Tag Archive: Lisa Vidal

The Return of Latin TV’s Mega-Tuesday

Daniella Pineda The Originals

Twelve different appearances up and down the dial, in dramas, comedies and everything in between…plus a talk show appearance to finish the evening

If anybody asks you about Latinos working in Hollywood, point them towards Tuesday nights this season. They’re all over the place, and all over network and cable, in a wide range of shows:

  • Tonita Castro rules the roost on a new Dads, 8P on Fox.
  • Daniella Pineda in enchantingly beautiful on The Originals at 8P on the CW.
  • Alanna Ubach guest stars as NSA Senior Intelligence Analyst Sofia Martinez on NCIS at 8P on CBS.
  • Melissa Fumero and Stephanie Biatriz cop together on Brooklyn Nine Nine, 8:30P on Fox.
  • Miguel Ferrer is the growliest boss on the west coast in NCIS: Los Angeles, 9P on CBS.

    Melissa Fumero and Stephanie Beatriz
    Brooklyn Nine Nine

  • Eva Tamargo makes a strong impression, as always, on The Have and Have Nots, 9P on OWN.
  • Natalie Morales makes us laugh and groan at the same time as the “best” friend on Trophy Wife, 9:30P on ABC.
  • Sara Shahi is hypnotically deadly on Person of Interest, at 10P on CBS.
  • Monica Raymund and Joe Minoso save the days–as always–on Chicago Fire, 10P on NBC.
  • Lisa Vidal is a Television producer of a 24-hour national cable news network on BET’s Being Mary Jane at 10P.
  • Alex Fernandez and Marta Milans run for cover on Killer Women, 10P on ABC.
  • Ian Gomez spices up the cul-de-sac on Cougar Town, 10P on TBC.

…whew! And then there’s John Leguizamo, most likely talking out this Friday’s premiere of Ride Along, on Chelsea Lately on E!

Hot enough for you?

Mega-Tuesday Returns: Ten Shows with Latinos Front and Center

Tonita Castro Dads

In the first part of the season, Tuesday was the day to catch Latinos on TV in dramas, comedy and everything in between. It still applies as we enter 2014.

Lots of comedy, a little drama, and a brand new cop show with Latinos in the cast are all on display this Tuesday. Check it out:

  • Tonita Castro rules the roost in Dads, 8P on Fox.
  • Stephanie Biatriz and Melissa Fumero carry guns and make us laugh in Brooklyn Nine Nine, 8:30P on Fox.
  • James Martinez looks as if he’s a guest star, not a regular, in the pilot of Intelligence, a new action series on CBS starting at 9P.

    Joe Minoso Chicago Fire

  • Natalie Morales continues to be the best bad friend you’ll ever see on Trophy Wife, 9:30P on ABC.
  • Sarah Shahi scares the hell out of us on Person of Interest, returning at 10P on CBS.
  • Monica Raymund and Joe Minoso puts out the fires and warms our heart in a moving new episode of Chicago Fire at 10P on NBC.
  • Ian Gomez is part of the weird ol’ gang in the cul de sac as ever-resilient Cougar Town return to TBS at 10P.

  • Lisa Vidal and Gabrielle Union

    Lisa Vidal is a Television producer of a 24-hour national cable news network on BET’s Being Mary Jane. It’s back with new episodes at 10P.

    • Eva Tamargo is back as Celine Gonzales in season 2 of Tyler Perry’s The Haves and the Have Nots, on the OWN channel at 9P.

…and you can finish it all off with a visit by Mark Consuelos to the syndicated Wendy Williams Show. Check your own schedule for time and channel.

“Bless Me, Ultima,” “Bates Motel,” “Vegas,” “Nashville” and “Grimm” on DVD this week

Some pretty intense and some just plain fun performances by Latinos are available for viewing or re-viewing on DVD September 17. Among the pickin’s:

Bless Me, Ultima. It never got a decent chance at theatrical distribution–it was never in more than 263 theaters, and that for only a week, back in February–so this earnest and touching attempt to film Rudolfo Anaya’s classic Latino novel might be better off if it’s available on DVD. Miriam Colon, Benito Martinez, and newcomer Luke Ganalon star in the film directed and written for the screen by Carl Franklin.

