Tag Archives: Pam Fryman

Ana Villafañe Lands Lead Role in CBS’ Comedy Project “History of Them”

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Ana Villafañe is ready to make history…

The 28-year-old Cuban and Salvadoran-American actress/singer, the star of the Gloria Estefan Broadway musical On Your Feet!, will star as the female lead in CBS’ comedy project History of Them.

Ana Villafañe

From One Day at a Time co-creator/executive producer Gloria Calderon Kellett. the semi-autobiographical project is a multi-cultural (Latinx & white) romantic comedy about how two friends, Luna (Villafañe) and Adam, fell in love, narrated by their future daughter, using the couple’s social media from present-day (Instagram/Twitter/Facebook) as a guide.

Villafañe’s smart and spunky Luna runs a successful Latinx food truck business with her parents. Despite this, she struggles with what she wants and doesn’t feel like a fully-fledged grown up yet. She wants to find love and figure out who she is separate from her very tight-knit family, and her journey will be full of bumps and bruises as she navigates the rest of her twenties.

Director Pam Fryman, who helmed several episodes of Netflix’s One Day at a Time reboot, including the key opening one, has come on board as director/executive producer.

History of Them, from Sony Pictures Television Studios and CBS Television Studios, landed at CBS in August in a very competitive situation with a big pilot production commitment. While it hasn’t been formally picked up to pilot yet, attaching Villafañe and Fryman, combined with the size of the commitment, a green light is expected.

Kellett executive produces via her Glo Nation banner alongside Marc Provissiero of Odenkirk Provissiero Entertainment and Fryman.

Villafañe made her Broadway debut as Gloria Estefan in the hit musical On Your Feet!, earning the 2016 Theatre World Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut Performance. On the screen, she played the female lead in Max Steel and starred in the Hulu original series South Beach. Her other credits include Los Americans, Rizzoli & Isles and Mozart in the Jungle.

History Of Them marks Kellett’s return to CBS and to the hybrid comedy format. She began her writing career as a staff writer on the network’s hybrid comedy series How I Met Your Mother, which was executive produced and directed by Fryman.

Guerrero to Star in CBS’ Comedy Pilot “Distefano”

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Diane Guerrero is preparing for a culture clash…

The 30-year-old Colombian American actress has been cast as the female lead opposite Chris Distefano in Distefano, CBS’ comedy pilot from How I Met Your Mother creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas and Sony Television.

Diane Guerrero

Inspired by the Distefano — an Italian American from Brooklyn and a new dad who married a Puerto Rican woman — Distefano centers on Izzy (Guerrero) and Chris (Distefano), two twentysomethings raising their newborn daughter and merging their meddling families – one Colombian American, one Italian.

The script was originally written with Izzy as Puerto Rican, but the character is now being reworked for Guerrero’s background, as representing her community is extremely mportant to her.

Guerrero’s Izzy is the love of Chris’ life and the mother of their 3-month-old baby. Annie Potts portrays Chris’ Irish Catholic mother Helen.

Bays and Thomas wrote the script based on a story they co-wrote with Distefano, with HIMYM director/executive producer Pam Fryman directing and executive producing.

Guerrero, best known for her role on Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black, was previously attached to star and executive produce a drama series project for CBS/CBS Television about undocumented immigrants based on her memoir In the Country We Love.

She’s also had a recurring role as best friend Lina on the CW/CBS Television Studios dramedy Jane the Virgin, teamed with Jane exec producers Jennie Snyder Urman, Ben Silverman and Paul Sciarrotta.

Guerrero and her OITNB castmates recently picked up their third straight Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.

Rodriguez Lands Bestie Role on CBS’ “How I Met Your Dad” Pilot

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Krysta Rodriguez is reporting for Dad duty…

The 29-year-old Latina actress and Broadway star, who most recently starred on the second season of NBC’s short-lived series Smash, has been cast in one of the lead roles on CBS’ How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM) spinoff How I Met Your Dad.

Krysta Rodriguez

Rodriguez will star opposite Greta Gerwig and Drew Tarver on the follow-up to the long-running hit sitcom.

Similar to the original series, How I Met Your Dad (HIMYD) tells the story from a female point of view, that of Sally (Gerwig), and revolves around a new group of friends in New York.

Rodriguez will portray Sally’s best friend Juliet, a sexy, flamboyant force of nature who runs the most successful fashion blog in the country.

The pilot, from 20th Century Television, was written by Emily Spivey and HIMYM creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas. It will be directed by Pam Fryman.