Santiago Cabrera to Star Opposite Eva Longoria in Apple TV+’s Upcoming Series “Land of Women”

Posted on October 25, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Santiago Cabrera is headed to a land of women…

The 44-year-old Chilean-British actor will star opposite Eva Longoria in Apple TV+’s upcoming series Land of Women.

Cabrera, who has been cast as a series regular, is part of a list of cast newcomers that includes Amaury Nolasco as a recurring guest and Gloria Muñoz and newcomer Victoria Bazua as series regulars.

Production is currently underway in Spain.

Nolasco will play Kevin, the trainee hitman after Gala (Longoria) and her family. Excessively worried about his physique and his number of followers on social media, he holds just enough malice for the job.

Cabrera will play Amat, who has lived in La Muga for only a couple of years. While he likes to keep to himself, he has a heart of gold and has quickly earned the affection of the townsfolk… and perhaps even Gala’s. He spends most of his time among the vines and in the little winery that he shares with the village co-op.

Muñoz will play Mariona, Julia’s (Carmen Maura) estranged sister. Though childhood best friends, Mariona never understood why Julia left town and never forgave her for not even writing a word. Mariona is full of hurt and resentment until Julia walks back into her life like a wake-up call.

Bazua will play Kate, Gala’s teenage daughter enjoying her freedom at boarding school far from her overbearing mom. That is until she is bamboozled into joining a “girls’ trip” only to discover her family is now on the run. Sardonic and bold, she has inherited her grandmother’s rather dark sense of humor. Though sometimes this is just a facade to hide her insecurities.

Land of Women, a new dramedy inspired by Sandra Barneda’s best-selling novel of the same name, tells the story of Gala, a New York empty nester forced to flee her home after her husband implicates the family in financial improprieties. Joining her on the journey are her aging mother Julia (Maura) and her teen daughter.

The three women escape the criminals her now-vanished husband is indebted to by moving to the same charming wine town in Northern Spain that Gala’s mother fled 50 years ago, vowing never to return. Starting over with new identities proves complicated while living in a small town where secrets tend to unravel quite easily.

Land of Women is written and created by Ramón Campos and Gema R. Neira.

Longoria serves as executive producer via her UnbeliEVAble Entertainment banner alongside showrunner Campos; Teresa Fernández-Valdés, and Ben Spector.

Carlos Sedes will direct the series, which will be shot in both English and Spanish. Bambu Studios produces.

Mishel Prada Starring in VH1’s Made-for-TV Holiday Movie “Let’s Get Merried”

Posted on November 5, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Mishel Prada is getting merried…

VH1 is launching its Naughty or Nice strand at the end of November through December with several made-for-television movies, including Let’s Get Merried starring the 31-year-old part-Puerto Rican, Dominican and Mexican American actress.

Executive produced by Eva Longoria, Adriana Martinez Barron and Ben Spector, the film was written by Sasha Perl-Raver and directed by Veronica Rodriguez.

Let’s Get Merried, which launches on December 13, centers around a bachelorette weekend at a Christmas-themed adventure park that gets all kinds of holly jolly when a hard-partying, down-on-her-luck, holiday-hater decides to get married. That day. To a man she has yet to meet.

In addition to Prada, the film also stars Xosha Roquemore, Tahj Mowry, Nicolette Pearse, Nicole Power and Savannah Basley.

Prada’s previous credits include Starz’s Vida and Fear the Walking Dead: Passage.

Eva Longoria Developing Carlos Hernandez’s Award-Winning Book “Sal & Gabi Break the Universe” for Television

Posted on September 20, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Eva Longoria has landed an out of this world project…

The 46-year-old Mexican American actress, director, producer and activist and Ben Spector are set to develop Carlos Hernandez’s award-winning book Sal & Gabi Break the Universe as part of a deal between their UnbeliEVAble Entertainment and Disney Branded Television.

Writer-producer Nelson Soler is also attached to the project.

