Daniella Pineda The Originals
Though Latinos playing Latinos are few and far between on the CW shows, there are still Latino stars in their galaxy…and some, at least, still have jobs.
Michael Trevino The Vampire Diaries
The CW’s line-up is probably more unified in theme and content than any other mini-net or cable provider on the web. With a few exceptions (Supernatural, for instance) their most successful programs tend to look and sound alike, producing minor variations on comfy supernatural (and, more and more) super-heroic themes. In the process, almost all the stars of the CW tend to look alike: very attractive, very polished young people in (or appearing to be in) their late twenties, many of whom are slightly Asian, slightly African-American, slightly brown-skinned, but not really terribly ethnic. It’s not institutional racism, really; it’s branding.
Kevin Alejandro
as Sebastian Blood Arrow
So the news of the CW’s raft of renewals is a strangely good news/bad news situation for Latinos in Hollywood. On the one hand, talented young Latino actors like Michael Trevino and Daniella Pineda are guaranteed another year of high-profile work, and congrats to them…but none of the renewed shows, or the pick-up pilots like Supernatural: Tribes or The Flash, have any Latino roles in them. In short, business as usual for the CW.
Still: The Originals, with Daniella Pineda as a witch, will be back in the fall, as well Trevino’s Vampire Diaries, which just passed the coveted 100-episode mark. Arrow has been officially, and unsurprisingly, renewed as well, though it’s unlikely that Kevin Alejandro, who’s been playing this season’s “big bad,” will survive into Season 3.
