Latin Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” has been renewed for Season 3 while “Star Trek: Lower Decks” has been renewed for Season 5 at Paramount+. The new seasons of both shows will consist of 10 episodes. In addition, Season 2 of “Strange New Worlds” and Season 4 of “Lower Decks” will both debut this summer. “Strange New Worlds” Season 2 will premiere on June 15 on Paramount+ in the U.S., the U.K., Australia, Latin America, Brazil, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. New episodes will then drop weekly thereafter. “Lower Decks” will return in late summer, but an exact date has yet to be announced. Finally, Season 2 of the Nickelodeon animated series “Star Trek: Prodigy” is set to air this coming winter. Season 1 of that show originally launched in late 2021, with the second half of the season airing in late 2022.

EXCLUSIVE: Kerry Washington‘s comedy series UnPrisoned seems to be resonating with viewers in the U.S.

Thania Garcia Myke Towers, Anuel AA, Edén Muñoz, and Prince Royce are among the first round of confirmed performers for the 2023 Latin American Music Awards taking place on April 20 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Towers will be performing “Mi Droga,” the second track from his newly released “La Vida Es Una,” while Anuel will perform “Más Rica Que Ayer”; newlyweds Guaynaa and Lele Pons will treat audiences to a medley including “Abajito” from their upcoming album “Capitulations”; and Royce will be singing an unreleased song. Elsewhere, rising acts Bad Gyal and Muñoz will make their Latin AMAs on-stage debut. Bad Gyal will be singing her female-empowerment anthem “Chulo,” while the Mexican producer and singer-songwriter will perform his catchy hit single, “Chale.” Muñoz is also nominated in the new artist of the year category alongside Bizarrap, Blessd, Grupo Frontera, Los Lara, Luis Figueroa, Luis R Conriquez, Quevedo, Santa Fe Klan and Yahritza y Su Esencia.

Marta Balaga New York-based conglomerate Big Media has signed with RCTV International Corp. to become the exclusive distribution partner to parent company RCTV’s catalog for FAST and AVOD platforms worldwide.   Under the terms of the agreement, Big Media will distribute over 7,000 hours of telenovelas to streaming platforms around the world. It will also serve as the exclusive distributor of RCTV’s catalogue for all forms of broadcast in Europe and Asia.  “Our partnership with RCTV International is one of the most significant in our company’s 14-year history. RCTV’s catalog of telenovelas is unparalleled, both in terms of quality and quantity,” said Juan Fernández, Big Media’s head of Latin America and Spanish-speaking U.S. distribution. 

Becky G seemingly made a subtle reference to the status of her relationship with Sebastian Lletget when she attended the 2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards on Monday night (March 27).

Naman Ramachandran Yash Raj Films’ “Pathaan” is the biggest Indian hit of the year so far grossing $130 million. The studio’s Akshaye Widhani also served as a co-producer on the film. Part of the release strategy around “Pathaan” was keeping Shah Rukh Khan away from the film’s promotions, creating curiosity around the superstar’s comeback film, the first time he’d headlined a project since 2018’s “Zero.” “There was a lot of excitement and hunger to see India’s biggest movie star on screen after four years. We wanted to preserve that. So when we got into a room with him to talk about marketing the film, we all felt what if we went with a different strategy this time, which is less is more. So we hold back Shah Rukh, not have him seen pre-release, not have him interact with anybody pre-release,” Widhani told Variety. “But once the the film is out, then we come out into the media. That was a conscious decision and one that paid off well, because the whole excitement to go watch him on screen became even more, and the hunger increased when you didn’t see him. And it worked well for us.”

It was a fun night full of music at the 2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards and we have the full list of winners for you here!

Becky G is winning big at the 2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards!

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Rob Wilk, most recently global head of advertising at Microsoft, joined Snap as the first president of Americas overseeing the Snapchat parent company’s sales in the region. Wilk, who is based out of Snap’s New York offices, reports to Snap COO Jerry Hunter. In the new role, Wilk will run sales across the U.S., Canada and Latin America and will be responsible for supporting and managing its largest advertising partners in the region. Wilk steps into the Snap job after the departure last summer of the company’s two top ad sales execs, Jeremi Gorman and Peter Naylor, who joined Netflix. “We were impressed not only with Rob’s hands-on experience building a large and growing advertising business, but also his approach to leading customer-centric sales teams and developing strong, sustained customer relationships,” Hunter wrote in an internal memo to Snap staff Monday.

