Julio Macias Upped to Series Regular on Netflix’s “On My Block”

Julio Maciaswill be spending more time on the Block

The Mexican American actor, who has recurred for the past two seasons of On My Block as Oscar “Spooky” Diaz, has been promoted to series regular for the upcoming third season of the Netflix series.

Julio Macias

Macias’ Oscar Diaz is a gang leader in the Santos Gang. He has appeared in 13 episodes since season 1.

On My Block, from Awkward creator Lauren IungerichEddie Gonzalezand Jeremy Haft, is a coming-of-age comedy about bright and street-savvy friends navigating their way through the triumph, pain and the newness of high school in LA’s South Central neighborhood.

During the first two seasons, we learned that before Oscar joined the gang, he was an intelligent student who was planning to attend college and culinary school. Instead of following his dream, Oscar decided to stay in Freeridge to look after his younger brother Cesar and keep him safe in their gang-ridden neighborhood.

Sierra CapriJason GenaoBrett Gray, Diego Tinoco and Jessica Marie Garcia will reprise their roles in Season 3.

Macia’s previous credits include appearances on Jane the Virgin and S.W.A.T.

Jason Genao & His “On My Block” Castmates Complete Salary Renegotiation Talks with Netflix

Jason Genaois back on the Block

Netflixhas posted a video with the cast of On My Block, including the 23-year-old Dominican American actor, marking the start of production on Season 3 of the coming-of-age comedy.

On My Block

In addition to Genoa, the video features the series’ other leads Sierra CapriBrett Grayand Diego Tinoco.

On My Block, from Awkward creator Lauren IungerichEddie Gonzalezand Jeremy Haft, is a coming-of-age comedy about bright and street-savvy friends navigating their way through the triumph, pain and the newness of high school in LA’s South Central neighborhood. The series’ writers have been working since April, churning out scripts for the upcoming third season.

The quartet had been embroiled in salary renegotiation talks with Netflix. The negotiations had stretched well into July, with the impasse threatening to impact the start of production.

As was the case of 13 Reasons Why last summer,it got down to the wire, but Deadline.com reports the core cast has successfully completed salary renegotiations, scoring significant salary increases.

Genoa, Capri, Gray and Tinoco, who each made $20,000 an episode in the first two seasons, went into the negotiations with an opening salvo of $250,000 an episode. Netflix countered with an offer for $40,000 an episode, leading to a $225,000 an episode response from the actors’ camp.

The actors all reportedly got substantial raises, tripling or more their previous paychecks.

No official word from Netflix on the exact amount.

Netflix Renews Jason Genao’s “On My Block” for a Third Season

Jason Genaoisn’t leaving the block

Netflix has ordered a third season of high school comedy series On My Block, starring the 22-year-old Dominican American actor.

Jason Genao

The announcement, which the show shared via Twitter, comes one month after the show’s Season 2 premiere.

Production on Season 3 of the series, which hails from Awkward creator Lauren IungerichEddie Gonzalezand Jeremy Haft, will begin this year in Los Angeles.

Co-created and executive produced by Iungerich, Gonzalez & Haft, On My Block is a coming-of-age comedy about bright and street-savvy friends navigating their way through the triumph, pain and the newness of high school in LA’s South Central neighborhood.

Genao, who previously starred on Netflix’s The Get DownSierra CapriBrett GrayDiego Tinoco and Jessica Marie Garcia will reprise their roles in Season 3. 

https://twitter.com/OnMyBlock/status/1122986415770537984

Additional casting news will be announced at a later date.

Mason to Star in the CW Drama Pilot “Searchers”

The search for her next project is over for Jeanine Mason

The 26-year-old Cuban American actress/dancer has booked a series-regular role in the CW drama pilot Searchers, from Warner Bros. Television and CBS Television Studios.

Written by Jason Rothenberg, Searchers is about a group of unlikely heroes who find themselves on the journey of a lifetime. Ten years after the death of their parents, a pragmatic brother and free-spirited sister are forced to team up when they learn that their mother’s terrifying and bizarre stories might be a road map to discovering the great legends, myths and unexplainable mysteries of the world.

Mason, who most recently starred on the short-lived series Of Kings and Prophets, will play Juniper, a girl who has spent 22 hard years on Earth, a cunning and audacious thief who has had her fair share of run-ins with the law.

Mason can be seen in Zoot Suit at the Mark Taper Forum. Her other television credits roles in Bunheads, NCIS: Los Angeles, Awkward and Major Crimes. She also appeared in the Fox pilots Studio City and Delirium.

Longoria to Executive Produce Comedy Project “940 Saturdays” for ABC

It’s all about Saturdays for Eva Longoria

The 41-year-old Mexican American actress/producer is reuniting with Chrissy Pietrosh and Jessica Goldstein, the creators of her NBC comedy series Telenovela, to executive produce a new single-camera comedy project for ABC.

Eva Longoria

The comedy, tentatively titled 940 Saturdays, hails from Universal Television and Longoria & Ben Spector’s studio-based UnbeliEVAable Entertainment.

Written by Pietrosh and Goldstein, 940 Saturdays refers to the number of Saturdays between the day your child is born and the day they turn eighteen. In this single-camera series, three families band together to enjoy… and survive them all.

This is the second sale at ABC for UnbeliEVAble this season, along with the Magnum P.I. sequel. The company also has NBC comedy project Big of Me, written by Awkward creator Lauren Iungerich.

