Laura Di Lorenzo & Mimi Davila Are Developing “The Chonga Girls” at CBS Studios

Laura Di Lorenzo is celebrating a little (chonga) girl power.

The 34-year-old Venezuelan comedian, actress and writer – who performs alongside Mimi Davila as the comedy duo The Chonga Girls – is set to write, star and co-executive produce an eponymous multi-camera comedy series in development at CBS Studios, per Deadline.com.

Laura Di Lorenzo, Mimi Davila, The Chonga Girls Di Lorenzo and Davila—who perform as The Chonga Girls— are part of the project that hails from Marlena Rodriguez, who will serve as writer.

Additionally Rodriguez will executive produce alongside Wilmer Valderrama and Kaitlin Saltzman under his WV Entertainment banner, and Al Madrigal.

The Chonga Girls follows two dangerously confident childhood friends, Mimi and Laura, who move from Miami to Hollywood to realize their dream of becoming famous. But, much to their surprise, they find themselves working at the makeup counter for a department store right off the Walk of Fame.

Davila is a Cuban/Bulgarian actress, comedian and writer who, alongside her best friend Di Lorenzo, released the viral video Chongalicious in 2007. Most recently, she wrapped shooting the lead role in the indie film The Scout. She can also be seen in Julio Torres’ feature film Problemista and Gala Film’s new dystopian series RZR.

Davila and Di Lorenzo perform regularly together at comedy festivals.

Di Lorenzo is a Venezuelan Miamian whose voice was behind the music of Selena Quintanilla in the Netflix series Selena: The Series. She is best known for co-creating the comedy web series The Chonga Diaries, which spawned her segment, “Laura’s Corner,” available from Mitú via Comcast.

WV Entertainment is known for highlighting and uplifting the stories of Latinx and underrepresented communities across traditional media and podcasts. Last year, the company signed a first-look deal with CBS Studios.

Additionally, Valderrama became a shareholder of the My Cultura Podcast Network from iHeartMedia. He hosts and produces podcasts as well as helps curate the network’s slate of Latinx-focused podcasts which includes scripted and unscripted projects from Eva Longoria, Freddie Prinze, Jr, Cobra Kai stars Xolo Maridueña and Jacob Bertrand, and Princess of South Beach starring Rachel Zegler and Sheryl Rubio, to name a few. Additionally, WV Entertainment is developing a reimagined Zorro series for ABC among other projects currently in various stages of production.

Madrigal and Valderrama, as multihyphenate powerhouses in Hollywood, find synergy in their dedication to bringing Latino stories to the forefront. Madrigal currently stars in NBC’s Lopez Vs. Lopez, the only network series featuring a Latino family, alongside George Lopez, Mayan Lopez and Selenis Leyva. As a producer, he also has various projects in development yet to be announced. Previously, he created the comic book series Primos and starred in multiple film and TV projects.

Diany Rodriguez to Star in “NCIS: Origins,” CBS’ “NCIS” Prequel Series

Diany Rodriguez has found her origin(s) story…

The Latina actress joined the cast of NCIS: Origins as a series regular.

Diany RodriguezCBS’ prequel to the venerable procedural has a straight-to-series order for the 2024-2025 broadcast season.

In the CBS Studios-produced series, Rodriguez joins previously cast stars Austin Stowell, Mariel Molino and Kyle Schmid, as well as new addition Tyla Abercrumbie.

Executive produced and narrated by Mark HarmonOrigins begins in 1991, years prior to the events of NCIS, and chronicles Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ younger years. In the prequel, Gibbs (Stowell) starts his career as a newly minted special agent at the fledgling NIS Camp Pendleton office where he forges his place on a gritty, ragtag team led by NCIS legend Mike Franks (Schmid).

Rodriguez will portray Special Agent Vera Strickland, a no-nonsense, sharp-witted Brooklynite who’s tough as nails and never minces words. She’s spent her entire career being underestimated by misogynistic morons (as she calls them), but if it’s a fight those good ol’ boys are looking for, then it’s a fight they’re going to get.

Molino plays Special Agent Lala Dominguez.

Mark Harmon and his son Sean Harmon executive produce alongside David J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal who are co-writing the premiere episode and serving as co-showrunners. Jason Kennedy, Krysti Baxter and Meredith Goble are the casting directors.

Rodriguez recurred as Weecha Xiu on NBC’s The Blacklist.

Her recent credits include an arc on Peacock’s Twisted Metal and a guest spot on CBS’ drama series The Equalizer.

Mariel Molino to Star in CBS‘ Young Gibbs Drama “NCIS: Origins”

Mariel Molino is celebrating her origins

The Mexican American actress will star as the female lead opposite Austin Stowell in CBSYoung Gibbs drama NCIS: Origins, a prequel to the venerable procedural, which has a straight-to-series order for the 2024-2025 broadcast season.