The lead judge on the UK’s most popular entertainment show, Strictly Come Dancing, has hinted she may quit her role after receiving huge amounts of online abuse during the 2022 season.

Shirley Ballas has hinted that her future on Strictly Come Dancing is uncertain after she hit an 'all time low'. The 'Queen of Latin' has been a judge - and head judge no less - on the hit BBC One dance show since 2017 following the departure of Len Goodman.

Thania Garcia Fans of Rosalía and Rauw Alejandro have a lot to celebrate as the couple appeared to have announced their engagement in the music video for “Beso,” the opening track from their newly released joint EP “R&R.” “R&R” dropped Friday alongside a sweet homemade music video that featured footage of the Latin music power couple enjoying their days spent in bed and adventuring throughout different cities in Japan, Puerto Rico, Spain, the Dominican Republic, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, among many other places. And, as the name of the Spanish track implies, there are lots of shots of them kissing. But the revelatory moment comes at the end of the three-minute music video where Rosalía shows off a shiny diamond ring, and with tears in her eyes, she says, “Oh my god, and my mascara is all runny now. I love you,” before leaning in to kiss Alejandro.

Rosalía and Rauw Alejandro are engaged! The couple revealed that they're taking their collaborations to the next level in their music video for «BESO,» a track off their new joint EP, . This video includes a romantic three-minute montage of the pair, showing them together backstage, in bed and wandering around different cities. The private, never-before-seen footage was personally shot by Rosalía and Alejandro throughout their worldwide travels, with the bulk of footage captured during their vacation to Japan, Puerto Rico, Spain, the Dominican Republic, France, the United Kingdom and the United States.«Being away from you is hell / Being close to you is my peace,» they sing together in Spanish in the chorus. Towards the end of the video, the 30-year-old singer shows off a diamond ring on her left finger at the end of the video, tearfully whispering, «Oh my God,» as she leans in to kiss her partner. Rosalía shared a brief clip of the video on Instagram, highlighting the montage of sweet moments between her and her new fiancé. «Here are these 3 songs made with all the love in the world,» she captioned the post. «I hope you enjoy this little bit of us.» A post shared by LA ROSALÍA (@rosalia.vt)ET reached out to Rosalía's rep who had no further comment or details about the engagement.The power couple first went public with their relationship in September 2021.

Rosalia and Rauw Alejandro are getting married!

Lyndon Arthur faces his first ever world title fight on Friday night, taking on Braian Nahuel Suarez in Bolton for the IBO light-heavyweight championship of the world.

With overseas rollout having begun Wednesday, Lionsgate/Thunder Road Films/87 Eleven’s John Wick: Chapter 4 is off to a strong start at the international box office. Across just a handful of markets, figures we’re hearing put the early estimated cume at roughly $3.9M through Wednesday and including Australia and New Zealand’s Thursday launches. As Anthony reported, Thursday’s domestic previews of around $8M are looking at a franchise-best, per industry estimates.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Sony Music has dissolved the long-running Arista Nashville imprint, a rep for the company confirms to Variety. The news was first reported in Country Aircheck‘s newsletter. Most of the artists will be absorbed into Sony Music Nashville, with Nate Smith is going to RCA Nashville and Old Dominion and Megan Moroney moving over to Columbia Nashville. Brooks & Dunn is the most famous artist on the label, having been one of its cornerstone acts since 1991, but the duo is not a going concern on the recording front. Apart from a retrospective/duets project three years ago, they have not issued an album of new material since 2007.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Viz Media has picked up a wide collection of rights in North America and Latin America to animated Japanese sports series “Captain Tsubasa: Junior Youth Arc.” The series is adapted from a popular manga by Yoichi Takahashi and is licensed by Shueisha Inc. The deal includes digital streaming, TV, electronic sell-thru, home video and merchandise rights for North and Latin American territories. The new series is currently being produced by Studio KAI, with the official main staff including: director Ono Katsumi; character design and executive animation director, Watanabe Hajime; and series composition, Tomioka Atsuhiro. The voice cast includes Sanpei Yuko as Tsubasa Ozora, Gukuyama Jun as Karl Heinz Schneider and Suzumura Kenichi as Wakabayashi Genzo and Hyuga Kojiro as Sato Takuya. It is set to launch October 2023.

