Anthony Ramos to Star in Ryan Murphy’s New Series “The Beauty”

Posted on September 30, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Anthony Ramos has landed a Beauty-ful new project…

The 32-year-old Puerto Rican actor/singer and Twisters star has joined the cast of Ryan Murphy’s new series The Beauty, which has been ordered to series by FX.

Ramos is part of a star-studded cast of The Beauty, part of Murphy’s Disney deal, that includes Evan Peters, Jeremy Pope and Ashton Kutcher.

Peters, Ramos and Pope also executive produce.

Co-created, written and exec produced by Murphy and Matt Hodgson, The Beauty is based on the comic books by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley.

Production on the 11-episode first season is slated to begin this fall, likely in November.

Per usual for a Ryan Murphy project, no official details about the premise and the characters are provided.

The 2016 graphic novel The Beauty is about an STD that makes those affected beautiful. But the disease, dubbed “the Beauty,” eventually kills its hosts as part of a suspected sinister government plot.

The main characters in the comics are detectives Drew Foster and Kara Vaughn, partners on beauty crime cases who have to find their way past corrupt politicians, vengeful federal agents, and a terrifying mercenary out to collect the price on their heads.

The TV series adaptation is reportedly a two-hander, with a male and female lead.

The search is under way for an actress to join Peters, Ramos, Pope and Kutcher.

Chatter about The Beauty first started in June, with Murphy’s frequent collaborator Peters said to be attached as star and executive producer. By August, the cast started to take shape with Ramos, Pope and Kutcher either set or in negotiations.

The series is produced by 20th Television in association with Ryan Murphy Television.

Ramos recently starred in Universal’s summer tentpole Twisters alongside Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones and in the latest installment in the Transformers franchisee, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.

Up next, Ramos stars in the Marvel series Ironheart for Disney+.

Krysta Rodriguez to Star in the Indie Comedy “Lunch Hour”

Posted on August 20, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Krysta Rodriguez is out to lunch…

The 40-year-old Latina actress, singer and Broadway star has signed on to star in Lunch Hour, a new indie comedy from director Larry Guterman and Winter State Entertainment.

Rodriguez will be joined by Thomas Middleditch and Alan Cumming in the project.

Delving into the anatomy of an affair, Lunch Hour watches as a soup-loving married man meets the soup-loving married woman of his dreams. Thereafter, both throw caution to the wind and engage in a messy affair for the ages.

Oren Safdie wrote the script and serves as executive producer. Hamid & Camille Torabpour and Nick Hagen produced for Winter State.

“I am thrilled to work with Oren, Hamid, Camille and the Winterstate team to bring this whip-smart comedy, driven by nuanced and complex comic performances, to the screen,” Guterman told Deadline. “I fell in love with the script and I knew that I had to be part of the special project.”

Added the Torabpours, “Oren is a wonderful writer, and watching his words come to life with Larry’s incredible direction and the brilliant work of our amazing cast of Thomas, Krista and Alan has been a tremendous experience. Camille and I are happy to have brought a project like this to Minnesota!!”

Rodriguez, who rose to acclaim on television in Smash, portrayed Liza Minnelli in Netflix’s limited series Halston from executive producer Ryan Murphy and has also been seen in Broadway productions like Into the Woods, First Date, The Addams Family and Spring Awakening.

Johnny Sibilly Guest-Starring on ABC’s “Station 19”

Posted on April 10, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Johnny Sibilly is ready to respond…

The 36-year-old Cuban & Dominican American actor and producer has landed a guest-starring role on ABC‘s Station 19.

In multiple episodes of the seventh and final season, Sibilly will play Dominic, a recently single, charming, charismatic EMS firefighter whose calming nature puts people in crisis at ease.

His debut airs Thursday, April 11 starting at 10:00 pm EDT in the fifth episode of the season titled “My Way” following Andy Herrera (Jaina Lee Ortiz) as she fearlessly leads her team during a life-or-death emergency at Seattle’s most beloved landmark.

Additionally, Vic (Barrett Doss) struggles with emotional burnout and Maya (Danielle Savre) helps Carina (Stefania Spampinato) navigate some difficult news.

Station 19, created by Stacy McKee, is set in Seattle and focuses on the lives of the men and women at Seattle Fire Station 19.

