Freddy Rodriguez Starring in the Shudder Horror Film “V/H/S/85”

Freddy Rodriguez is going on the hunt

The 48-year-old Latino actor and Emmy-nominee leads the cast of the Shudder horror film V/H/S/85, which is set to premiere at Fantastic Fest next month.

Freddy RodriguezHe portrays Detective Wayne Johnson, a seasoned detective investigating a variety of gruesome murders while on the trail of an elusive serial killer.

The cast is rounded out by Jordan Belfi, James Ransone, Dani Deetté, Rolando Davila-Beltran, Justen Jones, Marcio Moreno, Ari Gallegos, Forrest Hartl, Duffy McManus, Eric Pierson, Felipe de Lara, Tom Reed and Vivian Morse.

V/H/S/85 takes viewers on a journey into the grim underbelly of the forgotten 1980s. Unveiled through a made-for-TV documentary, five chilling tales emerge: scientists observe an unusual boy fixated on his TV, kids embark on a lake skiing adventure, a TV crew fights to survive a natural disaster, the early days of VR awaken something terrifying, and a deadly dream is captured on tape. Sinister secrets of the 1980s come to life in a way you’ve never seen before.

The project is written by Zoe Cooper, Evan Dickson, Scott Derrickson, C. Robert Cargill, Mike P. Nelson, Gigi Saul Guerrero.

Directors include David Bruckner, Derrickson, Nelson, Guerrero and Natasha Kermani.

Rodriguez most recently portrayed Detective Greco in the Hulu series Wu-Tang: An American Saga for the show’s final season on the small screen, and Cal in the as-yet-unreleased indie film Days When The Rains Came opposite True Blood‘s Sam Trammell and Beau Bridges.

He is best known for his portrayal of Federico Diaz on the hit HBO series Six Feet Under, which earned him an Emmy nomination in 2002 for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Rodriguez was part of the main ensemble cast alongside Michael C. Hall, Peter Krause, Frances Conroy and Lauren Ambrose across the show’s 5 seasons.

Justina Machado played his wife Vanessa Diaz. Together, Rodriguez and Machado broke ground for Latinos by playing non-stereotypical characters in the early 2000s when such roles were basically non-existent.

Across his nearly three decades in the industry, his big screen credits also include roles in A Walk In The Clouds (1995), M. Night Shyamalan’s Lady in the Water (2006), Grindhouse (2007) for Robert Rodriguez and David Ayers’ directorial debut, Harsh Times (2005). On the small screen, Ugly BettyER, The Night ShiftBullScrubs and Party of Five.

Lana Parrilla to Appear on Season 2 of Netflix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer”

Lana Parrilla is lawyering up…

The 45-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress has joined the cast of Netflix’s hit series The Lincoln Lawyer for Season 2 in a recurring role.

Lana ParrillaShe will play Lisa Trammell, a beloved chef and community advocate struggling to keep her restaurant afloat as a predatory real estate developer threatens the neighborhood around her.

Based on the series of bestselling novels by Michael ConnellyThe Lincoln Lawyer follows the redemption of Mickey Haller (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), a Los Angeles attorney who regains much of what he lost due to addiction with hard work and hustle. His success is also thanks to his devoted supporters: his ex-wives Maggie (Neve Campbell) and Lorna (Becki Newton), his driver and unofficial sponsor Izzy (Jazz Raycole), and the best investigator in town—and Lorna’s newly minted fiancé—Cisco (Angus Sampson).

The 10-episode second season will be based on the fourth book in The Lincoln Lawyer series by Connelly, The Fifth Witness.

Season 2 will be executive-produced by co-showrunners Ted Humphrey and Dailyn Rodriguez; as well as Connelly, David E. Kelley, Ross Fineman, Barry Jossen and Tana Jamieson. The series is produced by A+E Studios for Netflix.

Parrilla is best known for her portrayal of the Evil Queen/Regina Mills in ABC’s Once Upon a Time across the show’s seven seasons. Most recently she starred as Rita Castillo in Marc Cherry’s dark dramedy Why Women Kill. She’s also appeared in various hit shows including Spin CityNYPD BlueSix Feet Under24Lost and The Shield.