Pietrosh and Goldstein’s Telenovela was one of two high-profile single-camera comedy projects vying for Longoria to star during the 2014-15 development season. She went with Pietrosh and Goldstein’s Telenovela, and the comedy, set behind the scenes of a telenovela, was picked up to series by NBC. It launched last midseason, with Longoria starring and Pietrosh, Goldstein, Longoria and Spector executive producing. It did not draw a wide enough audience for a second-season renewal but garnered solid reviews.

Longoria Signs First-Look Deal with Universal Pictures

Eva Longoria is going universal…

The 41-year-old Mexican American actress, producer and activist and her production company UnbeliEVAble Entertainment have agreed to a two-year, first-look deal with Universal Pictures.

Eva Longoria

Universal president of production Peter Cramer made the pact.

First up is Universal’s acquisition of rights to My Daughter’s Quinceañera, a pitch from Lauren Iungerich, creator of the MTV series Awkward.

Longoria and producing partner Ben Spector will produce.

It’s the first crack at features for Iungerich, who’s attached to write, direct and co-produce the film that centers on an overwhelmed single father who is faced with the prospect of planning the quinceañera of his daughter’s dreams.

On the Universal deal, Cramer said: “While audiences have identified with Eva through her iconic television roles, she is also an extremely savvy producer with a keen eye for projects that appeal to a broad range of diverse audiences. We are fortunate that Eva has a found a home with Universal, sharing with us her creative instincts and passion for storytelling.”

Longoria, whose deal was made by CAA and Brillstein Entertainment Partners, is filming BBC Two’s high-end comedy miniseries Decline and Fall, an adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s classic social satire. She’ll next be seen in Ricardo de Montreuil’s Lowriders, which premiered at this year’s LA Film Festival. The film is produced by Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer and Blumhouse Production’s Jason Blum.

“Building upon our continued success as producers in television, we were seeking a home to expand the UnbeliEVAble brand into features,” said Longoria. “There’s simply no better place I could think of than Universal Pictures, whose diverse portfolio of releases is inspirational. Jeff, Donna and Peter’s passion was instrumental in keeping us in the Comcast family, and, beginning with My Daughter’s Quinceañera, we look forward to a long relationship with all our partners at the studio. Lauren’s pitch was so brilliant and funny, and to bring this experience to life is like reliving my 15th birthday.”

Gonzalez Lands Series Regular Role on ABC Family’s Comedy Pilot “Tough Cookie”

Rick Gonzalez has a sweet new role…

The 35-year-old Dominican and Puerto Rican actor has landed a series regular role on ABC Family’s comedy pilot Tough Cookie. 

Rick Gonzalez

From Awkward creator Lauren Iungerich and David Janollari, it centers on a young mother who isn’t ready to parent and her daughter who doesn’t want to be parented. It takes a village to raise a child — or, rather, a child to raise a village.

Gonzalez will portray Seth Whitfield, who works for the San Francisco Department of Children’s Services.

Gonzalez was a series regular on Rush, as well as Reaper. His other credits include appearances on Medium, Castle, Lie to Me, The Protector and The Closer.

His film credits include Coach Carter, The Guilt Trip and War of the Worlds.

del Puerto to Star in ABC Family’s Comedy Pilot “Tough Cookie”

Arturo del Puerto is finding himself in a tough situation…

The Latino actor has landed a series regular role in ABC Family’s comedy pilot Tough Cookie.

Arturo del Puerto

From Awkward creator Lauren Iungerich and David Janollari., the project is centered around a young mother who isn’t ready to parent and her daughter who doesn’t want to be parented. It takes a village to raise a child or rather, a child to raise a village.

Del Puerto will portray Mickey, one of Lilla’s roommates, a neurotic hipster and something of a neat freak.

Del Puerto recently recurred on NBC’s Chicago P.D. Lifetime’s The Lottery, TNT’s Rizzoli & Isles and FX’s The Bridge.

He also starred in the film The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vicente Fernandez and The Devil’s in the Details.

Monreal to Appear in Recurring Role on MTV’s “Faking It”

Yvette Monreal is about to fake it to make it…

The Latina actress has signed on to appear in a recurring role on Faking It, MTV’s faux-lesbian comedy series from showrunner Carter Covington.

Yvette Monreal

In season two, everyone is faced with a dilemma that forces them to tell the truth or keep a secret. Best friends Amy (Rita Volk) and Karma (Katie Stevens) struggle with figuring out their relationship after Amy revealed her true feelings for Karma.

Monreal, who has appeared on El Rey Network‘s action drama series Matador, will portray Regan, a hip, edgy lesbian with a rebellious streak. She’s a cater-waiter by day and DJ by night who is fiercely out and proud and independent with a husky voice and sexy confidence who supports herself and her music career with odd jobs.

The casting keeps Monreal in the MTV family after a small role on Awkward.

Monreal’s casting comes after MTV renewed the series for a second season of 10 episodes following its divisive season finale.

Faking It season two debuts Tuesday, September 23 at 10:30 p.m. on MTV.

Monreal to Star in El Rey Network’s Action Drama Series “Matador”

Alfred Molina has a daughter… And, her name is Yvette Monreal.

The rising Latina talent has been cast in Matador, the upcoming action drama series for Robert Rodriguez’s El Rey Network.

Yvette Monreal

Created by Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the series stars Gabriel Luna as a popular soccer star who uses his sports career as a cover for his real job as as skilled covert operative executing missions for a little-known branch of the CIA.

Monreal will play Senna Galan, the cute, trouble-making only child of Adres Galan (portrayed by Molina).

Molina’s previous television credits include Awkward and Harpies.

In addition to her role on Matador, Monreal has been cast in a supporting role in the film Off the Grid.