Jenna Ortega is preparing for her late night debut…
The 20-year-old Puerto Rican and Mexican American Golden Globe-nominated actress and Wednesday star will serve as a first-time host of NBC’s late-night, sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live.
Ortega, who will next appear in Scream VI, will host the long-running series on March 11 alongside British indie rockers The 1975.
SNL is produced in association with Broadway Video.
The show’s creator and executive producer is Lorne Michaels.
Aubrey Plaza is preparing to make a special debut…
The 38-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress will be hosting Saturday Night Live’s first show of 2023.
Making her hosting debut, Plaza will host on January 21, with Sam Smith as the musical guest.
Plaza’s star has been on the rise following her acclaimed starring role in Emily The Criminal and her work on season two of The White Lotus, which earned her a first-ever Golden Globe nomination.
Saturday Night Live is produced in association with Broadway Video. The creator and executive producer of the long-running NBC sketch-comedy series is Lorne Michaels.
Auli’i Cravalho is on a mean streak…
The 22-year-old part-Puerto Rican actress/singer has joined the ensemble cast of Paramount Pictures’ new Mean Girls film based on the Tony Award-nominated Broadway musical.
Cravalho, who will portray Janis, will be joined by Angourie Rice, Reneé Rapp and Jaquel Spivey.
Lorne Michaels is producing with Tina Fey. Erin David, Caroline Maroney and Micah Frank are overseeing for Broadway Video, and Eric Gurian and Jeff Richmond for Little Stranger. Arturo Perez and Samantha Jayne are directing with Fey writing the adaptation.
The film is based on the stage musical Mean Girls written by Fey, with music by Richmond and lyrics by Nell Benjamin. Paramount Pictures is adapting the new film for Paramount+.
Best known for voicing the titular character in the Disney hit animated film Moana, Cravalho was most recently seen in Netflix’s feature film All Together Now directed by Brett Haley and as Ariel in ABC’s acclaimed television production of The Little Mermaid Live. She can currently be seen in Hulu’s Darby of the Dead.
Marcello Hernandez will be working Saturday nights…
The Cuban & Dominican American stand up comedian, writer and actor has joined the cast of Saturday Night Live as a featured player for Season 48.
Hernandez joins a roster of new cast additions that includes Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow and Devon Walker.
Hernandez has opened for the likes of Tim Dillon and Gilbert Gottfried and appeared on Telemundo’s Acceso Total. The Miami comedian was recently named a “New Face of Comedy” at the prestigious Montreal “Just for Laughs” festival. And locals may know Hernandez from his work with Only in Dade. He was the creative director of their lifestyle page.
“This will be transition year,” Lorne Michaels said backstage at the Primetime Emmys, where SNL won the award for Outstanding Variety Sketch Series.
“Change years are always difficult but always exciting. There are new people. There are four new people, at least for now.”
The announcement comes after it was revealed in May that Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant and Kyle Mooney were leaving the show at the end of Season 47 along with Pete Davidson. It later emerged that Alex Moffat, Melissa Villaseñor, the first-ever Latina cast member, and Aristotle Athari would not be returning either.
SNL returns on October 1 with three consecutive shows.
Michaels added that the pandemic kept the large cast together longer than perhaps expected.
“The pandemic sort of interfered with the national order of things. I think there was a bonding; people got very close,” he added. “When we did those at-home shows, you got to see everyone’s apartment where and how they lived. There was an intimacy and connection between audience and group. I couldn’t imagine we could work without that whole team so we kept going.”
Saturday Night Live is produced in association with Broadway Video.
There’s more Schmigadoon in Ariana DeBose’s future…
Apple TV+ has ordered a second season of its musical comedy Schmigadoon!, starring the 31-year-old half-Puerto Rican Oscar-winning actress.
Hailing from creators Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio and executive producer Lorne Michaels, the series stars Cecily Strong, Keegan-Michael Key, DeBose, Dove Cameron, Jaime Camil, Kristin Chenoweth, Alan Cumming, Ann Harada, Jane Krakowski, Martin Short and Aaron Tveit — all of whom are set to return.
Tituss Burgess and Patrick Page will also join the fun in the new season, which will find Josh (Key) and Melissa (Strong) in Schmicago, the world of 60’s and 70’s musicals.
Following its global debut on Apple TV+ last year, Schmigadoon! was honored with an AFI Award, and has received wide acclaim and accolades, including a Critics Choice Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Chenoweth.
The series hails from Broadway Video and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.
Paul, who is the showrunner, wrote all of the original songs for the series. Robert Luketic directs and co-executive produces. Andrew Singer serves as an executive producer, while Micah Frank is a co-executive producer. Strong and Caroline Maroney are producers.
Rosalia is readying for her close-up…
The 28-year-old Spanish Grammy-winning singer-songwriter will make her debut as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live.
Rosalia will perform on NBC’s longtime live sketch comedy series on March 12.
Zoë Kravitz will serve as the night’s guest host.
Rosalia previously appeared on SNL for a duet with Bad Bunny during his debut on the show on February 20, 2021. The pair formed their hit collaboration “La Noche De Anoche.”
SNL is produced in association with Broadway Video with creator Lorne Michaels as executive producer.
Ariana DeBose is preparing for a special late night debut…
The 30-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress/singer, who is earning Oscar buzz for her performance in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, will make her debut as host on NBC’s Saturday Night Live.
DeBose will be joined by Live Life Fast pop star Roddy Ricch, who will be making his debut on the show as the musical guest.
