Stephanie Beatriz Launches Fictional True Crime Podcast “Tejana,” Expanding Project for TV

Stephanie Beatriz has found her range(r)

The 40-year-old Colombian-Bolivian Argentine actress has launched the fictional true-crime podcast Tejana in collaboration with Sonoro and Telemundo that will be adapted for television.

Stephanie Beatriz

The 6-episode first season is available now across all podcast formats.

The drama tells the story of Eileen Castillo, a Texas Ranger who is the only Latina on the force and at the center of a web of lies. She is sharp on the field but struggles with navigating office politics. She’s still haunted by the serial killer that stalked her town two decades earlier, so when a copycat killer emerges in Austin, Eileen must deal with the difficult memories she’s tried to suppress her entire life.

“In true crime fashion, Tejana is an incredibly dense and complicated mystery that centers the character of Eileen as she that mystery apart while trying to figure it out,” Beatriz tells Deadline exclusively. “Inside of that overarching story, there are also a bunch of different crimes that she and the other Rangers are trying to solve.”

She adds, “The Rangers have historically been this storied arm of the law. There are all these cultural touchstones like Walker, Texas Ranger, and the Lone Ranger. They’re these rarified, fantastical heroes in our media culture. And this puts a Latina as the lead and as this story’s hero. She’s a hero but she’s also very relatable because she’s flawed. She wants to be the best on the field and she’s a rising star who often has trouble navigating office politics. She has a heart of gold but she often puts her foot in her mouth at work.”

Series costars include Gabriela Torres, Jonah Platt, Marlaina Sims Powell, and Phil Lewis.

Beatriz reveals that the plan is to have her bring Eileen to life in the small screen version which is currently in its gathering stages— they’re assembling their writing and producing team. The executive producers are working with Sonoro to “bring it to streaming” where viewers can “watch this serialized thing take place over time.”

Beatriz said goodbye last month to Brooklyn Nine-Nine after the show concluded after 8 seasons and to her character, Detective Rosa Diaz. As she continues to portray members of law enforcement, Beatriz can’t help but reflect on what she learned from Rosa that she’s taken with her on her new journey with Eileen.

“I think these characters are very similar in that they’re extremely grounded, no-nonsense, and very direct,” the new mom said. “I think Eileen has much more a sense of humor about things; Rosa was often the straight guy character for other people to bounce things off of. Eileen understands that she often makes herself the butt of the joke to sort of lighten the mood. But I think it’s that groundedness that is just playing out in a totally different fashion because this isn’t a comedy, it’s a totally different genre.”

Beyond their plans for TV, Beatriz and her partners will continue to expand Tejana with future seasons of the podcast and are interested in taking the Texas Ranger to the big screen.

“We’re interested in creating audio content that will have a life past podcasts. The stories we’re interested in creating, Sonoro has an end goal for them to franchise it out with people like us as the leads so they continue and grow,” Beatriz said. “The story is so good! There are so many possibilities as to where this can go.”

Alex Meneses to Appear on The CW’s “Walker”

Alex Meneses has landed a mother of a role…

The 56-year-old half-Mexican American actress has joined the cast of The CW’s drama Walker in a recurring role.

Alex Meneses

Meneses, who has appeared on Jane The Virgin and Why Women Kill, will play Adriana, a successful psychiatrist and published author and mother of Micki Ramirez (Lindsey Morgan), Cordell Walker’s new partner in the Texas Rangers. She’s a strong personality who’s manipulative and very invasive when it comes to her daughter Micki’s life.

Walker, which launched in January, has become The CW’s most-watched series premiere in five years and has been renewed for a second season. It stars Jared Padalecki as Walker, a widower and father of two with his own moral code, as he returns home to Austin after being undercover for two years.

The series, a reimagining of CBS’ long-running 1990s action/crime series Walker, Texas Ranger, hails from Rideback and CBS Studios.

Meneses is coming off feature film The Wall of Mexico and has also appeared in Everybody Loves RaymondThe Goldbergs, CSI and Prison Break.

Lindsey Morgan to Star in The CW’s “Walker, Texas Ranger” Reimagining “Walker”

Lindsey Morgan has found a new home on the range(r).

The 29-year-old half-Mexican American actress has been cast as the female lead opposite Jared Padalecki in the CW’s Walker, a reimagining of CBS’ 1990s action/crime series Walker, Texas Ranger

Lindsey Morgan

Like the original series, created by Albert S. Ruddyand Leslie Greif, the reboot will explore morality, family, and rediscovering our lost common ground. 

Written and executive produced by Anna Fricke, it centers on Cordell Walker (Padalecki), a widower and father of two with his own moral code, who returns home to Austin after being undercover for two years, only to discover there’s harder work to be done at home. He’ll attempt to reconnect with his children, navigate clashes with his conservative family, and find unexpected common ground with his new partner Micki (Morgan), one of the first women in Texas Rangers’ history, while growing increasingly suspicious about the circumstances surrounding his wife’s death. 

Morgan’s Micki was born and raised in San Antonio. Focused and perceptive, her family has been in Texas since before it was Texas. She’s been in the Army and on the police force and knows first-hand what it’s like to be singled out and discriminated against because of her gender.

Morgan currently portrays Raven Reyes on the CW’s The 100, which is wrapping up its seventh and final season. She’s also starred on General Hospital.