In 2023 when This Fool starring Chris Estrada was unexpectedly cancelled after season two, fans were quick to rally—sparking online petitions and talk of lobbying Hulu to bring it back. Estrada’s unique comedic voice stood apart from the sitcom stars who came before him. Unlike the broader humor of Freddie Prinze, George Lopez, or Gabriel Iglesias, Estrada’s deadpan delivery, sharp wit, and occasional mean streak brought a refreshing edge to Latino comedy on television.

This Fool didn’t just make waves—it made Estrada a breakout star. It also proved there was an audience hungry for stories outside of the usual tropes. Estrada’s sharp writing and original voice earned him millions of new fans and solidified his place as one of comedy’s most exciting new comedic talents.

Now, Estrada is back with a brand-new project, and this time he’s stepping into network television.

Estrada is set to co-write and executive produce Forklift, a single-camera warehouse comedy currently in development at NBC. As with This Fool, Forklift is loosely inspired by Estrada’s own life. Before landing his first series at Hulu, Estrada spent years grinding in warehouse jobs, an experience he now flips into comedy gold.

Co-written with Rick Cisario, Forklift centers on Victor (played by Estrada), a forklift driver who is suddenly promoted to warehouse supervisor. His promotion changes the dynamics with his coworkers, who now view him in a completely different light and have a hard time adjusting to his new role. The premise promises the same grounded, working-class humor that made This Fool so resonant—this time through the lens of workplace politics and friendships.

Estrada’s rise is a big win not only for his fans but for the ongoing push to amplify Latino voices in Hollywood. While Latinos make up nearly 20% of the U.S. population, the stories told about them—and more importantly, the people telling those stories—remain disproportionately few. Estrada stands out because he’s not just starring in these shows; he’s writing and producing them.

By creating characters and situations pulled from his own lived experiences, Estrada brings authenticity and specificity to Latino storytelling that feels both universal and unapologetically personal.

Forklift has the potential to broaden his reach even further, introducing mainstream NBC audiences to his unique perspective. It’s also a hopeful sign that networks are starting to invest in stories that reflect the diversity of the communities they serve. Estrada and Cisario will also executive produce alongside Good Walk’s Kent Alterman and Sarah Babineau will serve as executive producer for Good Walk their production company. Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, is the studio.

With Forklift in the works, Estrada is proving that he’s not a one-hit wonder but a creative force with staying power. As he continues to navigate Hollywood on his own terms, fans can look forward to more of the sharp, socially conscious comedy that first put him on the map.

Estrada isn’t just back—he’s leveling up.

The post Chris Estrada Is Coming Back to TV and Building His Own Lane in Hollywood first appeared on .

Ever since NBC’s comedy series, Reba, ended in 2007, the show’s executive producers, star Reba McEntire and Kevin Abbott, and the network have been looking for another project to return McEntire to the world of sitcom. She’s back! McEntire stars in the new NBC sitcom, Happy’s Place, which co-stars Belissa Escobedo (Blue Beetle). The series is scheduled to debut this fall o October 18th (8pm) and will air ahead of the season three renewal of Lopez vs Lopez (8:30pm) the same day. The series will then also stream on Netflix. 

Happy’s Place, which features an impressive supporting cast, characters a bit more combative than her previous family comedy, Reba. However, it’s the tensions that provide fodder for the humor that follows. The fact that her supporting characters are a mélange of diverse co-workers rather than family members, only serves the hilarity.

When Bobbie (McEntire) inherits her late father’s tavern, Happy’s Place, she is shocked to learn that she has a co-owner– Isabella (Escobedo), the half-sister she never knew existed. Isabella is young, inexperienced and has some unusual new ideas about how to run the business. 

Escobedo, whose last high profile gig was starring alongside Xolo Maridueña in the Warner Bros superhero film Blue Beetle, is a Gen Z , but proudly says, “I’m a Chicana from L.A.” Adding that she was a bit intimidated at the beginning, “I went into the first rehearsal with some nervousness, because, in the script, Reba’s character isn’t happy [with my]character.  However, when I met Reba, she gave me a big smile and a hug. I immediately felt welcome.”

Escobedo made her TV acting debut in an episode of the 2016 comedy mini-series, Meet Me @ the Clinic and while still in high school Belissa was part of a spoken poetry team that performed Somewhere in America on The Queen Latifah Talk Show.  

Her  breakthrough role was in ABC‘s 2020 series, The Baker and the Beauty after which her her career began to take off. In 2021 she appeared in two episodes of American Horror Stories, going on to star as Izzy in Hocus Pocus 2.