DeBose is well known to the late-night show’s creator Lorne Michaels as she plays Emma in Apple’s Michaels-exec produced comedy series Schmigadoon!
It will be the first show of 2022 for SNL and comes after the show rallied impressively for its COVID-19-hit final episode of 2021, a show that featured only Keenan Thompson and Michael Che from its regular cast as well as special guests Tina Fey and Tom Hanks.
The plan for the January 15 show is to be back with a full cast and crew as well as studio audience, according to Deadline, but given the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant, a decision will be made closer to the time.
The show will also be streamed live via Peacock with the remainder of season 47 also airing live on the streaming service at 11:30pm ET.
Saturday Night Live is produced in association with Broadway Video.
It’s an Honors of a lifetime for Justino Diaz.
The 81-year-old Puerto Rican operatic bass-baritone is among the recipients of the Kennedy Center’s Kennedy Center Honors this year, as the organization plans to return the ceremony to its traditional time and format in December.
In 1963, Díaz won an annual contest held at the Metropolitan Opera of New York, becoming the first Puerto Rican to obtain such an honor and as a consequence, made his Metropolitan debut in October 1963 in Verdi‘s Rigoletto as Monterone.
Diaz’s big roles throughout his career were in the operas of Mozart, taking on the title role of Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro a total of 27 times in his Met career.
He was also a renowned Scarpia and Iago in his time. He was famously picked by Franco Zeffirelli to take on the villain in his film version of Verdi’s final tragic masterwork; Scarpia was the last role he sang on the Met stage.
In addition to Diaz, the recipients for the December 5 event will be singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, actress and singer Bette Midler, Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels, and Motown Record founder and producer Berry Gordy.
CBS will broadcast the 44th annual ceremony, and it will be live streamed on Paramount+ and available on demand.
The Kennedy Center Honors traditionally takes place in the first weekend of December, with events at the White House and the State Department preceding the ceremony at the Kennedy Center Opera House. But because of Covid-19, the most recent honors were postponed until May this year, with the ceremony spread out over several days with a mix of indoor and outdoor events, some in person and some pre-taped. Instead of a White House reception, President Joe Biden had a smaller gathering of the honorees.
In a statement, Kennedy Center president Deborah Rutter said, “After the challenges and heartbreak of the last many months, and as we celebrate 50 years of the Kennedy Center, I dare add that we are prepared to throw ‘the party to end all parties’ in D.C. on Dec. 5th, feting these extraordinary people and welcoming audiences back to our campus.”
Jaime Camil has found the Apple (project) of his eye…
Apple TV+ has set a star-studded ensemble cast for its upcoming musical comedy that includes the 47-year-old Mexican actor, singer and television personality.
In addition to Camil, the project – which will be led by Saturday Night Live‘s Cecily Strong and executive produced by Lorne Michaels’ Broadway Video – will also star Keegan-Michael Key, Alan Cumming, Fred Armisen, Kristin Chenoweth, Aaron Tveit, Dove Cameron, Ariana DeBose, Jane Krakowski and Ann Harada.
Written by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, the as-yet untitled comedy series follows a couple on a backpacking trip designed to reinvigorate their relationship when they discover the magical town of Schmigadoon, in which everyone acts as if they’re in a studio musical from the 1940s. They then discover that they can’t leave until they find “true love.”
Key will play Josh, Melissa’s (Strong) long term, pragmatic partner, and the last person who wants to be stuck in this magical town. Cumming is Mayor Menlove, the welcoming mayor of the town with a secret (and a song) in his heart. Armisen plays Reverend Layton, the mild-mannered religious leader of the town. Chenoweth is Mildred Layton, Reverend Layton’s morally superior wife who is in everybody’s business. Tveit plays Danny Bailey, the town bad boy who is trouble with a capital T, especially once he sets his sights on Melissa. Cameron is Betsy, the farmers daughter who instantly falls for Josh. DeBose portrays Emma Tate, a more modern woman and the town’s teacher, she struggles to fit into the town’s strict mold. Camil plays Doc Lopez, the handsome town doctor with an icy heart. Krakowski plays The Countess, a stunning and sophisticated woman determined to marry Doc Lopez. Harada is Florence Menlove, the oblivious and dutiful wife of Mayor Menlove.
Paul will serve as showrunner, and will write all of the original music. Barry Sonnenfeld will direct.
The series hails from Broadway Video and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.
Camil earned two Teen Choice Awards for his scene-stealing role on Jane the Virgin.
There’s more espooky time in Fred Armisen‘s future…
HBO has ordered a second season of Los Espookys, its half-hour primarily Spanish-language comedy series from the 52-year-old half-Venezuelan American actor/comedian and Saturday Night Live alum and Lorne Michaels‘ Broadway Video.
Created and written by Armisen, Ana Fabregaand Julio Torres, the series is set in a strange and dreamy version of a present-day Latin American country and follows a group of friends turning their love for horror into a peculiar business.
“It’s a really fun, original, delightful show,” says HBO President of Programming Casey Bloys.
Fabrega and Torres star along with Cassandra Ciangherotti, Bernardo Velasco and Armisen.
Armisen, Michaels, Andrew Singer and Alice Mathiasexecutive produce; Fabrega, Torres and Nate Youngco-executive produce.
Fernando Friasdirected the entire first season.
The series is produced by Broadway Video in association with Antigravico, Más Mejorand the Oscar-winning Chilean production company Fabula.