Jesse Garcia to Star in Disney+’s Film “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day”

Posted on February 27, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Jesse Garcia is preparing for a terrible, horrible project…

The 40-year-old Latino actor will star opposite Eva Longoria and George Lopez in the Disney+ film Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

The project marks his return to the franchise, having previously portrayed the character of Dwayne in the Miguel Arteta film of the same name released in 2014.

Garcia will portray Frank Garcia, a happily married vegan chef, and father of Mia, David, and the titular Alexander. Frank clashes with his family when he refuses to modify his recipes to more traditional Mexican food even if it means missing out on opportunities.

From writer Matt Lopez and director Marvin Lemus, Alexander tells the story of 11-year-old Alexander Garcia who thinks he has the worst luck in the world. When his family sets off on a road trip to California, he’s pretty sure disaster awaits at every corner. His anxiety only increases when a family secret is revealed.

The film is produced by Shawn Levy, Dan Levine, and Lisa Henson.

Garcia is a rising star with various credits in both film and television. He will be on-hand at the upcoming SXSW festival on March 11 to premiere his latest film, Flamin’ Hot, about how Frito Lay janitor Ricardo Montañez (Garcia) would go on to climb the ranks and create the spicy Cheeto snack. Up next is the release of the Netflix action-thriller The Mother, starring opposite Jennifer Lopez, Gael Garcia Bernal, Joseph Fiennes, and Omari Hardwick.

Prior credits include The Avengers, Tell It Like a Woman, Ambulance, and the award-winning film Quinceañera for the big screen; The Shield, Snowfall, Narcos: Mexico, and From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series for TV.

Anjelah Johnson-Reyes to Star in Prime Video’s Holiday Comedy “Candy Cane Lane”

Posted on February 12, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Anjelah Johnson-Reyes is getting into the Christmas holiday season way early…

The 40-year-old half-Mexican American actress and comedian has joined the cast of Prime Video’s holiday comedy Candy Cane Lane.

Johnson-Reyes is among a list of new cast additions that includes Ken Marino and D.C. Young Fly.

They join previously announced cast members Eddie Murphy, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jillian Bell, Genneya Walton, Madison Thomas, Thaddeus J. Mixson, Robin Thede, Chris Redd and Danielle Pinnock.

Reginald Hudlin directs off a script by Kelly Younger, inspired by his own childhood holiday experiences.

Story details are being kept under wraps.

The movie is shooting in Los Angeles and a part of the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program. The film will stream on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide and marks the first film falling under Murphy’s three-picture and first-look film deal with Amazon Studios.

Johnson-Reyes has six comedy specials streaming on various platforms. Additionally, she has guest starred on shows like Life & Beth, Superstore, The Shield, Ugly Betty and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Her film credits include Enough Said, Our Family Wedding, and Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.

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

Posted on October 26, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

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.

She 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 Connelly, The 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 City, NYPD Blue, Six Feet Under, 24, Lost 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.

Frankie Loyal Upped to Series Regular on FX’s “Mayans M.C.”

Posted on September 24, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

There are more rides in Frankie Loyal’s future…

The 51-year-old Latino actor/producer has been upped to series regular on FX’s biker drama Mayans M.C. alongside Joseph Lucero and Vincent Vargas for season 4, which is scheduled to return in early 2022.

Loyal, Lucero and Vargas took on larger roles in season 3, which saw their characters Hank Loza, Neron “Creeper” Vargas, and Gilly Lopez, respectively, flourish and develop into fully rounded characters with storylines fans embraced fully.

The trio have been a part of the series throughout its three-season run.

Mayans M.C., a spin-off series of the network’s hit Sons of Anarchy, follows a motley crew of Latino men who found a family in the motorcycle club charter Santo Padre on the California and Mexico border. While the story is about the M.C., it also features powerful female characters that are bold and powerful in their own right.

The character of E.Z. Reyes (JD Pardo) is at the center of the story as he finds his place in the gray area of a world that is mostly black and white.

It’s helmed by co-creator and executive producer Elgin James; and co-stars Clayton Cardenas, Danny Pino, Richard Cabral, Michael Irby, Carla Baratta, Sarah Bolger, Emilio Rivera, Edward James Olmos, Raoul Trujillo, Emily Tosta, and Sulem Calderon.

Loyal, whose character Hank serves as Sergeant-of-Arms to the M.C., guest-starred on FX’s Better Things opposite Pamela Adlon. On the big screen, he starred in The Deep End alongside Tilda Swinton and Goran Visnjic. He will next be seen in the drama feature Die Like A Man.

Lucero made his debut in the 2006 drama Gridiron Gang alongside Dwayne Johnson, Xzibit, Moe McCrae, and Jurnee Smollett. He was also featured in Father G and the Homeboys, an award-winning documentary chronicling Father Greg Boyle’s work with Los Angeles’ toughest gang members. Lucero’s television credits include Dirt, ER, The Shield, Cold Case, Criminal Minds, The Closer, Shameless, S.W.A.T., and FBI.

