Cree Cicchino to Star in Fox‘s Upcoming Medical Comedy “Best Medicine”

Posted on July 22, 2025 by Tom Castaneda

Cree Cicchino is landed the best role…

The 23-year-old half-Ecuadorian American actress will star as a series regular in Fox‘s upcoming medical comedy Best Medicine.

The actress joins previously announced series stars Josh Charles, Abigail Spencer, Annie Potts and Josh Segarra.

The one-hour show was originally announced in May and serves as an American adaptation of the popular British series Doc Martin.

The official description of the show states:

“The series centers on Martin Best (Charles), a brilliant surgeon who abruptly leaves his illustrious career in Boston to become the general practitioner in a quaint East Coast fishing village where he spent summers as a child. Unfortunately, Martin’s blunt and borderline rude bedside manner rubs the quirky, needy locals the wrong way, especially local school teacher Louisa Glasson (Spencer), however tenacity is the creed of everyone in their small village, and the people who live there may be exactly what the doctor ordered.”

Cree will play Elaine Denham. The character is described as “adorable, energetic, ambitious with enormous dreams — she’s getting out of this two-bit town as soon as possible. Elaine is somehow incredibly charming while being completely inept at her job, too busy hatching schemes on how to become a YouTube star. She is clueless on why Martin is always so upset with her. Her energy is upbeat, positive, basically the opposite of Martin.”

The character of Elaine was played by Lucy Punch in the original series.

Cree is best known for her starring role in the 2024 film adaptation of the John Green novel Turtles All the Way Down.

Her other credits include shows like And Just Like That, Big Sky and Mr. Iglesias.

She recently wrapped up on the production of the play One of the Good Ones at the Old Globe Theatre.

Isabela Merced to Star in 20th Century’s New “Alien” Movie

Posted on March 2, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Isabela Merced has landed an out of this world role…

The 21-year-old half-Peruvian American actress and singer will star opposite Cailee Spaeny in 20th Century’s new Alien movie.

Fede Alvarez is directing with Scott Free producing the film.

Not much is known about the film other than the iconic ferocious race of alien beings called Xenomorphs will be front and center, again reigning terror against the humans that cross their paths.

Merced recently starred as Juliet in the feature film Rosaline, 20th Century’s revisionist Romeo & Juliet tale opposite Kaitlyn Dever, streaming now on Hulu.

She can be seen next as the lead in New Line’s Turtles All the Way Down, the upcoming film adaptation of John Green’s New York Times best-selling novel for HBOMax.

She is also set to star alongside Dakota Johnson and Sydney Sweeney in Sony Pictures’ Madame Web, based on the Marvel comics.

Merced most recently appeared in Warner Bros.’ remake of Father of the Bride with Andy Garcia and Gloria Estefan. She also starred in the Netflix original thriller motion picture Sweet Girl opposite Jason Momoa and was the voice of Lucky Prescott in DreamWorks Animation’s Spirit Untamed.

Judy Reyes to Star in New Line’s Film Adaptation of John Green’s “Turtles All the Way Down” for HBO Max

Posted on April 13, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

It’s turtle time for Judy Reyes…

The 54-year-old Dominican American former Scrubs star will appear in New Line’s film adaptation of John Green’s #1 NY Times best seller Turtles All the Way Down for HBO Max.

Turtles All the Way Down tackles anxiety through its 17-year-old protagonist, Aza Holmes (played by Isabela Merced).

Reyes will play Gina, the mother of Aza. Cree Cicchino and Felix Mallard also star. It’s not easy being Aza, but she’s trying… trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, and a good student, all while navigating an endless barrage of invasive, obsessive thoughts that she cannot control. When she reconnects with Davis, her childhood crush, Aza is confronted with fundamental questions about her potential for love, happiness, friendship, and hope in the face of her mental illness.

New Line/HBO Max picked up the project from Fox 2000 when that division closed; the project being ripe for the streamer’s devotion to YA fare, i.e. the new Gossip Girl, The Sex Lives of College Girls, and the upcoming Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin.