Along with their Happy’s Place’s close-knit staff, Bobbie and Isabella need to figure out how to work together harmoniously. When Isabella sincerely tells Bobbie, “I’m just looking for a place where I belong,” Bobbie moves her toward the door and replies, “Safe travels.” But Isabella’s inability to recognize rejection, along with her relentlessly positive attitude only add to the humor. 

The supporting cast features characters a bit more combative than Reba’s previous comedy family. There’s Gabby, the bartender, with a love of drama; Emmett, the cook, and man of few words; Takoda, the friendly waiter; and Steve, their brilliant yet eccentric accountant. However, it’s the tensions that provide fodder for the humor that follows. The fact that her supporting characters are a mélange of diverse co-workers rather than family members, only serves the hilarity.

Cast regulars include Melissa Peterman (also a regular on “Reba”) as Gabby the bartender who is the queen of the one-liner. Rex Linn, Tokala Black Elk and Pablo Castelblanco. In the opening episode, each character reveals a quirk that will provide mush comedy to the episodes. When Gabby hears Bobbie complain, “Daddy always said family is the most important thing,” Gabby deadpans, “Maybe that’s why he started two of them.” 

Tokala Black Elk admits, “I’ve had a career playing villains, being a really scary bad guy.” Now he plays Takoda, the nicest waiter in Tennessee. Emmett (Linn), a taciturn cook, gives every evidence he will have more to say in the upcoming episodes.

Then there’s Steve (Castelblanco), the brilliant yet eccentric accountant, who has OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) and he’s a germaphobe. In the opening episode, the fact that the bar has a new co-owner has him a bit rattled at first. Born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia, Castelblanco moved to the United States by himself at only 17 to pursue his dream of becoming an actor, living in New York City and then Los Angeles. He was featured in the drama series,  Alaska Daily, starring Hilary Swank.

The opening episode of Happy’s Place spends a bit too much time dealing with Bobbie and Isabella’s family issues. By the end of the first episode, however, they are getting used to the idea of working together. Isabella exclaims, “I’ve always wanted a big sister, even if you’re old enough to be my mother.” Bobbie chuckles and replies, “Oh honey, this is Tennessee, I’m old enough to be your great grandma.”  As the series proceeds, it will eventually find its rhythm. What is clear is that each member of the cast has the goods to make this happen. 

Happy’s Place is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.  Writer Kevin Abbott executive produces with Michael Hanel, Mindy Schultheis, Julie Abbott and Reba McEntire

Happy’s Place premieres on NBC October 18.  Check your local listing

@nbchappysplace

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If season one of Lopez vs Lopez was all about the problems, one can say that season 2 is about solutions and moving on, which is refreshing and equally hilarious!

On April 2, NBC will premiere the second season of Lopez vs Lopez, with back-to-back episodes at 8 and 8:30 p.m., which will continue in those time slots going forward. 

“We’re back, baby,” George Lopez exclaims. Indeed! The first season of this comedy sitcom made its debut on NBC, November 2922, starring actor/comedian George Lopez and his real life daughter, Mayan Lopez, created by the Lopez duo and showrunner Debby Wolfe. 

“There might be some overlaps with the first season, George confides. “But this one deals with many more contemporary issues,” says Mayan. “There are millennial life decisions and other generational problems that my character needs to explore.”   “Yeah, her dad is trying to stay sober, that’s his generational issue,” George explains. 

Although the sitcom still is captures the Latino experience, George and Mayan feel there are other aspects that will be universally appealing to audiences no matter their background, which George attributes to the talent in the writers’ room. “On the show right now, we have a lot of Latine writers,” he explains. “We have people who are younger; we have people who are gay, and from every facet of everyday life.  They can write for all the shows and not just the one that deals with a specific issue. These stories are everybody’s stories. The friction between parents and their kids while getting older hasn’t changed.”

The comedy tells the story of a working-class, old-school blue collar worker,  who moves in with his modern Gen Z daughter as they rebuild their dysfunctional relationship one argument at a time. The season 2 opening episode addresses the problems of his alcoholism, and points out the “addictions” the family as a whole need to deal with.  Additionally, Mayan focuses on keeping a handle on the household which includes a son (Brice Gonzalez), her “Gringo” husband (Matt Shively), and her clean-freak mom played by Selenis Leyva. Though it all, George keeps reminding Mayan nachos are a finger food and that he is not to blame for all her troubles, her one liners comebacks are pristine!