Vargas is a veteran of the U.S. Army that served three combat deployments who continues to serve his country today for the Army Reserve. In 2009, he became a Federal Agent with the Department of Homeland Security and was a Medic with the Special Operations Group.

He has starred and produced several films including Lucy Shimmers and the Prince of Peace (co-executive producer), Not a War Story (executive producer), and Dads in Parks (writer). Vargas pulled double duty since season 2 on Mayans M.C. as recurring star and technical advisor.

Constance Marie to Star in Amazon’s Rom-Com Series “With Love” from Gloria Calderón Kellett

Posted on June 13, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a lovely time for Constance Marie…

The 55-year-old Mexican American actress will star in Amazon’s one-hour romantic comedy series With Love from Gloria Calderón Kellett, GloNation Studios and Amazon Studios.

Constance Marie joins a list of new cast additions that includes Benito Martinez and Vincent Rodriguez III.

They will be series regulars opposite Emeraude Tobia and Mark Indelicato in Amazon’s one-hour romantic comedy series.

Created and written by Calderón Kellett, With Love follows the Diaz siblings, Lily (Toubia) and Jorge (Indelicato), who are on a mission to find love and purpose. The Diaz siblings cross paths with seemingly unrelated residents during some of the most heightened days of the year — the holidays.

Marie plays Beatriz Diaz, Jorge and Lily’s mother. She’s going through a midlife/identity crisis with her kids getting older and her marriage being on auto-pilot.

Martinez is Jorge Diaz Sr. He’s a hug in human form, a loving and caring father and husband, even if he has gotten a bit too comfortable in his relationship.

Rodriguez plays Henry, Jorge’s charismatic boyfriend who is about to meet the Diaz family and be the first man that Jorge has brought home ever. Henry is a Filipino dreamboat and the perfect guy but will he and Jorge have a happy ending?

In addition to Toubia and Indelicato, they join previously announced series regulars Rome Flynn, Isis King, Todd Grinnell and Desmond Chiam.

All episodes will be written and executive produced by Calderón Kellet. The pilot episode will be directed and executive produced by Meera Menon.

Known for her longtime run on the ABC comedy George Lopez and as a lead for five seasons on Freeform’s Switched At Birth, Constance Marie can currently be seen on Amazon series Undone opposite Rosa Salazar.

She recently recurred in the Netflix comedy Alexa & Katie and starred in the NBC miniseries Law & Order True Crime: Menendez Murders.

Martinez portrayed David Aveveda for seven seasons on The Shield and played multiple roles over three seasons in John Ridley’s anthology series American Crime. He was most recently seen in recurring roles on 9-1-1: Lone Star and The Mayor.

Jesse Garcia to Star in Michael Bay’s Action Feature “Ambulance”

Posted on February 6, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Jesse Garcia is calling 9-1-1…

The 39-year-old Spanish and Mexican American actor has joined the cast of Michael Bay’s Endeavor Content–Universal Pictures action feature Ambulance.

Garcia joins a growing cast that includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Eiza Gonzalez, Garret Dillahunt, A Martinez, Keir O’Donnell, Moses Ingram, rapper Wale Folarin, Cedric Sanders, Jackson White, Colin Woodell and Olivia Stambouliah.

Ambulance is based on the original Danish film Ambulancen and is in the spirit of such 1990s action films as Speed and Bad Boys. Chris Fedak wrote the original screenplay.

Garcia recently wrapped the new season of Narcos and was attached to the Marvel/Hulu series Ghost Rider before it was stalled. Garcia plays Ranger Freddie Gonzalez in the El Rey Network’s From Dusk Till Dawn. He is also known for the award-winning film Quinceañera, written and directed by Wash Westmoreland and Richard Glatzer, executive produced by Todd Haynes. The film won both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival in the Dramatic Independent Feature Competition. Garcia won Best Actor at the 2007 ALMA Awards for his role as Carlos, a troubled gay teenager. In 2012, Garcia played a supporting role in The Avengers, in addition to roles in Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day and Manifest Destiny. His TV work also includes Edward James Olmos’ movie Walkout for HBO, recurring roles on Sons of Anarchy, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and The Shield.

Ivonne Coll to Star in The CW’s “Jane the Virgin” Spinoff, “Jane the Novela”

Posted on March 22, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

There’s more Jane in Ivonne Coll’s future…

The 71-year-old Puerto Rican actress and Jane the Virgin star has landed a series regular role in Jane the Novela, the CW’s Jane the Virgin spinoff pilot.

The project will be headlined by Jacqueline Grace Lopezand narrated and executive produced by Jane the Virgin star Gina Rodriguez, with Coll providing a little continuity from the original series in front of the camera.

The telenovelaanthology offshoot will also star Remy Hii, Hunter Parrish, Benito Martinez and Holland Roden.

Written/executive-produced by Jane the Virgin writer Valentina Garza, directed/exec produced by Jane the Virgin EP Brad Silberling and executive-produced by Jane the Virgin creator/EP Jennie Snyder Urman, Jane the Novela is a soapy, telenovela-inspired anthology series in the tradition of Jane the Virgin, where each season is based on a different fictional novel “written by” Jane Villanueva and narrated by the author herself.