The series also stars Jason George, Grey Damon, Jay Hayden, Boris Kodjoe, Carlos Miranda, Josh Randall and Merle Dandridge.

McGee executive produces alongside Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers. The series is produced by Shondaland and ABC Signature.

This season kicked off with two new showrunners: Zoanne Clack and Peter Paige.

Sibilly was most recently seen as a series regular on Peacock’s Queer As Folk and as ‘Wilson the water cop’ in the Emmy Award-winning comedy series Hacks on Max. He also played Costas Perez in the groundbreaking drama Pose, created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Steven Canals; as well as Season 2 of the web series Liza On Demand.

In addition to his work in television, Sibilly is a fervent advocate for LGBTQ+ and Latinx rights.

ABC Renews Ryan Guzman’s “9-1-1” Series for Eighth Season

Posted on April 2, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Ryan Guzman has more emergency responses in his future…

ABC has renewed 9-1-1, starring the 36-year-old half-Mexican American actor, for an eighth season.

Guzman, who joined the cast in Season 2, portrays Edmundo “Eddie” Diaz in the procedural drama .

The season seven premiere of 9-1-1 in March delivered a cumulative audience of 11.76 million total viewers within the first seven days, and marked the series’ highest-rated multi-platform telecast in nearly two years in Adults 18-49. It paid homage to the disaster thriller The Poseidon Adventure.

The drama stands as ABC’s most-watched current series across all platforms this season.

Created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear, 9-1-1 is produced by 20th Television, a part of Disney Television Studios, in association with Ryan Murphy Television and Brad Falchuk Teley-Vision.

9-1-1 moved to ABC after six seasons on Fox ,where it was consistently one of the highest-rated shows. It now fits nicely into ABC’s Thursday lineup with Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19, both of which do well for for the Disney-owned broadcaster. This week’s new episode will mark the series’ 100th episode.

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Belissa Escobedo to Star in Reba McEntire’s Still-Untitled NBC Comedy Pilot

Posted on March 18, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Belissa Escobedo has lined up her next project…

The 25-year-old Latina actress and Blue Beetle star has been cast in Reba McEntire in her as-yet-untitled NBC multi-cam comedy pilot.

The project is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.

The pilot follows Bobbie (McEntire) who inherits her father’s restaurant and is less than thrilled to discover that she has a new business partner in the half-sister she never knew she had.

Escobedo stars as Bobbie’s sister Isabella, an enthusiastic 20-something, who has studied psychology and loves to analyze people. She is thrilled to start working at the tavern and is full of “great” ideas about how to bring it to life.

Escobedo’s star continues to rise following two major roles in DC Entertainment/Warner Bros’ Blue Beetle, where he portrayed the titular character’s (played by Xolo Maridueña) sister Milagro, and Disney’s Hocus Pocus 2 where she popped off the screen—no easy task when you’re starring opposite Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy, who returned as the Sanderson sisters.

Additional credits include the ABC dramedy The Baker And The Beauty alongside Carlos Gomez, Lisa Vidal and Victor Rasuk; Ryan Murphy’s FX anthology series American Horror Stories, the Catherine Hardwicke-directed Quibi limited series Don’t Look Deeper and the American High films Sex Appeal (Hulu) and Sid Is Dead.

Enrique Murciano to Star in Netflix’s “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”

Posted on February 9, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Enrique Murciano is preparing for a monster of a role…

The 50-year-old Cuban American actor has joined the cast of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, the second installment of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s true-crime anthology series for Netflix.

The first of two trials, broadcast on Court TV, had the nation in its grip, much like the 1994 trial of O.J. Simpson, and is believed to have played a part in the modern-day fascination with true crime. The prosecution argued that the pair were in fact seeking to inherit their father’s multimillion-dollar estate, and the Menendez brothers were convicted in 1996 and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Murciano, best known for his work on Without a Trace, is part of a roster of new cast additions that includes Dallas Roberts, Jason Butler Harner and 10 others.

Murciano is Carlos Baralt, an Americanized Cuban immigrant, professor and lawyer, uncle to the Menendez Brothers and brother-in-law to Jose Menendez, and the executor of the Menendez will.