“Mayan has been funny her whole life,” George affirms. “We’ll be working on the set and I can see her when she was five, seven and a 10-years-old girl. That’s the way my mind works. It’s hard for me sometimes to believe that the little girl, whose cord I cut in the hospitais the young lady who’s on the television show with me. It’s really beyond my imagination.” Contributing to George’s show vision are Mayan and Wolfe are the other series regulars, Selenis Leyva, Brice Gonzalez, Matt Shively and Al Madrigal. 

This season the cast of surprise guest stars include Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias, Diana Maria Riva, Jaime Camil and Marshawn Lynch.Creator/showrunner Debby Wolfe executive produces with Bruce Helford, George Lopez, Michael Rotenberg and Katie Newman. Lopez vs Lopez is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, in association with Mohawk Productions, Travieso Productions, Mi Vida Loba and 3 Arts.

The post ‘Lopez vs Lopez’ Shines With a Focus on Generational Issues first appeared on .

The show is resonating with audiences, but U.S. Latinos have had the strongest impact on the ratings for Lopez vs. Lopez. The show had the highest concentration of English-dominant U.S. Latinos homes among all broadcast primetime series. For the live + 35 (35 days after) viewing, Lopez vs. Lopez it had the highest portion of “long-tail” viewing among all NBC comedies on Peacock, meaning Lopez vs. Lopez is viewed more after its initial episode airing date than any other series on NBC.

Lopez vs. Lopez will return midseason, joining other returning scripted shows that includes Law & Order: Organized Crime, La Brea and Magnum P.I.

We can now look forward to another season the dysfunctional Lopez family that explores the pain, joy and comedy that ensues after the euphoria of the reunion dies down and new challenges ensue. Father and daughter are working hard to get along and their familia is there to to help. The rest of the family includes Matt Shively playing Mayan’s husband, Brice Gonzalez as Mayan’s son, Selenis Leyva as Mayan’s mother-in-law, and Al Madrigal, plying George’s loyal sidekick.

Lopez vs. Lopez creator/showrunner Debby Wolfe executive produces with Bruce Helford, George Lopez, Michael Rotenberg, and Katie Newman. Mayan Lopez is on board as a producer.

Lopez vs Lopez is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, in association with Mohawk Productions, Travieso Productions, Mi Vida Loba and 3 Arts

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Christmas comes to the dysfunctional home of the Lopez’s. It’s the Lopez vs. Christmas episode of NBC’s Lopez vs. Lopez Christmas holiday special which brings back some of the original cast from the George Lopez TV series that ran on ABC in the early to mid 2000’s. The comedy series, which was recently given a full season order of 22 episodes, stars real live father and son George Lopez and Mayan Lopez. The special episode will air Friday, December 16 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

It’s Navidad at the Lopezes and the goal is to get Mayan’s divorced parents to spend Christmas together. Mayan must convince Rosie, her mom (Selenis Leyva) to hand in her Christmas crown and George to give up the thing he loves most — beer. When the invited guests, played by four of the original cast members of ABC’s George Lopez show (reuniting after 15 years) Constance Marie, Valente Rodriguez, Luis Armand Garcia and Belita Moreno arrive, what is left to be seen is if the Lopezes bring holiday cheer, or will they turn the night into a Latino holiday drama? 

In Lopez vs Lopez George and Mayan portray a fictionalized version of their real-life father-daughter relationship on the small screen. The series was inspired by Mayan’s real life Tik Tok postings about her estranged dad (George) and herself. Creator and Showrunner Debby Wolfe saw Mayan’s Tik Toc and knew there was a show in there. NBC describes the show as a working-class family comedy about dysfunction, reconnection, and all the pain and joy in between.

Lopez vs Lopez is not a sequel of ABC’s George Lopez show. But if audience are curious to check out the show that ran for six season, it is currently streaming on Peacock.

The comedy airs every Friday at 8 p.m. on NBC

Lopez vs Lopez is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group in association with Mohawk Productions, Travieso Productions, Mi Vida Loba and 3 Arts.

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The Golden Globes are back and getting a little help to jump start the return of the awards show presented by The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). Comedic father-daughter duo George and Mayan Lopez will present the nominees for the 80th Annual Golden Globe® Awards on Monday, Dec. 12. 

A look at the nominations announcement will air LIVE from 5:35-5:40 a.m. PT/ 8:35-8:40 a.m. ET on “TODAY” on NBC. Nominees will be highlighted across Golden Globes social media accounts as they are announced. The complete list of nominees will be available online at the Golden Globes website (GoldenGlobes.com) immediately following the announcement.