Mariel Molino Narrated by Harmon, the CBS Studios-produced show begins in 1991, years prior to the events of NCIS, and chronicles Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ younger years.

In the prequel, Gibbs (Stowell) starts his career as a newly minted special agent at the fledgling NIS Camp Pendleton office where he forges his place on a gritty, ragtag team led by NCIS legend Mike Franks.

Molino will play Special Agent Lala Dominguez, a former Marine who navigates her 1990s male-dominated field with a steely resolve and a dark sense of humor. When a tormented Leroy Jethro Gibbs joins her team, the ensuing story between these two enigmatic outsiders is filled with sparks and turns that will keep the audience guessing.

This is a new character to the NCIS universe who has not been featured on the mothership series. In the NCIS timeline, the prequel takes place in the aftermath of the murder of Gibbs’ first wife and their daughter.

Mark Harmon and his son Sean Harmon, who portrayed Gibbs in flashbacks on NCIS and was a driving force behind the prequel, executive produce alongside David J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal who are co-writing the premiere episode and serving as co-showrunners.

Origins is one of two newly greenlighted extensions of CBS Studios’ ever-growing NCIS franchise, along with an Europe-set Tony & Ziva spinoff starring Michael Weatherly and Cote De Pablo for Paramount+. They join the mothership series, now in its 21st season, NCIS: Hawai’i, now in Season 3 and the franchise’s first international installment, NCIS: Sydney.

Molino, who was born in California, splits time between Los Angeles and Mexico City.

She started her career acting in Spanish-language projects, including the telenovela Papis Muy Padres, Amazon’s comedy series El Juego De Las Llaves and thriller drama series La Negociadora. She has also appeared on Netflix’s Narcos: Mexico and Luis Miguel: The Series.

Molino most recently starred in the Freeform thriller series The Watchful Eye and in the ABC family drama Promised Land. On the film side, Molino was be seen in upcoming features The Shade and Dead Man’s Switch.

CBS Renews Kevin Alejandro’s “Fire Country” for Third Season

There’s more fuego in Kevin Alejandro’s future…

CBS has renewed is hit Friday night drama Fire Country, starring the 47-year-old Mexican American actor, for a third season.

Kevin AlejandroFrom creators and executive producers Tony Phelan, Joan Rater and Max Thieriot, the series follows Bode Donovan (Thieriot), a young convict seeking redemption and a shortened prison sentence by joining a prison release firefighting program in Northern California. The program partners inmates with elite firefighters to extinguish unpredictable wildfires across the region.

When Bode is assigned to the program in his rural hometown—where he was once a golden all-American son—until his troubles begin as he burns down everything in his life, now, he’s looking for the opportunity to change his destiny.

Billy Burke, Diane Farr, Stephanie Arcila, Jordan Calloway and Jules Latimer also star.

Alejandro stars as Captain Manny Perez on the series.

Fire Country is averaging 9.21 million viewers in live 7-day multiplatform viewing, up +7% from last year, the network shares while touting the series as a top 6 in streaming on Paramount+. Currently airing on Friday nights, Fire Country is averaging 7.76 million viewers this season in linear viewing (Nielsen, Live+7).

The show has been such a hit for the network the universe could be expanding. Morena Baccarin will appear in a Season 2 episode of Fire County with an option to become a series regular in a potential spinoff series. She’ll portray Mickey, a Sheriff’s Deputy for 15 years who knows every corner of Edgewater … and every one of its inhabitants. This is her town and she’s fiercely protective of it.

The sheriff-centered episode is not considered a backdoor pilot, as the project is expected to go through another development stage before a potential series order but its reception would likely be key for the offshoot’s chances of moving forward.

CBS Studios produces the series.

New Season 2 episodes currently air Friday nights at 9:00 pm and can be streamed via Paramount+.

Cote de Pablo Reuniting with Michael Weatherly for CBS Studios’ New “NCIS” Franchise Spinoff

Cote de Pablo is returning to television…

CBS Studios is expanding its NCIS franchise by bringing back two fan favorite characters from the mothership series, Ziva David, portrayed by the 44-year-old Chilean actress and singer, and Tony DiNozzo, played by Michael Weatherly.

Cote de Pablo & MIchael Weatherlyde Pablo and Weatherly will reunite on screen for the first time in 10 years.

Paramount+ has given a 10-episode series order to the untitled spinoff headlined by Weatherly and de Pablo and written by actress and singer. All three executive produce.

Nicknamed NCIS: Europe, the new action-packed spinoff, set to start production later this year, will follow Tony (Weatherly) and Ziva (de Pablo) as they find themselves on the run across the continent.

