is paramount and, along with a fantastic production team and director, we know we will have a film that will captivate our audiences,” stated Augusto Rovegno, Senior Vice President of Content ViX at TelevisaUnivision.

Gigi Saul Guerrero (Culture Shock) directs from a screenplay by Shane McKenzie (Bingo Hell).

Gonzalez is gearing up to promote Flamin’ Hot, the Eva Longoria-directed Searchlight Pictures film about how Frito Lay janitor Ricardo Montañez climbs the ranks at work and creates the spicy Cheeto snack. Flamin’ Hot premieres at SXSW on March 11 followed by a wide release via Hulu in June. The Chicana actress portrays the character of Judy, Montañez’s wife, opposite Jesse Garcia.

She also recently starred in Illegally Brown alongside Jessica Marie Garcia from filmmaker, Gabby Revilla Lugo, which is currently playing on the film festival circuit. Additionally, Gonzalez can next be seen in the upcoming independent thriller Body Language and an untitled Ethan Coen project.

Gonzalez is best known for her portrayal of Lidia Solis in the Netflix comedy series Gentefied and her guest roles in Apple’s Mr. Corman, Starz’s Vida, NBC’s Good Girls, Showtime’s Shameless, and FX’s American Horror Story, among other credits.

Apple & Skydance Release Trailer for Ana de Armas’ Romantic Action-Adventure Film “Ghosted”

Ana de Armas is ghosting

Apple and Skydance have unveiled the first trailer for their romantic action-adventure film Ghosted, reuniting Knives Out stars Chris Evans and the 34-year-old Spanish-Cuban actress, the first Cuban woman to earn an Oscar nomination.

Ana de Armas, No Time to DieThe film is set to premiere globally on Apple TV+ on April 21st.

The film from director Dexter Fletcher watches as salt-of-the-earth Cole (Evans) falls head over heels for enigmatic Sadie (De Armas) — but then makes the shocking discovery that she’s a secret agent. Before they can decide on a second date, Cole and Sadie are swept away on an international adventure to save the world.

Adrien Brody, Mike Moh, Amy Sedaris and Tate Donovan also star in the film, which was penned by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, as well as Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers.

de Armas served as exec producers.

Mariah Carey’s Music to Be Featured as Part of Apple Fitness+’s ‘Artist Spotlight’ Workout Series

Ready to get fit with Mariah Carey?

Apple Fitness+ has added the music of the 52-year-old half-Venezuelan Grammy-winning singer to its newly added workouts.

Mariah CareyIn honor of Women’s History Month, Carey, Miley Cyrus and Shania Twain will be highlighted as part of the program’s Artist Spotlight series, which dedicates an entire set of workouts to a single artist and their discography.

Starting Monday, March 6, Fitness+ users can pedal to the beat of the “Flowers” singer’s music in a cycling workout, return to heart center when it’s a wrap on the Carey-inspired yoga workout and feel like a powerful woman post-strength workout featuring Twain’s tunes.

New workouts will roll out every Monday throughout the month of March.

The Lambily will need to stretch as far and wide as Mimi’s vocal range — which spans across five octaves and goes all the way up to those whistle tones we all try reaching when belting out her 1991 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 smash “Emotions” — ahead of her cycling, dance, HIIT and yoga workouts.

“You’ve got to make working out fun, do what you love, so it feels like burning energy instead of a job! I hear lots of people like listening to my music in the gym and it makes me so happy – it means it’s energetic and inspirational,” Twain said in a press statement. “That’s why I’m so excited for this Artist Spotlight series on Fitness+. So Giddy Up! And do what makes you happy!”

Other musicians who’ve had sets of Apple Fitness+ workouts dedicated to them include Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, BTS, Billie Eilish, Jennifer Lopez, Pharrell Williams, Ed Sheeran, The Weeknd, ABBA, Prince, Shakira, The Beatles, Nicki Minaj and many more.

According to the Apple Fitness+ website, anyone who purchases a new iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad or Apple TV (and hasn’t previously subscribed to Apple Fitness+) will have free access to Apple Fitness+ for three months before paying $9.99 monthly, or $79.99 annually. New subscribers who already have the aforementioned Apple products can get free access to Apple Fitness+ for one month. Apple Fitness+ can be shared with up to five family members.