The sci-fi story revolves around Sal Vidón, a teen who discovers he has the ability to reach into time and space to retrieve things from other universes as a result of his meddling with his father’s scientific experiments. He enlists the help of his friend Gabi to set off on a quest to find and bring back his deceased mother, only to learn that tampering in alternate universes could ultimately put their entire universe at risk.

“It’s exciting to work with Eva and Ben on such an imaginative story full of heart and adventure that truly feels authentic in its storytelling and representation of characters,” said Ayo Davis, EVP, Creative Development and Strategy, Disney Branded Television. “Carlos Hernandez’s heartwarming and humorous book is the perfect addition to our slate of development and is in expert hands with Eva and Ben’s production team.”

UnbeliEVAble Entertainment has a separate and ongoing first-look deal at Disney’s 20th Century Fox Television which is separate from this deal with Disney Branded Television.

UnbeliEVAble is represented by WME, Brillstein Entertainment Partners, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner & Klein.

Eva Longoria Developing Latinx Family Drama “Chicano,” Based on Richard Vasquez’s Novel, for ABC

Posted on July 25, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Eva Longoria’s hoping to bring the Chicano story and struggle to the small screen.

The 45-year-old Mexican American actress and former Desperate Housewives star has joined forces with Natalie Chaidez and Forest Whitaker to develop the family drama Chicano, inspired by Richard Vasquez’s novel of the same name, for ABC.

Written by Chaidez, known for her work on 12 Monkeys, Hunters and The Sarah Connor Chronicles, the drama is a multi-generational saga about the Sandovals, a Mexican-American family that immigrates to Los Angeles in pursuit of the American Dream.

It will follow the struggles and triumphs of the Sandoval family from 1920 through present and explores the question of what it means to be American.

20th Century Fox Television is the studio on the project, which is being produced in association with Longoria and Ben Spector’s UnbeliEVAble Entertainment and Whitaker and Nina Yang Bongiovi’s Significant Productions.

ABC has handed the project a script and additional development material plus penalty commitment. Chaidez, Longoria, Spector, Whitaker, Yang Bongiovi serve as executive producers.

It’s the latest ABC project for UnbeliEVAble Entertainment, which is currently under a deal at 20th Century Fox Studios Television. The company previously produced Grand Hotel.

Development of the project began with one of the executive producers, Doug Pray, working with Sylvia Vasquez, daughter of Chicano author Richard Vasquez, while Chaidez is a third generation Mexican-American whose own family’s immigration journey closely parallels the story told in Chicano.

“Chicano is just the first of many projects that we expect from Eva and Ben as we look to ramp up our slate of Latinx programming. As part of our studio family, they are valuable partners in helping us expand our commitment to compelling stories for underrepresented communities,” said Karey Burke, president, ABC Entertainment. “With Forest, Nina, Natalie and Doug also at the helm of this project, we know we have the perfect powerhouse team to bring this Mexican-American family’s story to life and cultivate the next generation of Latinx storytelling.”

Jencarlos Canela to Appear in ABC’s Soap Opera-Drama “Grand Hotel”

Posted on September 16, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Jencarlos Canela has landed a Grand new project…

The 30-year-old Cuban Americansinger, songwriter and actor is reuniting with his former Telenovela co-star Eva Longoria on ABC’s Grand Hotel, executive produced by the Mexican American actress/producer.

Canela will recur on the drama series from ABC Studios as El Rey, a popular Miami recording artist who’s sexy, charismatic, energetic, and amusingly cocky. He’s a major player both in the industry and with the women. He is offered a chance to be a staple performer at the hotel.

Written by Brian Tanen and based on the popular Spanish format series Gran Hotel, Grand Hotel is a soapy drama set against the backdrop of a Miami Beach hotel, centering on the family who owns the business, the staff who run it and the explosive secrets they hide under the perfect exterior.

Longoria and Ben Spector executive produce via UnbeliEVAble Entertainment alongside Tanen, as well as Ramon Campos and Teresa Fernandez-Valdes via Bambu Producctiones, showrunner of the original Spanish show.

Canela starred opposite Longoria as Xavier Castillo on Telenovela, which aired for one season on NBC. Canela also starred as Jesus Christ in the Fox musical The Passion.