Green’s Turtles All the Way Down is his follow-up to his hit novel The Fault in Our Stars, which was a big YA movie in 2014 for 20th Century Fox and Temple Hill, making over $307M WW.

Reyes played Carla on the TV series Scrubs, Zoila on Lifetime’s Devious Maids, and Quiet Ann on the hit TNT series Claws.

Upcoming for Reyes is the Paramount Players’ horror film Something’s Wrong Rose.

Recent film credits include Netflix’s All Together Now, The Circle and Gun Hill Road. Recurring roles include Eva on HBO’s smash hit Succession, Lala on FX’s Better Things, Ramona on Netflix’s One Day at a Time, Deb on the TBS series Search Party and Irene Vega on Bravo’s Dirty John.

Reyes has worked extensively in television, theater, and film for the last 20 years and remains a founding member of NYC’s Labyrinth Theater Company.

She is executive-producing the animated video series LaGolda, which tackles a variety of social and environmental issues through the sport of soccer and is sponsored by UnitedHealthcare’s “Do Good. Live Well.” initiative.

Jennifer Lopez to Appear as Part of YouTube’s “Dear Class of 2020” Global Virtual Commencement Ceremony

Posted on May 20, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Jennifer Lopez is ready to motivate this year’s graduates…

YouTube has added several speakers and musical performances to Dear Class of 2020, its global virtual commencement ceremony set for June 6, including the 50-year-old Puerto Rican superstar.

In addition to Lopez, others joining Barack and Michelle Obama, Lady Gaga and more as part of the special event are Beyoncé Knowles-Carter— who will deliver an inspirational message to the graduates — La La Anthony, Andy Cohen, Lana Condor, Misty Copeland,Kevin Durant, FINNEAS, Bill & Melinda Gates, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Demi Lovato, Hasan Minhaj, Janelle Monáe,Antoni Porowski, Billy Porter, Phoebe Robinson, Yara Shahidi, Michael Strahan, Taylor Swift, Ciara & Russell Wilson, the casts of Euphoria and Riverdale, Today’s Jenna Bush Hager and Natalie Morales, and YouTub ecreators Emma Chamberlain, John Green, NikkieTutorials, and Mark Rober.

The multi-hour event premieres on Saturday, June 6 on YouTube. Other speakers and performers include BTS, Alicia Keys, Kelly Rowland, Kerry Washington, Chloe x Halle and Zendaya, among others.

Barack and Michelle Obama each will deliver commencement speeches – as well as a joint heartfelt message – to this year’s high school and college seniors who are missing graduation celebrations due to the coronavirus pandemic. Additionally, Michelle Obama’s Higher Reach Initiative will host a full hour of content to kick off the celebration.

“Graduation is a tradition that students and families look forward to and with the current state of the world, YouTube is lending some inspiration in the form of a virtual commencement,” said Susanne Daniels, Global Head of Content for YouTube. “We hope bringing together noteworthy, influential speakers along with performances from some of their favorite artists will provide encouragement for the students who have worked so hard to get here.”

In “Dear Class of 2020,” people from around the world will join the class of 2020 as a singular community to celebrate their resilience, and the endless possibilities of their future, says YouTube.

“The festival-style line up combines classic commencement day themes with a diverse array of entertainment that will capture all of the emotions of graduation including pride, hope, optimism, and camaraderie.”

YouTube is working in partnership with Higher Reach, Born This Way Foundation, Malala Fund, TODAY, and Ideas United to showcase student stories and feature graduates around the world, including a crowd-sourced commencement speech. The special will be produced by Done + Dusted.

“Dear Class of 2020” can be streamed on the YouTube Originals channel and the Learn@Home site.

The full schedule of commencement events is available on the Learn@Home site.