Other cast members include Michael Gladis, who plays Tim Rutten; Drew Powell as Det. Tom Linehan; Charlie Hall is Craig Cignarelli; Gil Ozeri plays Dr. William Vicary; Jeff Perry portrays Peter Hoffman; Tessa Auberjonois is Dr. Laurel Oziel; Tanner Stine plays Perry Berman; Larry Clarke portrays Brian Andersen; Jade Pettyjohn is Jamie Pisarcik and Marlene Forte portrays Marta Cano.

They join previously announced cast Javier Bardem as Jose Menendez, Chloë Sevigny as Kitty Menendez, Nicholas Alexander Chavez as Lyle Menendez, Cooper Koch as Erik Menendez, Nathan Lane as Dominick Dunne, Ari Graynor as Leslie Abramson, and Leslie Grossman as Judalon Smyth.

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story will debut in 2024.

Murphy and Brennan executive produce with Alexis Martin Woodall, Eric Kovtun, David McMillan, Louise Shore and Carl Franklin.

The first installment of the anthology, Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, starred Evan Peters as the notorious serial killer. It debuted in September 2022 and became one of Netflix’s most popular English-language series ever, leading to Netflix’s green light of two follow-up installments, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story being the first.

New Trailer for Apple TV+’s “Palm Royale” Showcases Ricky Martin’s Character

Posted on February 5, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Ricky Martin is bracing for a royale experience…

The 52-year-old Puerto Rican singer-songwriter and actor enters high society in the new trailer for the upcoming Apple TV+ series, Palm Royale.

Martin is set to play Robert in the comedy series that stars Kristen Wiig, Alison Janney, Laura Dern, Kaia Gerber, Bruce Dern and Carol Burnett, who will be making “extra special guest” appearances.

Loosely based on the novel Mr. and Mrs. American Pie by Juliet McDaniel, Palm Royale marks Martin’s first television project since Ryan Murphy’s drama The Assassination of Gianni Versace on FX, in which he played Antonio D’Amico.

In the trailer, Martin is seen as a server at an exclusive club serving up martinis.

Later, he’s show swimming in a pool where he asks Wiig’s character, Maxine, who’s assimilating into the wealthy class, “Do you know anything about rich people?”

According to an official description of the television series, Palm Royale follows Maxine as she “attempts to cross that impermeable line between the haves and the have-nots … ‘Palm Royale’ asks the same question that still baffles us today: ‘How much of yourself are you willing to sacrifice to get what someone else has?’ Set during the powder keg year of 1969, ‘Palm Royale’ is a testament to every outsider fighting for their chance to truly belong.”

The series is written, executive produced, and showrun by Abe Sylvia for Aunt Sylvia’s Moving Picture Company. The first three episodes of Palm Royale premiere March 20 on Apple TV+, followed by new episodes every Wednesday through May 8.

Javier Bardem to Star in Netflix’s “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”

Posted on January 15, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Javier Bardem has landed a monster(s) role…

The 54-year-old Spanish Oscar-winning actor will star in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, the second season of the acclaimed Netflix crime anthology Monster from creators Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan.

Bardem will star alongside Chloë Sevigny, Nicholas Chavez and Cooper Koch in the series.

Bardem abd Sevigny will respectively play Jose and Kitty Menendez, the Beverly Hills couple murdered by sons Lyle (Chavez) and Erik (Koch).

The new season comes on the heels of Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, which starred Evan Peters as the notorious serial killer and quickly became one of Netflix’s most popular English-language series ever when it debuted in September 2022.

It was in 1989 that Lyle and Erik Menendez murdered parents Jose and Kitty in their L.A.-area home. Although not initially looked at as prime suspects, they came under investigation in the months following and eventually confessed to parricide, at the same time claiming that their actions stemmed from years of physical, emotional and sexual abuse at the hands of their father. Their first of two trials, broadcast on Court TV, had the nation in its grip, much like the 1994 trial of O.J. Simpson, and is believed to have played a part in the modern-day fascination with true crime.

The prosecution argued that the pair were in fact seeking to inherit their father’s multimillion-dollar estate, and the Menendez brothers were convicted in 1996 and sentenced to life imprisonment, without the possibility of parole, though the case continues to unfold to this day. Last summer, Erik and Lyle filed documents in hopes of a new hearing, following former Menudo bandmember Roy Rosselló’s claim that he was molested by José Menendez at the age of 14.