Grand Hotel is slated for a midseason premiere on ABC.

ABC Orders Pilot of the Eva Longoria-Produced Drama “Grand Hotel”

Posted on February 4, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a grand old time for Eva Longoria…

ABC has ordered a pilor for the soapy drama Grand Hotel based on the Spanish series, from the 42-year-old Mexican American actress and former Desperate Housewives star and the hit ABC/ABC Studios dramedy’s writer Brian Tanen.

Written by Tanen, Grand Hotel is a soap opera-like drama set against the backdrop of a Miami Beach hotel, centering around the family who owns the business, the staff who run it, and the explosive secrets they hide under the perfect exterior.

Longoria and Ben Spector are executive producing via UnbeliEVAble Entertainment alongside Tanen as well as Oliver Bachert and Christian Gockel of Beta Film, which distributed the original series.

UnveliEVAble, ABC and ABC Studios also developed a Grand Hotel adaptation last season with a different writer.

Televisa USA previously took a stab at an English-language adaptation of the series set in pre-Castro Havana.

Gran Hotel (aka Grand Hotel) was created and produced by Bambu Producciones and ran on Spain’s Antena 3 for three seasons, with its first season reaching a 18.5% share. Dubbed “a Spanish Downton Abbey,” the original series, set in 1905 Spain, has been a top international seller for Beta Films.

Eva Longoria Developing English-Adaptation of Spain’s “Gran Hotel” for ABC

Posted on November 21, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Eva Longoria is having a gran old time…

ABC is developing Grand Hotel, a soapy drama from the42-year-old Mexican American actress/producer and former Desperate Housewives star and writer Brian Tanen.

The project, from Longoria and Ben Spector’s UnveliEVAble Entertainment and ABC Studios, is based on the popular Spanish telenovela Gran Hotel.

Written by Tanen, Grand Hotel is a soapy drama set against the backdrop of a Miami Beach hotel, centering around the family who owns the business, the staff who run it, and the explosive secrets they hide under the perfect exterior.

Tanen, Longoria and Spector executive produce alongside Oliver Bachert and Christian Gockel of Beta Film, which distributes the original series.

UnveliEVAble, ABC and ABC Studios also developed a Grand Hotel adaptation last season with a different writer. Televisa USA previously took a stab at an English-language adaptation of the series set in pre-Castro Havana.

Gran Hotel was created and produced by Bambu Producciones and ran on Spain’s Antena 3 for three seasons, with its first season reaching a 18.5% share.

Dubbed “a Spanish Downton Abbey,” the original series, set in 1905 Spain, has been a top international seller for Beta Films.

Longoria recently teamed with another former Desperate Housewives writer, David Schulner, for immigrant drama Lucky Boy, with Nisha Ganatra directing.

Eva Longoria to Adapt the Chilean Comedy “Sin Filtro” for American Audiences

Posted on July 11, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Eva Longoria is losing her filter…

The 42-year-old Mexican American actress and producer’s UnbeliEVAble Entertainment will team up with Charles D. King’s MACRO for the American-set remake of Sin Filtro, the Chilean film by Nicolas Lopez.

They’re hoping to get into production in 2018 a comedy that follows a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Her life spirals out of control after an acupuncture treatment renders her unable to filter herself.

King’s MACRO will finance the film, and he’ll produce with Kim Roth and Poppy Hanks along with UnbeliEVAble’s Longoria and Ben Spector.

The exec producers are the original’s writer-director Lopez and Miguel Asensio Llamas, who produced the original through Sobras International.

Sin Filtro was the top-grossing live-action film in Chile in 2016, and became the second highest grossing film of all time in that country.

Lopez won’t direct the remake. His next film, Hazlo Como Hombre releases in Mexico on August 11 and in the US on Labor Day by Pantelion/Lionsgate, and No Estoy Loca bows in Chile on January 4.

The producers will look to quickly set a writer and director for the remake.

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

Posted on October 20, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

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.

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

Posted on August 16, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

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.

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.”

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