HBO Renews Pedro Pascal’s “The Last of Us” for Third Season

Posted on April 9, 2025 by Tom Castaneda

It appears you haven’t seen the Last of Pedro Pascal.

HBO has picked up The Last of Us, starring the 50-year-old Chilean actor, for a third season.

The announcement comes ahead of the anticipated Season 2 debut on Sunday. The decision has not been made whether Season 3 will be the series’ last, per Deadline.

Creators Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin previously said they were contemplating up to four total seasons to tell the story laid out across two video games.

The upcoming Season 2 is seven episodes long, and the duo sought early on to quell any worry from fans that they’d try to wrap up the behemoth that is The Last of Us Part II game in such little time.

“It can’t be overemphasized how proud HBO is for the outstanding achievement we believe the second season of The Last of Us is,” Francesca Orsi, Executive Vice President, HBO Programming, Head of HBO Drama Series and Films, said in a statement. “Craig, Neil, Carolyn and the entire executive producer team, cast and crew have delivered a masterful follow-up and we’re thrilled to carry the power of Craig and Neil’s storytelling into what we know will be an equally moving and extraordinary third season.”

The early renewal is a show of faith for the acclaimed series, though not entirely unexpected, given that the first season performed so well for the network. By the time the Season 1 finale aired, HBO said the season’s average audience had surpassed 30 million viewers, with the premiere well on its way to 40M. That’s after the premiere episode brought in a same-day audience of 4.7M, which at the time was the largest debut after House of the Dragon since Boardwalk Empire launched in 2010.

“To see The Last of Us brought to life so beautifully and faithfully has been a career highlight for me, and I am grateful for the fans’ enthusiastic and overwhelming support,” Druckmann said in a statement today. “Much of that success is thanks to my partner in crime, Craig Mazin, our partnership with HBO, and our team at PlayStation Productions. On behalf of everyone at Naughty Dog, our cast and crew, thank you so much for allowing us this opportunity. We’re thrilled to bring you more of The Last of Us!”

Mazin added: “We approached season two with the goal of creating something we could be proud of. The end results have exceeded even our most ambitious goals, thanks to our continued collaboration with HBO and the impeccable work of our unparalleled cast and crew. We look forward to continuing the story of The Last of Us with Season 3.”

Based on Naughty Dog’s award-winning video game, The Last of Us takes place 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed.

Joel, played by Pascal, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie (Bella Ramsey), a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal and heartbreaking journey as they both must traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.

Season 2 picks up five years after the events of the first season, Joel and Ellie are drawn into conflict with each other and a world even more dangerous and unpredictable than the one they left behind.

In addition to Pascal and Ramsey, returning cast includes Gabriel Luna and Rutina Wesley.

Joining Season 2 are Kaitlyn Dever, Isabela Merced, Young Mazino, Ariela Barer, Tati Gabrielle, Spencer Lord, Danny Ramirez and Jeffrey Wright. Catherine O’Hara also guest stars.

The Last of Us is written and executive produced by Mazin and Druckmann. The series is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television.

PlayStation Productions, Word Games, Mighty Mint and Naughty Dog produce.

Netflix to Release Vadhir Derbez’s “Yo No Soy Mendoza” Series in Latin America

Posted on March 31, 2025 by Tom Castaneda

Vadhir Derbez’s latest project is expanding across Latin America.

Netflix has snapped up Yo No Soy Mendoza, starring the 34-year-old Mexican actor, for Latin America.

The humorous drama is the last original story from Fernando Gaitán, the late Colombian screenwriter and producer who created some of the most popular telenovelas, including Yo Soy Betty, La Fea.

The Sony-produced and distributed series is set in Mexico City.

It turns on the story of Julian Garcia, an unassuming debt collector whose life takes a shocking turn when he is kidnapped and forced to assume the identity of a wealthy businessman with a dangerous past.

The synopsis elaborates: Thrust into a world of luxury and deadly secrets, Julian must navigate Mendoza’s complicated life, including a forced marriage to Laura Santander and the powerful enemies who want him dead.

Derbez plays the dual roles of Garcia and Mendoza. Laura Londoño stars as Laura.