Bates Motel. Freddy Highmore is a long way from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but as it turns out, the dubious concept of a prequel to Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho turned out to be an eerie, intelligent, and slightly addictive series on A&E this last year. It will be back for more; in the meantime, you can catch Nestor Carbonell as the world’s creepiest sheriff in most of the episodes…and come on, did they have to give him that haircut on purpose. He looks exactly like a Latino version of Anthony Perkins from the original film.

Vegas. The rough-and-tumble tale of the early days of Vegas, starring major players Randy Quaid and Michael Chiklis had a lot going for it, including a recurring, if never fully realized, role by Aimee Garcia (Dexter). But it didn’t intrigue enough people or the network enough, so Vegas: Season One is actually Vegas: Season Only. But it’s in the box and on the shelf as well.

Nashville didn’t have a regular Latino cast member, but Jay Hernandez was in six episodes, Yara Martinez in three, and Juan Pont Lezica in two, and all of the above are in the Season One DVD.

Grimm has had a strong Latino presence since it began, perhaps because Norberto Barba was executive producer for 34 episodes and directed seven himself, and Jose Molina served as executive producer for five episodes as well. Probably the most prominent example of the Latino influence was the appearance of Bertila Damas in three separate episodes as the all-Spanish-speaking “Pilar,” especially in the stunning “La Llorona” episode–and her character will be returning in the new season. (Lisa Vidal is doing an arc as well.) Add in guest stars like David Barrera, Kate del Castillo, Joseph Aceves, Angela Alvarado, Nicholas Gonzalez and others, and any fan of Latino Hollywood has something Grimm to watch. Season Two is on DVD this week.

“Vegas,” “Blue Bloods,” “Grimm” Feature Latinos on Friday

Danny Wahlberg and Marisa
on the set of Blue Bloods

Aimee Garcia is still supporting Michael Chiklis and Dennis Quaid on Vegas, 9P on CBS. Marisa Ramirez is deep in her arc on Blue Bloods, 10P on CBS. And Lisa Vidal is back as DA Lauren Castro along with Bertila Damas as the tough-talking (in all Spanish) Pilar, on Grimm at 9P on NBC.

Alexa Vega (and many others) teach you how to survive high school in a new DVD repackaging

A couple of years ago Alexa Vega (Spy Kids, From Prada to Nada, The Pregnancy Project) did a TV movie called Odd Girl Out, a powerful film about girl aggression and bullying. Now the movie– based on a national bestseller by the same name–is part of a four-movie repackaging called Surviving High School from A&E Video.

Odd Girl Out also stars Lisa Vidal (Southland, The Event). The other films, each focusing on serious challenges for young people, including Augusta, Gone, about teenage drinking and the party lifestyle, The Perfect Teacher, about a teenager’s affair with one of her high school teachers, and For One Night, about the lingering problem of racism in high school, starring Raven-Symone and Aisha Tyler.

Alexa has worked hard to grow past the image of the ‘kid star’ stereotype with a series of challenging and socially aware films like The Pregnancy Project and showcases for her musical talent like the 2009 series Ruby and the Rockits. She’ll be seen next in Machete Kills–certainly a grown-up role!–and will provide the voice of the upcoming animated sf film, The Clockwork Girl. And you can follow her on twitter at @alexavega.

The Imagen Awards: “Gun Hill Road” and cancelled shows rise above a wide assortment of…stuff

The Imagen Awards set a heroic goal every year, in trying to find positive role models and fine performances hiding in plain sight—in feature films, on TV, in web series. It’s no small task, and we could complain endlessly about the structure, selection process, and omissions that occur every year. But the fact is, at least the Imagen Foundation is trying to sort through the endless tsunami of bad television, direct-to-DVD goreporn and what passes for “performance” on the interwebs to make some kind of statement through a limited and sometimes painfully narrow selection of nominees and winners.

That being said…it was good to see Esai Morales and Gun Hill Road honored with two awards last week. And it was a little sad and ironic to see two of the five widely varied television awards go to performances or programming that had long been cancelled by the time the awards rolled around (In this case, Freddy Rodriguez on CBS’ doomed-from-the-start spy dramady CHAOS, and NBC’s admirable but under-supported Law & Order: Los Angeles. Though not separating TV movies from ongoing series led to some glaring gaps in attention…and we still don’t understand what a “Best On-Air Advertising” is. Read the rest of this entry »

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