Cristela Alonzo to Release New Netflix Comedy Special “Upper Classy” in Late September

Posted on August 19, 2025 by Tom Castaneda

Cristela Alonzo is upp(er)ing her comedy game…

The 46-year-old Mexican American comedian, writer, actress and producer is set to globally release her new Netflix special, Upper Classy, on September 23rd.

The special, filmed at The Majestic theater in Dallas, finds Alonzo in pursuit of happiness.

Whether finding out she’s doing better than her high school bully, visiting a spa and getting too much self-care or taking her family on their first vacation ever, Alonzo teaches her family (and herself) how to enjoy life, whether they like it or not.

The special is Alonzo’s third original for Netflix, following Cristela Alonzo: Middle Classy in 2022, and Cristela Alonzo: Lower Classy six years before that.

In addition to writing and performing, she executive produced the special alongside Page Hurwitz and Wanda Sykes for Push It Productions, with Hurwitz also serving as director of the special.

Alonzo made history in 2014 as the first Latina to create, produce, write and star in her own network sitcom with Cristela on ABC, a semi-autobiographical series that drew on her working-class upbringing in Texas.

Starting to experiment with stand-up back when she was working as an office manager at the Addison Improv in Dallas, TX in the early 2000s, she was a semi-finalist on Last Comic Standing in 2010 and has also been seen on the likes of Conan, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Gabriel Iglesias Presents Stand Up Revolution, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and Live at Gotham.

Alonzo has also voiced roles in projects like His Dark Materials and Cars 3 and released her memoir, Music to My Years: A Mixtape-Memoir of Growing Up and Standing Up, in 2019.

Alonzo to Star in ABC’s Drama Pilot “The Gospel of Kevin”

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Cristela Alonzo is preaching the gospel…

The 38-year-old Mexican American stand-up comedian/actress has been cast as the female lead opposite Jason Ritter in ABC’s The Gospel of Kevin, an hourlong drama pilot from ABC Studios.

Directed by Paul McGuigan, The Gospel of Kevin is a light one-hour about Kevin (Ritter), a down-on-his-luck man who is tasked by God with a mission to save the world. Kevin is a cluelessly self-serving jerk who’s on a dangerous path to despair. After a failed suicide attempt, he’s going home to stay with his widowed twin sister and niece for a time, only to be met with a crisis in the person Yvette (Alonso). Tough-talking but not without compassion, a “source of luminescence” and clearly divine, Yvette is a “warrior for God,” who explains to Kevin that he’s been “tasked with a sacred mission.”

Alonzo, the first Mexican American woman to create, produce, write, and star in her own US network show, has been courted to return to series television for awhile now.

Her 2014 sitcom Cristela was a Cinderella story, with a full pilot shot on a shoestring budget that beat the odds and landed on the ABC schedule, subsequently earning a full-season order. She appears regularly on Conan and The View, in addition to being featured on Comedy Central’s Live at Gotham and Gabriel Iglesias Presents Stand Up Revolution. She most recently can be seen in her comedy special Lower Classy on Netflix.

Louis C.K. to Appear on TBS’ “Conan” Show in New York

Posted on October 25, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Louis C.K. is joining Conan O’Brien in the Big Apple…

The 49-year-old Mexican American comedian/actor is booked for TBS late-night show Conan’s first trip to New York City since 2011.

Louis C.K. joins a guest roster that includes Tracy Morgan and Ryan Reynolds.

The week of shows airing October 31-November 3 also includes comedian Rory Scovel and rap group the Sugarhill Gang. Taped at Harlem’s Apollo Theater, the week of episodes will kick off Conan’s seventh year on TBS.

Here is the preliminary schedule for Conan in NYC, with additional guests and musical performances to be announced soon:

Monday, Oct. 31: Musical guest The Sugarhill Gang
Tuesday, Nov. 1: Louis C.K.
Wednesday, Nov. 2: Ryan Reynolds and Rory Scovel
Thursday, Nov. 3: Tracy Morgan

In addition to the nightly shows, Team Coco will be live-streaming on Instagram and Snapchat every day from inside the Apollo Theater, providing a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the shows.