Gaitán had inked a development deal with Sony shortly before he suffered a fatal heart attack in 2019. He created scores of shows including Yo Soy Betty, La Fea, which aired in 180 territories and was adapted in numerous markets, including the U.S.

Yo No Soy Mendoza is made by Sony Pictures Television, which also handles international sales and cut the Netflix deal. The streamer has acquired the series and will play it across its LatAm footprint.

“With its blend of drama, humor, and intricate storytelling, Yo No Soy Mendoza is poised to captivate audiences and pay tribute to Gaitán’s enduring legacy in television,” said John Rossiter, EVP, Distribution, Networks & Production, Latin America, SPT. “We can’t wait for viewers throughout the region to get to know these unforgettable characters.”

Alejandro Garcia executive produces Yo No Soy Mendoza alongside Carlos Quintanilla Sakar who is also creative director. It’s developed by Miguel García Moreno, Mariana Palos, Alejandra Rodriguez, Luis Gamboa and Celia Kim.

Danny Pino to Star in FOX‘s Anthology Crime Series “Accused”

Posted on July 10, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Danny Pino is among the accused…

The 50-year-old Cuban American actor will star in FOX‘s anthology crime series Accused for Season 2.

Pino is among a roster of new cast additions that includes Taylor Schilling and Justin Chambers.

New episodes will drop this fall.

They join the previously announced actors Felicity Huffman, William H. Macy, Nick Cannon and Michael Chiklis.

The project reunites Pino and Chiklis who most recently co-starred in the MGM+ series Hotel Cocaine.

From FOX Entertainment and Sony Pictures Television, Accused is a collection of intense, topical human stories of crime and punishment. Told from the defendant’s point of view through flashbacks, each episode is a fast-paced provocative thriller, exploring a different crime, in a different city with an entirely original cast.

The series is based on the BBC BAFTA Award-winning crime anthology of the same name created by Jimmy McGovern.

Schilling, Chambers and Pino will star in “April’s Story” where a nurse commits a crime that changes the trajectory of her life. Schilling will play ‘April,’ Chambers will play ‘Tyler’ and Pino will play ‘Jake.’

Accused is developed for American television by Howard Gordon, who executive produces with Alex Gansa, David Shore, Erin Gunn and Daniel Pearle.

Pino currently stars as the general manager of the Mutiny Hotel and Club, Roman Compte, in the MGM+ series, Hotel Cocaine.

Before that, he completed his run in the fifth and final season of FX’s Mayans M.C., where he starred as “Miguel Galindo” and directed two episodes.

Additionally, he played opposite Amy Adams in Stephen Chbosky’s film adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen and portrayed NYPD detective Nick Amaro in four seasons of Law & Order: SVU.

Pino also recently completed the short film, Unión De Reyes, which he wrote, directed, produced and starred in.

Sony Pictures Television Extends’s Brigitte Muñoz-Liebowitz’s Overall Development Deal

Posted on June 22, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Brigitte Muñoz-Liebowitz is getting an extension…

Sony Pictures Television has extended the Latina comedy writer and showrunner’s overall deal, per Deadline.

Under the new two-year pact, Muñoz-Liebowitz will continue to develop scripted comedy series across cable and streaming as well as the possibility of exploring a drama, which is where she began her career.

Most recently, she served as showrunner of The Gordita Chronicles, created by Claudia Forestieri, which is currently streaming on Hulu and Tubi.

Before that, she was co-executive producer of the critically acclaimed comedy One Day at a Time for Sony Pictures Television and co-executive producer on the Max comedy anthology series Love Life, starring Anna Kendrick and William Jackson Harper.

She recently wrote and directed the short film Some of US Watch The Sunset, Too.

Muñoz-Liebowitz started her career as a writer on the Fox/NBC series Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

Her other TV credits include co-executive producer on the Disney+ comedy Diary of a Future President for CBS Studios, supervising producer on the NBC comedy Abby’s for Universal Television, and supervising producer on TBS’ People of Earth with Greg Daniels and Warner Horizon. She has also developed for Hulu with Berlanti Prods./WBTV and CBS/CBS Studios.

Muñoz-Liebowitz is a graduate of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts and has a Masters in Producing from Columbia University School of the Arts. At Columbia, she developed and produced the short film Cigarette Candy, which won the Grand Jury Prize at SXSW.