Henry Zaga to Star in Hulu’s Limited Series “Looking for Alaska”

Posted on May 9, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

Henry Zaga is ready for a little northern exposure…

The 26-year-old Brazilian actor has landed a recurring role opposite Charlie Plummer and Kristine Froseth in Looking for Alaska, Hulu’s eight-episode limited series based on John Green’s novel.

Looking for Alaska is told through the eyes of teenager Miles “Pudge” Halter (Plummer), as he enrolls in boarding school to try to gain a deeper perspective on life. He falls in love with Alaska Young (Froseth), and finds a group of loyal friends. But after an unexpected tragedy, Miles and his close friends must attempt to uncover the truth and make sense of what they’ve been through.

The series hails from Paramount Television and Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage’s Fake Empire.

Zaga will portray Jake, Alaska’s impossibly handsome, floppy-haired, college-aged boyfriend, funny and adorable.

Schwartz wrote the pilot and will serve as executive producer and showrunner.

Zaga can next be seen in the upcoming Fox film The New Mutants, which will be released August 2. He previously starred in the hit Netflix series 13 Reasons Why.

First Trailer Released for Rapace’s “Prometheus” Sequel, “Alien: Covenant”

Posted on December 27, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Noomi Rapace is out of this world again…

After two days of non-stop teasing, the first official trailer for Alien: Covenant, starring the 37-year-old half-Spanish actress, has been released.

While director Ridley Scott technically returned to the Alien franchise with 2012’s Prometheus, that film has only a tangential connection to the main series thanks to some continuity nods and a scene at the end. Covenant however is not, as it picks up where Prometheus left off and (presumably) leads directly to the events of the original Alien.

The story follows the crew of the colony ship Covenant, bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, that discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but per usual discoveries it’s actually a dark, dangerous world containing a threat beyond their imagination and, as it happens, the android David (Michael Fassbender), one of the few survivors of the Prometheus mission.

Fassbender, Guy Pearce, and Rapace reprise their Prometheus roles, joined this time out by Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, Demián Bichir, Carmen Ejogo, Amy Seimetz, Jussie Smollet, Callie Hernandez, Nathaniel Dean, Alexander England, Benjamin Rigby, and James Franco.

Jack Paglen, Michael Green, and John Logan wrote the script.

Alien: Covenant hits theaters on May 19.

Hernandez Bests Simone Biles to Claim Silver in Women’s Balance Beam at the 2016 Rio Games

Posted on August 16, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Laurie Hernandez is proving to be the future of U.S. Gymnastics…

The 16-year-old Puerto Rican gymnast, who helped the American team win the gold in the women’s gymnastics competition, has beamed her way on the medal podium on her own at the 2016 Rio Games.

Hernandez capped a rollercoaster Olympic with a silver medal of her own on balance beam, eclipsing teammate Simone Biles in the apparatus final on Monday.

Hernandez, the youngest member of a team that also includes 2012 London Games veterans Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas, has held her share of the spotlight here with ups and downs that her coach freely acknowledges.

An internet GIF of Hernandez winking at judges before her floor routine last week has made the rounds online, and the Old Bridge native’s animated personality and potential longevity in the sport figure to open more doors for her after the Olympics. Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton adapted her campaign slogan to root for Hernandez on Twitter, announcing #ImWithHernandez. John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars, also tweeted his congratulations, to the delight of Hernandez, who cites the book as a favorite.

Despite Hernandez’s growing profile, the U.S. team’s initial qualification-round lineup gave Biles, Raisman and Douglas a shot at getting into the individual all-around final, while Hernandez was left on the sidelines rooting for them. Biles and Raisman went on to take gold and silver in the all-around, respectively.

That was a blow for Hernandez, who has beaten Raisman and Douglas in competition at times in the past year, and who was left with her one chance for an individual medal on beam. But, that didn’t seem to dampen her experience throughout the Games.

“She’s going home with two medals, a gold and a silver. That’s amazing. This is her first really major international competition,” says Maggie Haney, Hernandez’s coach.

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