NCIS is one of CBS Studios’ most valuable franchises and its expansion has been a goal for the studio. This is one of two new NCIS offshoots greenlighted this year, along with the Young Gibbs prequel series for CBS, NCIS: Origins. It’s also the second extension of the NCIS franchise beyond the U.S., following NCIS: Sydney, which has been airing on CBS in the U.S.

After Ziva’s (de Pablo) supposed death, Tony (Weatherly) left the NCIS team to go raise their daughter. Years later, Ziva was discovered alive, leading her to complete one final mission with NCIS before she was reunited with Tony and their daughter in Paris. Since then – and where we find them in the new Paramount+ original series – Tony and Ziva have been raising their daughter, Tali, together. When Tony’s security company is attacked, they must go on the run across Europe, trying to figure out who is after them and maybe even learn to trust each other again so that they can finally have their unconventional happily ever after.

“We’ve been talking about this story for many years, and now with John McNamara at the helm, we are ready,” Weatherly and de Pablo said. “The world of Tony and Ziva (and daughter Tali) promises to be an action-packed roller coaster fueled by love, danger, tears and laughter. We also want to acknowledge and thank the fans from around the world who supported the ‘Tiva’ movement for years. To this day, they say hello in grocery stores and on the street to tell us how much these characters mean to them and ask what Tony and Ziva are up to now. This is for you!”

Weatherly hinted at a potential ‘Tiva’ reunion last month when his New Year’s tweet, “It’s time to look at time and enjoy the moment!” prompted a fan to respond, “We all would rather look at you and Ziva reuniting.” Weatherly highlighted the comment, adding, “Stay tuned… for this might be an interesting year for such ‘moments’!” He further fueled speculation this week by responding to a fan tweet lamenting about him and de Pablo, “miss the chemistry and magic you both create,” with the cryptic, “the universe works in mysterious ways…”

De Pablo, Weatherly and McNamara executive produce the spinoff series with Laurie Lieser, Christina Strain and Shelley Meals.

The series is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

“I’m incredibly excited to step into the NCIS universe with Cote and Michael and thrilled to explore it from a few new angles,” McNamara said. “Given that the franchise is such a global sensation, I think it’s phenomenal that CBS Studios and Paramount+ have given us the greenlight to shoot in Europe. As to the title of this series, if I told you what it is, I’d be violating the Espionage Act.”

De Pablo joined NCIS in Season 3. She appeared in Seasons 3 through 10 and exited the series early in Season 11. In the Season 13 finale, it was revealed that Ziva apparently had died in an explosion in Israel. She returned three years later in 2019, where it was revealed she was alive and had gone into hiding. She made a surprise unannounced return in the last scene of the season 16 finale, which aired on May 21, 2019, in which Ziva arrives at Gibbs’ basement to warn him that his life is in danger. She later appeared in the first two episodes of the show’s 17th season and in that season’s 10th and 11th episodes as part of her storyline.

Paramount+ Releases Preview Clip of Fifth & Final Season of Wilson Cruz’s “Star Trek: Discovery”

Wilson Cruz is preparing for one final trip through space…

Paramount+ has released a preview of the upcoming fifth and final season of Star Trek: Discovery, starring the 49-year-old Puerto Rican actor.

Wilson Cruz, Star Trek: Discovery

Star Trek: Discovery is set to premiere in April 2024 on the streamer.

In the new footage, Capt. Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Cleveland “Book” Booker (David Ajala) contend with a massive, hostile alien creature that has the ability to cloak itself.

Per the official logline, Season 5 “will find Captain Burnham and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery uncovering a mystery that will send them on an epic adventure across the galaxy to find an ancient power whose very existence has been deliberately hidden for centuries. But there are others on the hunt as well … dangerous foes who are desperate to claim the prize for themselves and will stop at nothing to get it.”

In addition to Martin-Green, Ajala and Cruz, who portrays Dr. Hugh Culber, Star Trek: Discovery also stars Doug Jones (Saru), Anthony Rapp (Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Sylvia Tilly), Blu del Barrio (Adira) and Callum Keith Rennie (Rayner). Season 5 also features recurring guest stars’ Elias Toufexis (L’ak) and Eve Harlow (Moll).

The series is produced by CBS Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment. Star Trek: Discovery co-showrunners Alex Kurtzman and Paradise serve as executive producers alongside Heather Kadin, Aaron Baiers, Olatunde Osunsanmi, Frank Siracusa, John Weber, Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth.

CBS Renews “Fire Country,” Starring Kevin Alejandro, for Second Season

Kevin Alejandro is fired up…

CBS has renewed Fire Country, starring the 46-year-old Mexican American actor, for the 2023-2024 season.

Kevin AlejandroSince its premiere on October 7, Fire Country has averaged 8 million viewers per episode, making it the top new broadcast series of the season.

