Pasadena, CA -- During the NBC Universal portion of the semi annual meeting of the Television Critics Association (TCA) tour, held at the Langham Hotel in Pasadena, the network unveiled two series that give some evidence of the commitment to Latino performers and programming it trumpeted way back in 2002 when it acquired the Spanish language Telemundo Group.
SyFy Channel
Premiering Friday, January 22 on the network’s Syfy cable outlet is Caprica, starring Esai Morales (Jericho, NYPD Blue, and Resurrection Blvd.). The series is a futuristic prequel to the iconic Battlestar Galactica series, which had starred Edward James Olmos.
Morales chuckles when asked to describe Caprica, which begins 58 years before the events seen in Battlestar Galactica, telling the story of how humanity first created the robotic Cyclons, which would eventually plot to destroy human civilization in retaliation for their enslavement. “The series deals with so many realities moving in and out of each other, it is hard to explain it verbally,” says Morales.” I play one of the central figures, Joseph Adama. My character is the father of William Adama who will eventually grow up to become the Battlestar Galactica commander who was portrayed by Eddie Olmos.
Morales joins a series regular ensemble that includes Eric Stoltz, Magda Apanowicz, Paula Malcomson, Sasha Roiz, Alessandra Torresani and Polly Walker. Executive Producers are David Eick, Jane Espenson and Ronald D. Moore/. “This is a series I believe will resonate with viewers,” Morales affirms. “The characters dress and live lives like we do today. It is very exciting to see how humankind evolves into the futuristic terror that became the focus of Battlestar Galactica.”
mun2 Network
On the reality front, NBC introduced mun2 (moon-dos), a cable bilingual network, aimed at bicultural Latinos, ages 18-34. On hand to introduce its contemporary programming was Flavio Morales, Senior Vice President of Programming and Production for mun2, and the team of actress/TV host Paula Garces and celebrity stylist Jorge Ramon, offering a sampling of their upcoming fashion and style series, The mun2 Look, debuting Saturday, January 23 (3pm ET/PT).
Garces, who has guest-starred on such series as CSI Miami and The Shield, is co-creator and Executive Producer of The mun2 Look, declaring the show to be a multi-platform half-hour series that spotlights the raw, edgy trends inspired by the unique U.S. Latino lifestyle that is both influenced by and influencing today’s high fashion runways.
“I celebrate the bicultural, bilingual, uniquely American audience that is absorbing all of these trends and taking them from the fashion runway to the streets,” says Garces, “Both mun2 and I understand that the Latino market is the fastest-growing market in the U.S. They are the trendsetters in pop culture, music, television, and film, and they are my best friends. They basically mirror who I am, and I mirror them.”
Garces admitted the hub of the show will be centered in New York, the fashion capital of the world; but with documentary segments from all over the country, spotlighting the Latino experience from East L.A. to Washington Heights and everything in between. “I live in New York. I’m Colombian. My husband’s Puerto Rican. So I’m very much in touch with my Caribbean side and I love the Mexican culture as well. We are united by language and the need to make our mark in this country. We need to recognize and celebrate the power and influence we have.” Upcoming profiled guests include Wilmer Valderrama, Jenni Rivera, Dania Ramirez, 50 Cent, Pitbull, Wisin y Yandel and more.
As the only nationally measured bilingual cable network by Nielsen NTI, mun2 has a distribution to over 33 million households, and is part of the Telemundo Communications Group, a division of NBC universal. Its Internet component is holamun2.com.
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