E.L. Losada to Appear on Netflix’s Upcoming Shondaland Mystery Series “The Residence”

E.L. Losada has found his residence

The 39-year-old Cuban American actor will appear on Netflix’s upcoming Shondaland mystery series The Residence.

Losada, who has starred in Loot and Los Frikis, will appear in a recurring role.

Losada joins series lead Uzo Aduba in the series along with cast members: Andre Braugher, Edwina Findley, Molly Griggs, Jason Lee, Ken Marino, Al Mitchell, Dan Perrault, Bronson Pinchot, Susan Kelechi Watson, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Mary Wiseman, and Randall Park.

The official logline for the show states, “132 rooms. 157 suspects. One dead body. One wildly eccentric detective (Aduba). One disastrous State Dinner. The Residence is a screwball whodunnit set in the upstairs, downstairs, and backstairs of the White House, among the eclectic staff of the world’s most famous mansion.”

Losada will play energy healer St. Pierre.

Paul William Davies is the showrunner and executive producer on The Residence. Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers executive produce on behalf of Shondaland via the company’s Netflix overall deal.

Liza Johnson will direct the first four episodes.

Jon Huertas & His “This Is Us” Mates Launch Somos Nosotros Fund to Support Latinx Students in the Arts

Jon Huertas is helping the next generation of Latinx talent…

The 52-year-old half-Puerto Rican actor and his This Is Us cast mates and the show’s creator are launching a scholarship fund to support Latinx students with big Hollywood dreams.

Jon HuertasHuertas, his costars Mandy MooreMilo VentimigliaSterling K. BrownJustin HartleyChrissy MetzChris Sullivan, and Susan Kelechi Watson, as well as series creator Dan Fogelman, have partnered with the art advocacy group Nosotros on the creation of the Somos Nosotros Fund.

It will be used to bolster the quality of inclusion from a creative perspective.

The Latinx-focused scholarship fund is the culmination of a conversation that started over parity late last year when Huertas was given a lower bonus than his costars, This Is Us original cast members offered to pool together a portion of their final season bonuses when fellow series regular Huertas had been given less, an offer which he declined.

Huertas approached Nosotros, founded by Hollywood legend Ricardo Montalbán in 1970, with the idea of starting a scholarship fund because of his deep respect for its history of serving Latino artists.

“The primary directives of the Somos Nosotros fund is to solidify and build on Nosotros’ current initiatives while creating more opportunities to foster Latinx talent,” said Nosotros president Joel M. Gonzales. “The initiation of this fund serves as an inaugural partnership between Huertas and Nosotros where he will serve in a high-visibility Advisory role alongside Nosotros’ already well-established leadership.”

The cast’s generous contributions will be pooled with other donations from organizations like NBC, Netflix, and other endowments.

“We’re going to continue to fundraise every year,” says Huertas. “We’re starting an advisory committee for the fund so we can keep this going for the next 20 or 30 years. It would be nice to reach a point where we won’t need something like this one day but until we do, we as Nosotros will continue to fundraise and contribute to this fund as deeply as we can continue to develop programs and initiatives for the Latinx community which is very important to me.”

In one of its first initiatives, Nosotros is joining AFI in establishing a scholarship for Latinx fellows who enroll in AFI’s writers MFA program. Both Huertas and Gonzales believe that giving new writers the opportunity to earn their MFA, with less burden moving into their career, will give them a leg up to create and write strong, well-developed Latinx characters and stories.

“With the show ending, we really wanted to honor this amazing experience we shared by doing something big. Someone in the cast suggested we could start a charity which got me thinking about the representation of Latinx characters and how we still need a push towards that—with regard to the quality, not the quantity,” Huertas tells Deadline of how the idea for the Fund was born.

“I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we as a cast could give a leg up to the next Latinx writer? Someone who can create compelling stories for Latinx characters, possibly new television shows, who can be writers in writers’ rooms that invest in, protect, and elaborate on Latinx characters.’ They loved the idea and we agreed we should go for it. I’ve worked with Nosotros in the past on other initiatives and knew they would be the perfect partners.”

The Fund announcement arrives ahead of the May 3rd airing of the This Is Us episode titled “Miguel,” where fans finally will learn the backstory of Huertas’ character. The episode is a celebration of Latinidad, as well, the goes beyond what viewers will see on screen.