Her film credits include 2000’s Very Mean Men alongside Matthew Modine and Ben Gazzara, as well as 2020’s The Tax Collector opposite Jimmy Smits and George Lopez.

Justina Machado to Star in Mario Garcia’s Indie Comedy “The Throwback”

It’s throwback time for Justina Machado.

The 49-year-old Puerto Rican actress will star opposite Will Sasso in The Throwback, an indie comedy marking the feature directorial debut of Mario Garcia.

Justina MachadoThe project will be heading into production in Tampa next month.

The film follows a married couple (Machado and Sasso) in full-blown midlife crisis who are thrown into further turmoil when the wife (Machado), an underappreciated and stressed ‘supermom,’ suffers a post-traumatic breakdown during the holiday season, causing her to regress to her 19-year-old college party-girl self.

Garcia wrote the script and will produce via his company Garcia Interactive, alongside Michael A. Alfieri of Miantri Films and Doug Fox. Machado and Sasso’s longtime manager, Danielle Del, will executive produce alongside Machado and Sterling Macer Jr.

Machado recently starred as Penelope on Sony Picture Television’s revival of One Day at a Time. She will next be seen in the Blumhouse-produced Amazon series, The Horror of Dolores Roach.

The actress has also been seen on series like Queen of the SouthJane the Virgin and Six Feet Under, among many others.

Her additional film credits include All Together NowThe Purge: AnarchyThe Call and The Accidental Husband.

Justina Machado to Star in Amazon Studios’ Pilot “The Horror of Dolores Roach”

It’s a scary time for Justina Machado

Amazon Studios has given a formal pilot order to The Horror of Dolores Roach, starring the 48-year-0ld Puerto Rican actress.

Justina Machado

Based on the hit Gimlet podcast and written and directed by podcast creator Aaron Mark, The Horror of Dolores Roach originally was developed by Mark as a one-woman play starring Daphne Rubin-Vega.

It’s a grotesque Sweeney Todd-inspired tale of eat or be eaten — a macabre urban legend of love, betrayal, weed, gentrification, cannibalism and survival of the fittest.

“Magic Hands” Dolores Roach (Machado) is released from prison after 16 years and returns to a severely gentrified Washington Heights with $200 and the clothes on her back. With her boyfriend missing, her family long gone and her apartment now occupied by strangers, Dolores finds respite in the dilapidated storefront Empanada Loca around the corner — the only remnant of her former life.

Roxann Dawson is attached to direct and executive produce the pilot, which has been casting for the past four months. The project, in development at Amazon since 2020, hails from Blumhouse Television, which won the rights to adapt the podcast in 2019 in a competitive situation, and Spotify.

Mark penned the pilot script and will executive produce alongside Home Before Dark co-creator Dara Resnik and Rubin-Vega. Jason Blum, Chris McCumber and Jeremy Gold of Blumhouse Television and Chris Giliberti and Justin McGoldrick of Spotify also will executive produce.

Machado most recently starred in the One Day at a Time reimagining, garnering multiple award nominations and winning two Imagen Awards for her role.

She previously shared in a SAG Award for her role in the Emmy-winning HBO series Six Feet Under.

Her other television credits include Jane the Virgin and Queen of the South.

Her work in film includes Blumhouse Productions’ The Purge: Anarchy, Netflix’s All Together Now and the indie Pedro.

On stage, Machado made her Broadway debut in the Tony-winning musical In the Heights, created by and starring Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Justina Machado to Direct an Episode of Newly Picked Up “One Day At a Time”

Justina Machado is heading behind the lens…

The 46-year-old Puerto Rican actress will expand her role on the upcoming fourth season of One Day At A Time on its new network Pop

Justina Machado

In addition to reprising her starring role of Penelope, Machado will receive a producer credit and will direct one episode in Season 4.

Pop has ordered a 13-episode fourth season of the Norman Lear comedy to debut in 2020.

The pickup, announced recently, comes three months after Netflix in March canceled One Day at a Time, a reimagining of the classic Norman Lear sitcom, triggering outpouring of support from fans who rallied behind the multi-generational comedy starring Machado and Rita Moreno.

For Season 4,One Day At a Time developers, executive producers and showrunners Gloria Calderon Kellettand Mike Roycewill touch on politics as it will air during an election year, as the show switches from a binge model to airing once a week.