Regina Blandón Starring in Sony Pictures Television’s Spanish Adaptation of “Mad About You” in Mexico

Posted on May 21, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a mad world for Regina Blandón…

The 33-year-old Mexican actress will star in Sony Pictures Television’s (SPT) Spanish adaptation of the U.S. hit ‘90s sitcom Mad About You in Mexico.

Production kicks off in June of Enloqueciendo Contigo with a notable cast led by Blandón and Memo Villegas.

The upcoming adaptation follows other local versions made in Chile, Argentina, the U.K. and even China.

“We are delighted to begin developing this adaptation of Mad About You, a series that has seen critical and commercial success worldwide,” said John Rossiter, EVP of Networks & Distribution, Latin America, SPT.

The original show followed newlyweds Jamie and Paul, played by Helen Hunt and Paul Reiser, as they navigated the challenges of life together.

Mad About You aired on NBC from 1992 to 1999, collecting a multitude of awards, including four Golden Globes and at least a dozen Primetime Emmys.

To be directed by Magaby García and Salvador Suárez, Enloqueciendo Contigo follows Jimena and Pablo, a couple with contrasting backgrounds and personalities, in their transition from whirlwind romance to marriage.

Set in a Mexico City apartment, they navigate the intricacies of cohabitation while facing the challenges of their careers, family dynamics, and the constant influence of friends. Infused with Mexican humor, the adaptation blends witty exchanges, fiery disputes and heartfelt reconciliations, SPT promises.

“I am excited to be part of this project, not only because of its importance in the history of television but also because of the opportunity to give life to one of the most endearing characters,” said Blandón, who plays Jimena.

Her multiple credits in stage, TV and film include La Familia P. Luche and Netflix series Historia de un Crimen: La Búsqueda.”

“Mad About You is a series that touched the hearts of many people. I am very happy to be part of this new version, which, in addition to bringing things from our times, will allow the world to appreciate the romance between Pablo and Jimena,” said Villegas, who plays Pablo.

Villegas has worked on such acclaimed projects as Netflix’s Narcos: Mexico and Cary Fukunaga’s Sin Nombre.

José Raúl Zuńiga, Paula Rendón and Salvador Suárez are penning the adaptation while David Barraza serves as content director and Yolanda Segura as literary editor.

Carlos Quintanilla Sakar oversees creative direction and executive production, supported by executive producers Alejandro García and Maria Fernanda Bateman.

Peter Gadiot to Star in MGM+’s Original Mystery Thriller Series “Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue”

Posted on May 20, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Peter Gadiot is expanding his bodies of work…

The 39-year-old half-Mexican British actor and Queen of the South star has joined the cast of MGM+’s upcoming original mystery thriller series Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue.

Created and executive produced by Anthony Horowit, the BBC-acquired series is currently shooting in the Canary Islands.

Gadiot is part of an ensemble cast that includes Eric McCormack, David Ajala as Zack; Lydia Wilson as Sonja; Gadiot as Carlos; Siobhán McSweeney as Lisa; Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Travis; Adam Long as Dan and Jan Le as Amy.

Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue centers on a plane carrying a small group of passengers, crew and pilot, that crashes in the Mexican jungle. All the bodies are recovered and placed in a morgue, but it turns out that only one of them died in the crash. The other passengers were murdered afterwards, each one in a unique way. But by whom? And why? As the story unfolds in flashback, we meet the survivors as they fight against the heat, a shortage of supplies, the many dangers of the jungle – and each other. The setting becomes increasingly tense and claustrophobic as, one by one, they are dispatched with a series of shocks that bring us ever closer to the truth and – at the very end – a jaw-dropping reveal.

“Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue is a clever and wildly entertaining addition to MGM+’s growing slate of cinematic, edge-of-your-seat thrillers, said Michael Wright, Head of MGM+. “Anthony Horowitz has spun a masterfully inventive web of deception and intrigue that keeps audiences guessing until the very last axe falls.”

Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue is an original mystery series written, created and executive produced by Horowitz CBE and produced by Eleventh Hour Films, a Sony Pictures Television-backed company. SPT will distribute the series worldwide.

“Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue is an ingenious, original and suspenseful murder mystery multiplied by nine!, said Sue Deeks, Head of BBC Programme Acquisition. “It is absolutely guaranteed to keep viewers riveted to their screens until the very end.”

Jill Green, CEO, Eleventh Hour Films, added: “We are thrilled to have assembled a global cast that will bring total authenticity to this original drama.”

In addition to Horowitz CBE, the series is also executive produced by Jill Green and Eve Gutierrez for Eleventh Hour Films.

Ana Ortiz to Star in Season 2 of Disney+’s Anthology Series “Goosebumps”

Posted on March 21, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Ana Ortiz is (goose)bumping up her television plans…

The 53-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress will star opposite David Schwimmer in the Disney+ anthology series Goosebumps for Season 2 as a series regular.

From Disney Branded Television and produced by Sony Pictures Television, the series is based upon R.L Stine’s bestselling Scholastic series. Each season features a new story, setting and cast. Season 2 will follow teenage siblings who discover a threat stirring, triggering a chain of events that unravel a profound mystery. As they delve into the unknown, the duo find themselves entangled in the chilling tale of four teenagers who mysteriously vanished in 1994.

Ortiz will play Jen, a dedicated police detective who remains rooted in her Brooklyn neighborhood after experiencing a tragic event that involved her friends in adolescence.

Nicholas Stoller and Rob Letterman developed the series and serve as executive producers, alongside showrunner Hilary Winston, Neal H. Moritz, Scholastic Entertainment’s Iole Lucchese, Pavun Shetty, Conor Welch, Scholastic Entertainment’s Caitlin Friedman and Erin O’Malley.

Ortiz broke out as Hilda Suarez on ABC’s hit comedy Ugly Betty, earning both American Latino Media Arts and Imagen Awards prizes for “Best Supporting Actress” for her portrayal as Betty’s (America Ferrera) sassy older sister.

Additional television credits include roles in Marc Cherry’s Devious Maids, The Mindy Project from Fox/Hulu, ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder, FX’s Over There and ABC’s Boston Legal, to name a few.

Most recently, Ortiz was a series regular on the Hulu series Love, Victor.

Brandon Larracuente Returning to ABC’s Medical Drama “The Good Doctor”

Posted on March 18, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Brandon Larracuente is heading back to the hospital…

The 29-year-old Puerto Rican actor is returning to ABC’s medical drama The Good Doctor.

Larracuente will be back to reprise his Season 6 character of Dr. Daniel Perez in one episode.

Meanwhile, Scandal alum Guillermo Diaz will appear in a guest spot.

Larracuente was introduced in Episode 2 of Season 6. Initially set to recur, he was quickly promoted to a series regular, with Daniel, a first-year surgical resident at St. Bonaventure Hospital, getting a major storyline involving a drug overdose that put him on probation.

Larracuente departed at the end of Season 6 after Daniel was put on pain medications following a car crash and headed back to his family in Texas for recovery treatment.

Diaz will guest star as Man/Carl/Jesus. A mysterious man shows up to the hospital to donate his kidney to a complete stranger, but his reasoning causes Jordan to question his ability to give informed consent.

Starring Freddie Highmore as Dr. Shaun Murphy and Richard Schiff as Shaun’s mentor Dr. Glassman, main cast also includes Fiona Gubelmann as Dr. Morgan Reznick, Will Yun Lee as Dr. Alex Park, Christina Chang as Dr. Audrey Lim, Spara as Lea Dilallo, Bria Samoné Henderson as Dr. Jordan Allen, Noah Galvin as Dr. Asher Wolke and Modu as Dr. Jared Kalu.

The Good Doctor is produced by Sony Pictures Television and ABC Signature, a part of Disney Television Studios. David Shore and Liz Friedman are executive producers and co-showrunners.

Known for his roles in Bloodline, 13 Reasons Why and Party of Five, Larracuente will next star in the Prime Video drama series On Call from Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television.

Known for his starring role as Scarface in the cult classic film Half-Baked, Diaz played Huck on ABC’s Scandal. He also appeared on Showtime’s Weeds, Chappelle’s Show for Comedy Central, and he recently was a series regular on ABC’s United We Fall.