George and Mayan Lopez, creators and stars of the new NBC comedy Lopez vs Lopez, will present the five nominees for each of the 27 award categories at the Beverly Hilton. George and Mayan star in the heartwarming comedy about a working-class old-school Latino who moves in with his modern Gen Z daughter. Lopez vs Lopez airs Fridays at 8 p.m. on NBC, streaming the next day on Peacock. George serves as an Executive Producer and Mayan both writes and produces for the series. 

Film categories for the 2023 Golden Globe Awards include: Best Motion Picture (Drama); Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy); Best Motion Picture (Animated); Best Motion Picture (Non-English Language); Best Performance By an Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama); Best Performance By an Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama); Best Performance By an Actress in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy); Best Performance By an Actor in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy); Best Performance By an Actress in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture; Best Performance By an Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture; Best Director; Best Screenplay; Best Original Score; and Best Original Song.

Television categories for the 2023 Golden Globe Awards include: Best Television Series (Drama); Best Television Series (Musical or Comedy); Best Television Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television; Best Performance by an Actress i

n a Television Series (Drama); Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series (Drama); Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series (Musical or Comedy); Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series (Musical or Comedy); Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or a Motion Picture Made for Television; and Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or a Motion Picture Made for Television. 

Four new television category awards were introduced earlier this year and will be awarded for the first time at the 2023 Golden Globe Awards ceremony, which will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023, airing LIVE coast-to-coast from 5-8 p.m. PT/8-11 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. The new categories include Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical- Comedy or Drama Television Series; Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical- Comedy or Drama Television Series; Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television; and Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television. The four new awards will replace the former awards for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television and Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television.

The Golden Globes were one of the first awards show to embrace diversity.  Past Latino Golden Globe winners include Benicio del Toro, America Ferrera, Jimmy Smits, Rita Moreno, Gina Rodriguez, and Mario Moreno “Cantinflas”.  Nominees have included Salma Hayek, Edgar Ramirez, Andy Garcia and others. 

Produced by Dick Clark productions and Jesse Collins Entertainment in association with the HFPA, the Golden Globe Awards are viewed in more than 210 territories worldwide. Helen Hoehne is president of the HFPA. Jesse Collins and Dionne Harmon will serve as executive producers.

The post George and Mayan Lopez Will Announce the 80th Annual Golden Globe® Nominees first appeared on .

Actor/comedian George Lopez, whose ALMA Award-winning George Lopez Show ran on ABC for 120 episodes (2002 2007), has now added his daughter, Mayan Lopez, to the world of sitcom TV, in NBC’s Lopez vs Lopez, which will launch November 4 (8pm).  “I am happy to be back on network TV, George exclaims. “I just think as times have changed, social media has changed, the comedy has changed, but yet the use of multi-camera doesn’t change.  So, to have done it 20 years ago is great; but now, it is so gratifying to do it with this incredibly talented cast.”

Mayan nods in agreement. “The series does reflect my history with my dad. My parents got divorced about ten years ago. There was a time where we didn’t speak and were estranged. But within the last two years, my dad and I really solidified our relationship. The pandemic brought us back together. I started making TikToks with my family.” It turns out that Debby Wolfe (Showrunner/Executive Producer) was scrolling one day and she saw one of her TikToks. “This whole Lopez vs. Lopez was kind of born from that idea.”

Wolfe, who is of Salvadoran descent, feels the show is also an amalgamation of the cultural references from the writing staff’s own upbrings, infusing the parent-child references of any minority. She states, “I think George Lopez’s original show paved the way, opened a lot of doors and inspired a lot of Latinx talent to pursue their dreams.  And now, 15 years later, here we are. Writing a sitcom about a Latino family and casting Latinos is so much easier today.”

The series also stars Selenis Leyva (Gloria Mendoza in Orange is the New Black) as George’s ex-wife, Rosie, Matt Shively, best known for his role as Ryan Laserbeam on the Nickelodeon television series True Jackson, VP stars as Mayan’s ultra-Caucasian husband, Quintin and Brice Gonzalez (featured in upcoming Flamin’ Hot, Eva Longoria directorial debut) as Mayan’s 5-year-old son, Chance. Bruce Helford (George Lopez, The Conners) and George are Executive Producers.  