Machado also is known for her roles as Darci Factor on the CW’s Jane the VirginVanessa Diaz on HBO’s Six Feet Under, and Brenda on the USA drama Queen of the South

Justina Machado to Star in Lifetime’s TV Adaptation of Jane Green’s “Family Pictures”

Justina Machado is sharing her family pictures

Lifetime has cast the 46-year-old Puerto Rican actress in Family Pictures, the movie based on the novel of the same name by internationally best-selling author Jane Green. 

Justina Machado

Machado will co-star in the film alongside Elisabeth Röhm and Matt Passmore.

Family Pictures stars Machado (Netflix’s One Day at a Time) and Röhm (Law & Order) as Maggie, strangers living on opposite coasts, leading very similar lives with husbands that travel for work too much and daughters about to leave the nest. But when their daughters befriend each other on a college tour, they soon discover a shocking secret that threatens to tear both families apart. Passmore’s role was not specified.

Manu Boyer is directing from a script by Ilene Rosenzweig.

Family Pictures is currently in production in Vancouver.

Machado’s credits include Jane the Virgin, Queen of the South, Six Feet Under and Devious Maids.

Justina Machado Signs with United Talent Agency (UTA)

Justina Machado has new representation…

The 46-year-old Puerto Rican actress, who stars on Netflix’s rebooted Norman Lear series One Day at a Time, has signed with United Talent Agency (UTA).

Justina Machado 

Machado, who scored a SAG Award in 2004 as part of the ensemble cast of HBO’s Six Feet Under, has appeared on Season 4 of CW’s Jane the Virgin and USA Network’s Queen of the South, and she voices Carmen on Disney Junior’s Elena of Avalor.

Her big-screen credits include The Purge: Anarchy and The Accidental Husband. On the stage, she made her Broadwaydebut in In the Heights and also appeared in A Free Man of Color.

On One Day at a Time, which follows three generations of a Cuban-American family, Machado stars as Penelope Alvarez, a single mom and military veteran raising two strong-willed, mega-millennial children, all the while enlisting the “help” of her old-school mother and her building manager-turned-confidante. Rita Moreno, Todd GrinnellStephen ToblowskyIsabella Gomezand Marcel Ruiz co-star.

The series from Lear and Sony Television is underway on shooting its third season, which will air in 2019.

She had been with APA and continues to be repped by D2 Management.

Gloria Garayua to Star in the Psychological Thriller Drama Series “Reckoning”

It’s a day of Reckoning for Gloria Garayua

The 39-year-old Puerto Rican actress has been in cast in the psychological thriller Reckoning, a 10-episode straight-to-series drama from David Hubbard, veteran showrunner David Eick and Sony Pictures Television Networks.

Gloria Garayua

Garayua joins a cast that includes Aden YoungSam Trammell, Simone Kessell, Laura Gordon, Mitzi Ruhlmann, Milly Alcock, Ed Oxenbould, Finn Little, Anthony Phelan and Diana Glenn.

Produced by PlaymakerReckoning began production this week in Sydney for premiere next year on SPTN’s international channels, including AXN, in select territories in Europe and Latin America.

Set in California, the 10-episode series is being filmed and wholly produced and post-produced in Australia. Sony Pictures Television Distribution will handle worldwide sales.

Written by Hubbard, who serves as showrunner with Eick, Reckoning explores the darkest corners of the human psyche through the eyes of two fathers, one of whom is a serial killer. Mike (Young) and Leo (Trammell) try to do what’s best for the people they love and the families they protect. But as both struggle to suppress their inner demons, the murder of a local teenager sets them on a course of mutual destruction that will emanate through every facet of their quiet, suburban community.

“Aden and Sam and the fantastic ensemble cast are crushing it in rehearsals,” said Marie Jacobson, EVP Programming and Production at Sony Pictures Television Networks. “We’re thrilled that production has started in beautiful Sydney.”

Reckoning is part of Sony Pictures Television Networks’ ramped up efforts in the original production arena. It follows the success of SPTN’s Absentia, a dramatic thriller starring Stana Katic and Patrick Heusinger, which originally was commissioned for AXN in 2017 and now is streaming on Amazon Prime Video in the U.S. and other territories.