“Miguel” was written by This Is Us staff writer Jonny Gomez and was directed by Zetna Fuentes.

“Fans can expect to see what shaped Miguel’s life,” he says. “What parts of his life contributed to how he approaches life with the Pearsons, how he treats his wife, and how he represents himself in the family. He hasn’t had the easiest of journeys, which is something people don’t know about him yet. I’m excited for them to be able to look through that window.”

He continued, “We’re going to celebrate him and his Afro-Latinidad, his family, and the diaspora that kind of gets overlooked when you think of Latinx. I love that we got to speak to that on the show. Hopefully, this episode will help people love Miguel all the way around.”

Rosie Perez to Serve as a Presenter at This Weekend’s Golden Globes Ceremony

It’ll be a golden weekend for Rosie Perez

The 56-year-old Puerto Rican actress, choreographer and community activist, who most recently starred in HBO Max’s The Flight Attendant, is among the celebrities added as presenters for the 78th Golden Globes, set for Sunday, February 28.

 

Rosie PerezIn addition to Perez, Bryce Dallas Howard, Christopher Meloni, and Christian Slater are the latest group to be added.

All four will be appearing live from New York’s Rainbow Room for the NBC telecast of the ceremony, which will take place both in New York with co-host Tina Fey and at the Beverly Hilton with co-host Amy Poehler.

The ceremony will air from 8:00 -11:00 pm ET/5-8 p.m. PT on NBC and be available to stream the next day on Peacock.

The quartet join previously announced presenters, including Margot Robbie, Tiffany Haddish, Anthony Anderson, Kate Hudson, Kenan Thompson, Kevin Bacon, Sterling K. Brown, Michael Douglas, Kyra Sedgwick, Susan Kelechi Watson, and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Mj Rodriguez to Appear in HBO’s “Between the World and Me,” an Adaptation of the Apollo Theater Show Based on Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Novel

It’s a whole new World for Mj Rodriguez.

The 29-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress/singer has been cast in Between the World and Me, HBO’s adaptation of the stage show based on Ta-Nehisi CoatesNew York Times bestseller.

MJ Rodriguez

Rodriguez joins a lineup of cast additions that includes Jharrel Jerome, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Janet Mock, Jason Moran, Wendell Pierce, Kendrick Sampson, Yara Shahidi and Michelle Wilson.

They join previously announced cast members Angela Bassett, Alicia Garza, Joe Morton, Phylicia Rashad, Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, Courtney B. Vance, Pauletta Washington, Susan Kelechi Watson and Oprah Winfrey.

Originally adapted and staged by the Apollo Theater in 2018, the special will combine elements of that production, including readings from Coates’ book, and will again be directed by award-winning director and Apollo Theater executive producer Kamilah Forbes.

It will also incorporate documentary footage from the actors’ home life, archival footage and animation.

The book, first published in 2015 by One World, is written as a letter to Coates’ teenage son and recounts the author’s experiences growing up in Baltimore’s inner city and his growing fear of daily violence against the Black community. The narrative explores Coates’ notion that American society structurally supports white supremacy.

The special, which is currently in production under COVID-19 guidelines, debuts this fall on HBO and will also be available to stream on HBO Max.

Rodriguez rose to acclaim on FX’s series Pose. Her other credits include television appearances on Luke Cage, The Carrie Diaries and Nurse Jackie.

In November 2019, Rodriguez landed a contract with Olay Body, becoming the first Latina trans woman to enter a partnership with the company.

Huertas Lands Recurring Role on NBC’s Dramedy “This Is Us”

Jon Huertas is heading to the Peacock Network

The 39-year-old Puerto Rican actor and Castle alum has booked a recurring role on Dan Fogelman’s NBC dramedy series This Is Us.

Jon Huertas

Starring Mandy Moore, Milo Ventimiglia and Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us follows an ensemble — some of them sharing the same birthday — whose life stories intertwine in curious ways.

Huertas is set to portray Mike, Jack’s (Ventimiglia) co-worker and best friend.

Chrissy Metz, Justin Hartley, Chris Sullivan, Susan Kelechi Watson and Ron Cephas Jones also star.

Huertas played Detective Javier Esposito on ABC’s long-running hit drama series Castle, a role which earned him an Imagen Award, Alma Award and Prism Award.

Huertas also starred in Generation Kill and The Shield for FX. He can also be seen in the indie film Reparation.