“This series is also a result of me coming to terms with myself,” George added.  “I used to give up on people, whether it was my fault or not.  I would remove people from my life.  And if I was to blame, I would just never have to see them again. So it was very difficult to be able to have to look at myself, to be honest and know that whether it worked out or not, I was going to do something that was entirely new to me that was going to take me on a very painful journey.  But much like life, laughter is the best medicine.  I don’t think it’s as good as antidepressants, but it can be a good medicine.” 

George Lopez’s self-titled original series was based on his comedy act, which featured hilarious reminiscences of living with and working with his ethnically rigid grandmother in a factory. Procured by Sandra Bullock, It featured Constance Marie as his wife and Belito Moreno as his alcoholic Mother (subbing for his grandmother),  along with Masiela Lucha, Luis Arman Garcia, Valente Rodriguez, Aimee Garcia and Emiliano Diaz.

Like his previous broadcast sitcom, Lopez vs Lopez will include some real-life history about his and daughter Mayan history adding the dynamic of the other characters in the show. Mayan and Shively play young adults with a child, attempting to have carve out their own life. Their journey together brings lots of rich material to the show. And Lyeva as Lopez’s ex-wife Rosie, adds so much texture to the show.  

The role of Rosie is a fictionalized character Wolfe clarifies, and it is based on her own Salvadoran-born mother and mothers of some of the show’s Latino writers, making her a blend of many Latinas in one. 

“I feel like every actor has to find a little bit of themselves to bring to a show,” says Lyeva. “George and Mayan, although they are playing themselves, they’re not showing up, opening their mouths and being George and Mayan. And I’m doing the same thing. There is maybe a little bit of Ann Lopez (George’s real ex-wife) going on.  But I strive to create my own character and make my own path to tell the story.”

As the interview draws to a close, Mayan reminisces about being a young child when the original George Lopez Show was being made. “That was actually my first job. They called me “kid AD.” I even had a little headset. I made $20 bucks an hour.  In about four weeks, I was able to buy an American Girl doll.  I would go and get Constance, who played George’s wife Angie, from the set, and take her to makeup.”

Mayan also made her acting debut on the show. She went on to study comedy, then began working as an actress and producer, more recently known for Kill Her! Handsome (2017), A Netflix mystery movie and Mr. Troop Mom (2009). But she affirms her fondest memories were  watching her dad work. “Now I have the honor and privilege of playing alongside him in something that’s so personal. It’s the dream of a lifetime.”

When asked if he had any advice for Mayan, that might make her road a lot smoother in life and in the business than his has been, George replied, “I’ve said to Mayan on occasion, ‘I’m going to tell you something my grandmother never told me.  I want you to be happy’.” 

The post NBC’s Upcoming Sitcom ‘Lopez VS Lopez’ is Now a Family Affair first appeared on .

A new international criminal genius has arrived on American TV played by Morena Baccarin, the Brazilian-American star of Deadpool franchise fame. 

Baccarin plays cunning Russian villainess Elena Federova in NBC’s new heist drama series The Endgame. She squares off against principled FBI agent Val Turner, played by This Is Us’ Ryan Michelle Bathé as she wreaks havoc while in the Bureau’s custody.

“Criminal mastermind,” posted the artist on Instagram along with a full-body shot of her character in a long, royal blue silky dress, followed by the hashtag #theendgame and linking the Peacock network @nbc.

Baccarin and Bathé are joined by cast members Aaron Costa Ganis (Lazy Eye), Costa Ronin (The Americans), Jordan Johnson-Hinds (Nurses) and Kamal Angelo Bolden (Vacation Friends). Actors Mark D. Espinoza (The Fugitive) and Juan Carlos Hernández (High Crimes) also join in the heist series. Justin Lin, who helmed last year’s F9: The Fast Saga as well as its prequel Fast & Furious 6 directs.

This is not the first time Baccarin plays a prominent villain. In the ABC sci-fi series V, she was Anna, the leader of an alien race that came to Earth pretending good intentions but having ulterior motives while they ingrain themselves into human society. Also, the actress had a recurring role in the tenth season of Stargate SG-1, a science fiction adventure TV show that was part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s Stargate franchise. She played Adria, a member of an advanced extraterrestrial race that tried to trick humans and other less advanced races to treat them like gods.

But her television and film credits also show her acting versatility in series like the crime dramas Homeland and The Mentalist, the law procedural The Good Wife and the two installments of superhero movie franchise Deadpool, opposite Ryan Reynolds in the title role. She also appeared in the medical drama Heartland and the teen drama The OC.