With live +35-day multiplatform viewing, more than 10 million viewers an episode have watched the procedural across linear and streaming platforms.

“It’s pretty remarkable to see a new series resonate like this with both broadcast and streaming audiences right out of the gate,” said Amy Reisenbach, president of CBS Entertainment, in a statement. “Fire Country has so many appealing entry points for the audience. It combines high-stakes action with small town charm, mystery and romance, and a family franchise at its core. We’re blessed to have an incredible team in front of and behind the camera led by amazing producers and writers and an exceptionally talented cast.”

The drama stars Max Thieriot as Bode Donovan, a young convict seeking redemption and a shortened prison sentence by joining a prison release firefighting program in Northern California, where he and other inmates are partnered with elite firefighters to extinguish massive, unpredictable wildfires across the region. It’s a high-risk, high-reward assignment, and the heat is turned up when Bode is assigned to the program in his rural hometown, where he was once a golden all-American son – until his troubles began. Five years ago, Bode burned down everything in his life, leaving town with a big secret. Now he’s back, with the rap sheet of a criminal and the audacity to believe in a chance for redemption with Cal Fire.

Alejandro portrays Manny Perez, the captain of Cal Fire where Bode is sent.

Fire Country, from Jerry Bruckheimer Television and CBS Studios, is inspired by Thieriot’s experiences growing up in fire country and stems from an original idea by the actor, who also co-penned the story for the pilot with its writers, Tony Phelan and Joan Rater.

Wilmer Valderrama Developing Drama Series Based on Anthony Almojera’s Memoir “Riding the Lightning”

Wilmer Valderrama is riding high…

The 42-year-old Venezuelan and Colombian American actor is developing a drama series alongside Eric I. Lu based on Anthony Almojera’s memoir Riding the Lightning: A Year in the Life of a New York City Paramedic.

Wilmer Valderrama CBS Studios is the studio.

Riding the Lightning will follow a veteran team of EMS workers in New York City grappling with life-or-death emergencies while welcoming an eager group of new recruits to their tight-knit unit.

Lu will serve as the writer and executive producer; Valderrama and Kaitlin Saltzman will executive produce through his WV Entertainment. Almojera will serve as a consultant on the project.

Lu will feel right at home working on a medical drama due to his four years working as a writer and producer on Fox’s The Resident. He joined the show in Season 2 and departed after the sixth season.

Valderrama is an actor and producer who’ll next reprise the role of Fez in Netflix’s That ’70s Show spinoff That ’90s Show. The series’ freshman season premieres on January 19. Projects under development include the straight-to-series drama Keep This to Yourself for Peacock/Telemundo and a reimagined Zorro series for Disney Branded Television.

CBS Developing Latinx Family Workplace Comedy “Family Insurance” Co-Written & Starring Al Madrigal

Al Madrigal is lowering his deductible

Eric Christian Olsen’s Cloud Nine Productions has sold Family Insurance, co-written by and starring the 51-year-old half-Mexican American comedian, writer, actor and producer, to CBS.

Al MadrigalThe network is developing the single-camera Latinx family workplace comedy into a series.

Co-written and executive produced by Madrigal and Ryan Walls, who also have deals at CBS Studios, as well as Adam LowittFamily Insurance is a Latinx family workplace comedy revolving around Al Fuentes (Madrigal) who after separating from his wife reluctantly returns to his childhood home to work at the family insurance business that his loud, tough, first generation immigrant father started.

Madrigal is known for his role as Senior Latino Correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He was also a series regular and writer on Showtime’s I’m Dying Up Here, and served as a writer, actor, and producer on the CBS show, Broke.

Madrigal’s film credits include The Way Back with co-star Ben AffleckNight School alongside Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish, and Morbius opposite Jared Leto.

Showtime Moves Premiere Date for Benjamin Flores Jr.’s Drama Series “Your Honor” to January 2023

Benjamin Flores Jr. is heading back to court in the New Year…

The premiere date for the Showtime drama series Your Honor, starring the 20-year-old Afro-Latino actor, will now premiere on Sunday, January 13. Originally the second season was to start this upcoming December.

Benjamin Flores Jr.The 10-episode second season of the Bryan Cranston-led courtroom drama follows his character Michael Desiato, a New Orleans judge whose career is called into question when his teenage son kills the son of a crime boss in a hit-and-run.

Michael Stuhlbarg plays crime boss Jimmy Baxter, with Hope Davis, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Andrene Ward Hammond, Keith Machekanyanga, Lilli Kay, Jimi Stanton and Flores rounding out the cast.

Slated guest stars for season two include Rosie Perez, Margo Martindale and Amy Landecker.

CBS Studios produces the show in association with King Size Productions.