By Luis Reyes

Netflix has cast Christian Serratos as the lead for Selena: The Series, based on the life of the late legendary queen of Tejano music who met an untimely death in 1995 just when the Grammy- winning artist was at the cusp of a mainstream popular music crossover.  Serratos, an American actress of Mexican and Italian descent who grew up in Los Angeles, already has a loyal fan base thanks to The Walking Dead, in which she plays the role of Rosita Espinoza. 

Going into its 10th season, Serratos joined the hit AMC zombie series in 2014.  

The young 28-year-old actress began her acting career on Nickelodeon’s Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide, and later had a prominent role in the ABC Family series The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Prior to The Walking Dead, she also starred in the Twilight movie franchise as Angela Weber, and also portrayed a singer in the 2013 feature film Pop Star. 

For Selena: The Series, Moisés Zamora is the screenwriter and co-executive producer in collaboration with Campanario Entertainment and the Quintanilla family.

Serratos when interviewed by MTV in 2015 spoke about moving past Hispanic stereotypes in her work, although she said that she’d one day like to play “somebody who is very famously Latina.” It seems that her opportunity has finally arrived.

Jennifer Lopez was catapulted to stardom in 1997 with her memorable portrayal of Selena in the theatrical film Selena, directed by Gregory Nava.

Selena: The Series goes into production in the Fall and Netflix has not announced any other talent casting or airdate as of the time of this posting.