Diego Luna & Gael García Bernal to Executive Produce “The Boys” Offshoot, “The Boys: Mexico”

Posted on November 28, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal are bringing the boys south of the border…

The 43-year-old Mexican actor, director and producer and the 44-year-old Mexican Golden Globe-winning actor and producer will executive produce and possibly appear in acting roles in The Boys: Mexico, a new series offshoot of The Boys from Blue Beetle writer Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer.

Details regarding the premise of the series are being kept under wraps.

A search is currently underway for a co-showrunner to join creator, writer and executive producer Dunnet-Alcocer, who is now working on the script.

The team behind The Boys: Mexico, which will be shot in the Latin American country, is working on budgets for the new series and they have yet to begin casting, sources said.

The Mexico-set offshoot comes from the main creative auspices behind the other series in The Boys franchise, the mothership’s developer Eric Kripke and his Kripke Enterprises, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s Point Grey Pictures, Neil H. Moritz’s Original Film, Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios. Loreli Alba is expected to oversee for Point Grey.

The Boys, based on the New York Times best-selling comic by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, shares a fun and irreverent take on what happens when superheroes—who are as popular as celebrities, as influential as politicians, and as revered as gods—abuse their superpowers rather than use them for good. Intent on stopping the corrupt superheroes, The Boys, a group of vigilantes, continue their heroic quest to expose the truth about The Seven and Vought—the multibillion-dollar conglomerate that manages the superheroes and covers up their dirty secrets. It’s the seemingly powerless against the super-powerful.

Following the breakout success of The Boys, which is headed to Season 4, two spinoff series were released in 2023: the animated The Boys Presents: Diabolical, which premiered in March, and the college-set spinoff Gen V, which recently concluded its first season and has been renewed for Season 2.

The Boys: Mexico is the latest project hailing from rising star Dunnet-Alcocer, who penned the screenplay for the Warner Bros. Pictures/DC Studios superhero feature film, Blue Beetle. Most recently, he wrote the screenplay for Sony’s El Muerto from director Jonás Cuarón. The Queretaro, Mexico native also wrote and executive produced Miss Bala in 2019. Additionally, Dunnet-Alcocer is attached as screenwriter of the Universal Pictures’ reimagination of Scarface.

Luna and García Bernal are veteran actors whose careers exploded following their collaboration in the hit 2001 Spanish-language feature Y Tu Mamá También directed by Alfonso Cuarón. They have reunited multiple times since then including in Rudo y Cursi (2008) and Casa de Mi Padre (2012).

Most recently Luna joined the Star Wars universe in the Disney+ TV series Andor, a prequel to Star Wars: Rogue One.

García Bernal most recently starred in the Amazon bio-drama Cassandro portraying the titular gay wrestler born Saúl Armendáriz.

The longtime friends and collaborators became producing partners in 2018 under their La Corriente del Golfo banner. Recent projects they produced include the aforementioned Cassandro and the series Pan y Circo hosted by Luna, both for Amazon.

Vanna White Agrees to New Deal to Return as Host of ABC’s “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune”

Posted on July 21, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Vanna White is turning things up…

The 66-year-old half-Puerto Rican television personality and game show letter-turner has signed a new deal to return as host of ABC’s Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, which reportedly involves a significant salary increase.

But White hasn’t reached a deal to remain on the syndicated mothership Wheel of Fortune, as her contract runs through 2024.

Host Pat Sajak announced in June that he planned to retire from the syndicated game show after its upcoming 41st season. Ryan Seacrest will be taking the reins as host of Wheel of Fortune in Season 42 and also will serve as consulting producer. The show has been renewed through its 45th season.

Celebrity Wheel of Fortune offers a $1 million prize to the top-earning celebrity benefitting a charity. All they have to do is spin the wheel and solve puzzles while beating out their competitors. Prior stars visiting the show hosted by Sajak and White include Abbott Elementary stars Sheryl Lee Ralph, Janelle James and Chris Perfetti; Jack Black; Julie Bowen; Kal Penn; Sasheer Zamata; and RuPaul Charles.

Both Wheel of Fortune and Celebrity Wheel of Fortune are produced by Sony Pictures Television and distributed by CBS Media Ventures. Bellamie Blackstone executive produces.

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