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is one of two forthcoming seasons of the Monster anthology announced as of November 2022. The story at the center of the third chapter has not yet been revealed. In addition to the scripted series on the Menendez brothers, Netflix has a feature doc on the duo in the works, brought to life with exclusive access to the subjects.

Most recently portraying King Triton in Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Bardem will next be seen in Dune: Part Two, out March 1 following a strike-imposed delay, and Apple’s Formula 1 racing movie with Brad Pitt.

Selena Gomez Starring as Linda Ronstadt in Biopic Based on the Singer’s “Simple Dreams” Memoir

Posted on January 10, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Selena Gomez is heading to the Blue Bayou…

The 31-year-old Mexican American actress/singer will portray Linda Ronstadt in an upcoming biopic based on the superstar singer’s 2013 memoir Simple Dreams.

Gomez, who stars in and executive produces Hulu’s The Only Murders In The Building, gave credence to the months-old internet rumors about the project by posting a photo of the memoir as an Instagram Story. Rolling Stone later confirmed the casting.

In pre-production, the film is being co-produced by James Keach and Ronstadt’s longtime manager John Boylan.

Additional casting and release date have not been announced.

An unconfirmed report of Gomez’s involvement in the biopic surfaced last July, but the IG Story today moved the possibility into the definite.

Keach directed the 2020 film Linda and the Mockingbirds, a documentary chronicling a road trip undertaken by Ronstadt, Jackson Browne and a group of younger musicians to the Mexican town of Banámichi in the state of Sonora, the birthplace of Ronstadt’s grandfather.

Like Gomez, who has had a successful music and acting career, Ronstadt is of Mexican descent. Ronstadt wrote at length about her heritage in the 2013 memoir. The singer returned to the subject in the 2022 book Feels Like Home: A Song for the Sonoran Borderlands.

Despite her 2012 retirement following a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease – the diagnosis was revised seven years later to progressive supranuclear palsy, a degenerative disease similar to Parkinson’s that has left Ronstadt unable to sing – Ronstadt and her music have returned to the spotlight in recent months. Last year her 1970 recording of “Long Long Time” was featured prominently in an episode of The Last of Us, and trailers for Ryan Murphy’s upcoming FX series Feud: Capote vs. The Swans make heavy use of Ronstadt’s smash 1974 hit “You’re No Good.”

The 2019 documentary Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice, directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, offered an in-depth retrospective of her life and career, featuring on-screen appearances by and interviews with Ronstadt and her many musical friends and colleagues, including Browne, Ry Cooder, Emmylou Harris, Don Henley, Kevin Kline, Dolly Parton, Bonnie Raitt and J.D. Souther.

If even a fraction of the many rockers and celebrities who’ve crossed paths with Ronstadt over the years make it into the biopic as characters, Hollywood will be very busy in coming months with actors vying for plum roles.

Lindsay Mendez Starring in Ryan Murphy’s FX Anthology Series “American Sports Story”

Posted on November 4, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Lindsay Mendez is getting in the game…

The 40-year-old Mexican American Broadway singer/actress has been cast as a series regular alongside Josh Andrés Rivera and Patrick Schwarzenegger in Ryan Murphy’s FX anthology American Sports Story.

American Sports Story, a new extension of Murphy’s “American Story” franchise, is a scripted anthological limited series focusing on a prominent event involving a sports figure and re-examines it through the prism of today’s world, telling that story from multiple perspectives.

The first installment, written by Stu Zicherman, is based on the podcast Gladiator: Aaron Hernandez and Football Inc. from the Boston Globe and Wondery.

It charts the rise and fall of NFL superstar Aaron Hernandez, played by Rivera, and explores the connections of the disparate strands of his identity, his family, his career, his suicide, and their legacy in sports and American culture. Schwarzenegger portrays Hernandez’s friend, former college teammate and fellow former NFL star Tim Tebow.

Mendez plays Tanya Singleton, Aaron’s cousin and favorite relative who becomes his de-facto mother.

Mendez, a Tony Award winner for Carousel, is currently back on Broadway top-lining the praised revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll along opposite Daniel Radcliffe and Jonathan Groff.

She most recently was a series regular on the Warner Bros. series All Rise for CBS and then OWN.

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