The first installment takes place at the intersection of Napa Valley wine country and the San Francisco art scene and pairs family secrets and sins of the past with twists, tropes and a bloody bottle of red. It centers on Estela (Lopez), an up-and-coming art curator who has spent years playing it safe and coloring within the lines. But a shocking secret changes everything and forces her to live a double life.

Being “in the tradition” of Jane the Virgin, Jane the Novela mirrors the setup of the original series. It too follows a driven, imaginative twentysomething Latina woman (Lopez) who is torn between her boyfriend, Luen (Hii), and Felix (Parrish), a handsome, rich guy. In this case, Luen is head of security while Felix is in the wine business vs. Jane Villanueva’s cop boyfriend Michael and love interest Rafael, a hotel heir.

Hii’s Luen is Estela’s sweet, dependable, long-term boyfriend. When the life he’s planned for himself and Estela is threatened by Felix, Luen will stop at nothing to win back the woman he loves.

Coll will play Camila, Estela’s adoptive mother. Camila would do anything to protect her daughter and the life they have built, even lie to her. On Jane the Virgin, Coll plays Jane’s grandmother and Xo’s mother Alba.

Martinez portrays Raul, the winery’s enigmatic riddler. Nobody knows Napa’s terrain like he does – he specializes in collecting dirt on everyone.

Coll’s other television credits include Switched at Birth, Teen Wolf, Glee, East Los High and Nip/Tuck.

Martinez is known for his portrayal of Los Angeles politician David Aceveda for seven seasons on FXpolice drama The Shield. He had a starring role in John Ridley’s anthology series American Crime Story alongsideFelicity Huffmanand Regina Kingand can next be seen in the upcoming seasons of 13 Reasons Why, The Blacklist, Jack Ryan, and the feature film Queen & Slim.

Jesse Garcia to Star on Netflix’s “Narcos: Mexico”

Posted on November 15, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Jesse Garcia is joining the drug war…

The 36-year-old Latino actor has landed a series regular role opposite Diego Luna and Michael Peña on Narcos: Mexico, the upcoming fourth season of Netflix’s drug trafficking drama series.

After three seasons in Colombia in the pre- and post-Pablo Escobar world, Narcos has moved to Mexico, where it explores the origins of the modern drug war by going back to its roots, beginning at a time when the Mexican trafficking world was a loose and disorganized confederation of independent growers and dealers.

The new installment follows the rise of the Guadalajara Cartel in the 1980s as Félix Gallardo (Luna) takes the helm, unifying traffickers in order to build an empire. When DEA agent Kiki Camarena (Peña) moves his wife and young son from California to Guadalajara to take on a new post, he quickly learns that his assignment will be more challenging than he ever could have imagined. As Kiki garners intelligence on Félix and becomes more entangled in his mission, a tragic chain of events unfold, affecting the drug trade and the war against it for years to come.

Garciawill reportedly portray a DEA agent who volunteers for a dangerous assignment in Mexico.

Garcia played Ranger Freddie Gonzalez in the El Rey Network’s From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series and stars in the upcoming feature film Collision. Best known for his award-winning film Quinceañera, Garcia’s television work also includes Edward James Olmos’ HBO movie Walkout and recurring roles on Sons of Anarchy, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and The Shield.

Narcos: Mexico premieres November 16 on Netflix.

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

Posted on July 11, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

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.

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

Produced by Playmaker, Reckoning 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 Under, Weeds,The Shield,Grey’s Anatomy, Cougar Town and How to Get Away with Murder.

Martinez to Star in Fox’s Drama Pilot “Behind Enemy Lines”

Posted on March 19, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Benito Martinez is facing an Enemy…

The 45-year-old Mexican American actor will star in Fox’s drama pilot Behind Enemy Lines, loosely based on the 2001 movie, in a recasting.

Written by Nikki Toscano and directed by McG, Behind Enemy Lines is described as a military soap thriller wherein a group of U.S. soldiers find themselves trapped behind enemy lines. It closely follows our soldiers on the ground and the officers and service men and women on a nearby aircraft carrier, along with intelligence officers in D.C. as they attempt to bring our heroes home safely and under the radar.

Martinez will play Mateo Rodriguez, a respected career Navy man and Executive Officer on the aircraft carrier USS Tyson. He replaces Nestor Carbonell, who originally was cast in the role. The decision was made after the Thursday table read, with the character getting slightly reconceived.

The pilot’s cast includes Marg Helgenberger, B.J. Britt, Gabriel Chavarria, Melia Kreiling, Colm Feore, Willa Fitzgerald and Dylan Bruno.

Martinez, an alum of The Shield, is doing a major arc on the current third season of ABC’s American Crime after co-starring in the first installment and guest starring in the second.

He’s finishing production on the Menendez Brothers movie for Lifetime. Martinez, who worked opposite Tom Cruise on the crime thriller American Made and had recurring roles on How to Get Away with Murder and The Blacklist.

Behind Enemy Lines hails from 20th Century Fox Television — whose feature sibling was behind the movie — studio-based Temple Hill and Davis Entertainment.

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