Her Homeland role as Jessica Brody, a conflicted wife of a former prisoner of war, earned her a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. She won a Behind the Voice Actors Award for her guest role in the superhero TV series The Flash. Last year, Baccarin won an Imagen Foundation Award for Best Supporting Actress in Television Drama for her part in the reboot of The Twilight Zone series.

As the pandemic has eased up film production, the Brazilian actress is set to appear in three upcoming movies that are currently in pre-production. 

She will co-star opposite Pedro Pascal and Willem Dafoe in the thriller Tropico and Gerard Butler in Greenland: Migration, the sequel to the 2020 apocalyptic drama Greenland, reprising her role as Allison Garrity, the wife of Butler’s John Garrity.

Baccarin will also have the title role in the survivalist feature Beast. She plays a woman who must fight to stay alive on a deserted island after surviving a plane crash, facing an unimaginable threat as she struggles to return to her children. The film will be directed by Espen Sandberg, who helmed the 2017 adventure flick Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.

The post Morena Baccarin: International Villainess in NBC’s ‘The End Game’ first appeared on .

Mercedes’ character, Fay, is a recently divorced woman who is looking to start fresh in the City of Angels. Fay’s friends in Grand Crew are: Noah (Echo Kellum), a hopeless romantic too eager to settle down; Nicky (Nicole Byer), a go-getter in real estate who is adventurous in romance; Sherm (Carl Tart), a low-key genius who plays the dating odds; Anthony (Aaron Jennings), whose true love is his career; and Wyatt (Justin Cunningham), who is relieved to be married and out of the dating scene.

Mercedes is a Dominican-American actress from New York City who has relocated to Los Angeles. A former improviser and sketch comedy actor, she has appeared in the shows 9-1-1, Good Trouble, Southland, The Affair and Criminal Minds. Mercedes also recently wrapped season two of her podcast Not (Blank) Enough.

The Jan. 4 episode three of Grand Crew will air at 8:30 p.m. ahead of the final season premiere of the multiple-Emmy winning series This Is Us.

To watch the first two episodes click here.

Featured Photo: Grand Crew cast members at the show’s premiere party. From left: Dan Goor, Carl Tart, Nicole Byer, Grasie Mercedes, Justin Cunningham, Aaron Jennings, Echo Kellum, Phil Augusta Jackson at Alta Adams in Los Angeles. (Photo: Trae Patton/NBC)

Check out this video featuring the cast and their characters:

The post Grasie Mercedes Co-Stars in NBC’s New Comedy Series ‘Grand Crew’ first appeared on .

It all started with the three-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Shakira’s song “Girl Like Me”, where she spawned a viral dance challenge. She is now joining forces with NBC for the new competition series Dancing With Myself. 

Dancing With Myself is inspired by the millions tuning in to watch the latest dance crazes on social media sites such as TikTok. Shakira will not only executive produce but also host and participate as one of the judges. 

It is a family-friendly competition series where, according to the series’ description, “Every week a new group of fun-loving dancers from all walks of life and of all ages compete in a series of high-energy dance challenges that are designed and demonstrated by the show’s celebrity creators, including Shakira. Isolated in their own pods, contestants have a short time to learn the new routines, add their unique flair and then perform their hearts out in front of a live audience.”

Shakira and her judging panel provide “instant feedback and encouragement as each round of the competition progresses.” However, ultimately, it’s the studio audience who decides on who wins Best Dancer of the Night and goes home with the cash prize.

NBC has partnered with an ideal artist for a dance competition. In the area of music and dance, Shakira is a bonafide pop superstar. She has sold over 300 million albums worldwide. “I’m excited to be a part of a dance competition that places such a high value on creative movement and how it translates into personal expression, not to mention how it contributes to a sense of community,” the Colombian singer stated in a video message. 

“I’ve personally been blown away by some of the talent I’ve seen thanks to people having access to their own platforms through social media,” Shakira added. “Dance has been an incredibly potent force throughout my life, and I’m eager to show the world how transformative, empowering and fun it can be.”

Producing is Irwin Entertainment, the production company run by showrunner John Irvwin (Little Late With Lilly Singh) for NBC with Universal Television Alternative Studio, a division of Universal Studio group. Shakira will also work alongside Dave Kuba, Eli Frankel, Ben Thursby-Palmer and Jaime Levine.

Dancing With Myself’s premiere is yet to be announced. Each week viewers will see a group of dancers compete in a series of high-energy dance challenges designed and demonstrated by the show’s celebrity creators, including Shakira. Dancing with Myself is licensed by NBCUniversal Formats, a division of Universal Studio Group.

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