Conan in NYC marks the show’s sixth out-of-the-studio trip in the past 18 months and its second excursion to New York.

Previous trips have taken O’Brien overseas to South Korea, Armenia and the U.S. Air Force Base in Doha, Qatar, where he was accompanied by First Lady Michelle Obama.

In spring 2015, O’Brien made headlines as the first American late-night host to shoot in Cuba in more than 50 years. Across its eight seasons on TBS, the Los Angeles-based Conan has broadcast from Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta and, for the past two years, San Diego during Comic-Con International.

Alonzo’s Semi-Autobiographical Comedy Project “Cristela” Still Alive at ABC

Posted on February 28, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Cristela Alonzo’s television dreams are still alive…

The Mexican American actress and stand-up comic’s semi-autobiographical comedy Cristela still has a shot at ABC with a potential Fall 2014 premiere date.

The network, which originally bought the 20th TV-backed comedy in August, has given the green light on what it describes as a “proof of concept” for the project, which has acquired many fans among ABC’s top leaders.

On the recently released breakdown for Cristela, it’s listed as a pilot presentation with John Pasquin directing a cast of 10, led by Alonzo.

The show, co-written by Alonzo and Kevin Hench, tells the story of Cristela (Alonzo), an American Latina straddling two cultures while not fully belonging to either.

Cristela, in her sixth year of law school and living rent-free with her sister and brother-in-law, hopes to land a prestigious law firm internship as her mother badgers her about getting a real job, her brother-in-law encourages her to move out and her sister runs low on patience.

20th Century Fox Television is producing the project, with Alonzo executive producing.

Alonzo, originally from the South Texas, has appeared on Conan, Live At Gotham and Last Comic Standing.

Alonzo Receives Script Commitment from ABC for Her Sitcom “Cristela”

Posted on August 3, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Cristela Alonzo is television-bound…

ABC has given the 34-year-old rising Mexican American standup comedian/actress a script commitment with a sizable penalty, reportedly in the six figures, for the half-hour multi-camera comedy she co-created as a starring vehicle.

Entitled Cristela, the project, inspired by Alonzo’s life, is the story of an American Latina (portrayed by Alonzo) straddling two cultures while not fully belonging to either.

Alonzo will co-write the script with writer-producer Kevin Hench.

20th Century Fox Television and 21 Laps/Adelstein will produce the series.

Alonzo, originally from the south Texas border town of San Juan, has appeared on Conan, Live At Gotham and Last Comic Standing.

She made her acting debut on FX’s Sons Of Anarchy. And Alonzo’s first stand-up special, The Half Hour, recently premiered on Comedy Central.

Alonzo Developing Comedy Series Inspired By Her Life

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

She’s a rising star in the world of comedy… And, now Cristela Alonzo could soon become the Latina version of Louis C.K.

The 33-year-old Mexican American standup comic could soon be creating and starring in her own comedy series.

Alonzo has signed a deal with 20th Century Fox Television and Marty Adelstein and Shawn Levy‘s studio-based 21 Laps/Adelstein for a multi-camera comedy inspired by her life/standup as a hard-working, truth-telling, straight-down-the-middle blue-collar Latina from Deep South Texas who navigates the white-brown world she lives in.

Based on Alonzo’s experiences growing up in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, the project is expected to be centered around a blue-collar Mexican-American family.

The search is underway for a scribe to co-write the script with Alonzo, who will co-executive produce the project.

Alonzo moved to Los Angeles in 2005 and got her first break in 2006 when she was hired to write for Comedy Central’s Mind of Mencia. She was a semifinalist on NBC’s Last Comic Standing in 2010, has appeared on standup specials for Showtime and Comedy Central and has been touring college campuses. Most recently, Alonzo made her late-night debut on Conan.

Hispanically Yours

Celebrating the Latino Influence

Tag Archives: Conan