Garayua’s previous credits include Six Feet UnderWeeds,The Shield,Grey’s Anatomy, Cougar Town and How to Get Away with Murder.

Justina Machado Wins First-Ever Imagen Award for Her “One Day at a Time” Performance

The third time’s the charm for Justina Machado

The 44-year-old Puerto Rican actress, a three-time nominee, picked up her first Imagen Award. The awards honor the positive portrayal and creative excellence of Latinos and Latino cultures on screen.

Justina Machado

Machado, who’d previously been nominated for her performances on HBO’s Six Feet Under in 2005 and 2006, took home the Best Actress – Television award for her performance in Netflix’s One Day at a Time, which was named Best Primetime Television Program – Comedy.

Machado’s on screen children, Isabella Gomez and Marcel Ruiz, also picked up awards. Gomez was named Best Supporting Actress – Television; Ruiz was named Best Young Actor – Television.

Scandal star Guillermo Diaz was named Best Actor – Television, his first Imagen Award in two attempts.

Peter Gadiot picked up his first Imagen Award, and his first acting prize in his first-ever nomination. The 31-year-old half-Mexican actor was named Best Supporting Actor – Television for his work on Queen of The South.

In film, Miguel Arteta won the best director award for Beatriz at Dinner, while Diego Luna was named best actor – feature film for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Best actress – feature film was awarded to Salma Hayek for her work in How to be a Latin Lover.

Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and his family were given the Imagen Foundation’s President’s Award for their humanitarian and artistic contributions.

The Imagen Awards were hosted by comedian/actress Aida Rodriguez before more than 600 attendees.

The Imagen Awards 2017 winners were judged and selected in seventeen categories by an independent panel of entertainment industry executives and Latino community leaders. The Imagen Awards program was established in 1985.

Here’s a look at the complete list of 2017 Imagen Awards winners:

Best Picture: How to be a Latin Lover
Best Director: Miguel Arteta, Beatriz at Dinner
Best Actor – Feature Film: Diego Luna, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Best Actress – Feature Film: Salma Hayek, How to be a Latin Lover
Best Primetime Television Program – Drama: Queen of the South
Best Primetime Television Program – Comedy: One Day at a Time
Best Primetime Program: Specials, Movies, & Mini-Series: American Crime
Best Actor – Television: Guillermo Diaz, Scandal
Best Actress – Television: Justina Machado, One Day at a Time
Best Supporting Actor – Television: Peter Gadiot, Queen of The South
Best Supporting Actress – Television: Isabella Gomez, One Day at a Time
Best Young Actor – Television: Marcel Ruiz, One Day at a Time
Best Variety or Reality Show: Fluffy Breaks Even
Best Children’s Programming: Elena of Avalor
Best Documentary: ESPN Features: SC Reportajes “The Heights”
Best Informational Program: Gaycation with Ellen Page
Best On-Air Advertising: Acura MDX: “Family Home”

Garcia to Direct CBS’ Untitled Mexican American Cop Family Drama Pilot

Rodrigo Garcia has a new Latino-themed project to work on…

The 57-year-old Colombian television and film director is set to direct CBS’ Mexican American cop family drama pilot.

Rodrigo Garcia

Written by Homicide creator Paul Attanasio in a return to the cop drama beat, and to directed by Garcia, the untitled drama revolves around the multi-generational members of a Mexican-American family with deep roots in San Diego as they intertwine personally and professionally due to their powerful careers in law enforcement.

CBS had been trying for two years to develop a drama about a multi-generational Latino family of cops in Los Angeles — a West Coast take on Blue Bloods, which is about a multi-generational New York family in law enforcement. Last season, a project known as Protect & Serve was written by Elizabeth Davis Beall. It didn’t go to pilot.

Meanwhile, Attanasio met with the producers with a brand-new take on the general Latino family cop idea, which led to his San Diego-set script that’s now getting a pilot green light.

The new setting has an increased relevance post-elections as San Diego is on the U.S.-Mexico border, where President Donald Trump is planning to build a wall.

Garcia has directed episodes of In Treatment, Big Love, Boomtown, Six Feet Under and The Sopranos.