One of the world’s most popular international comedies is being remade in Spanish, courtesy of Eva Longoria.

Laura Pausini and Paolo Carta are married! The couple, who’s been together for 18 years and has a 10-year-old daughter named Paola, shared the news on social media. They also shared some photos and a video of the beautiful ceremony, where they looked happy and had the support of their loved ones. Exclusive: Laura Pausini earns historic Oscar nomination for Best Original SongAnitta, Luis Fonsi, Laura Pausini, and Thalia will host the 23rd Annual Latin GRAMMY AwardsA post shared by Laura Pausini Official (@laurapausini)Pausini shared photos and video of the event, which depicted an intimate ceremony with a performance from Pausini herself.

Thania Garcia Ana Bárbara, otherwise known as “Grupera Queen,” received her flowers as a BMI Icon at the 30th annual BMI Latin Awards held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on March 21. The singer — whose blended style of rancheras, norteño and Latin pop helped to define the grupero genre — became the first regional Mexican songwriter to receive the accolade for her musical career which spans over 30 years of chart-topping hits like “Bandido” and “Lo Busqué,” which dominated radio across Mexico and the United States. It was a big night for música Mexicana as Edgar Barrera, one of the most sought-after songwriters and producers of the last few years, was given the first-ever Impact award for his award-winning contributions across genres like contemporary Latin and regional Mexican. Throughout the night, he returned to the stage to accept over 10 trophies as the most recognized songwriter at this year’s ceremony. (He was also the top-nominated act at last year’s Latin Grammys.)

Paris-based Mediawan, Elefantec Global and Eva Longoria’s UnbeliEVAble Entertainment are teaming up to co-produce a Spanish-speaking Americas version of the hit series Call My Agent!.

Thania Garcia After successfully producing several in-house music videos — including “Luces” by Fuego, Polima Westcoast and Roy Woods, “Extraños” by Gera Demara and CNCO, and “Teikirisi” by Ely Blancarte — WK Entertainment is launching Korporation Films. The new division will produce music videos, podcasts and offer a range of services that will incorporate music, film, TV, and innovative content. The new division will be run by Horacio Rodriguez, WK Entertainment’s head of music and WK Records label head, alongside the newly appointed VP of Korporation, Anita Tillero, who also serves as creative director for WK Entertainment and Records, respectively.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The International Emmy-winning French series “Call My Agent!” is getting a Spanish-language remake, with Eva Longoria on board to produce and direct. Announced during Series Mania Festival in Lille, the adaptation will be co-produced by Mediawan, Elefantec Global and Longoria’s banner UnbeliEVAble Entertainment. It will mark the first adaptation targeting Latin America and the U.S., following successful remakes in Italy, Canada and the U.K., among others. In addition to producing through UnbeliEVAble Entertainment, Longoria will direct the first two episodes. The news comes right on the heels of Longoria’s feature directorial debut “Flamin’ Hot,” which premiered at SXSW and won the Audience Award.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent LILLE, France — Paramount+ will be bowing “Drag Race Italia” Season 3 on the streaming service in Italy, followed by the U.S. and Latin America later this year.  The Italian Season 3 follows on the recent announcement of three new “Drag Race” editions in Brazil, Germany and Mexico and a “Global Drag Race All Stars,” which will air on Paramount+ in their respective territories this year, Paramount+ announced Wednesday. “As we expand Paramount+’s global footprint, it was important to recapture ‘Drag Race’ in key international markets and also build an interconnected competition series with a new ‘Global Drag Race All Stars’ – it’s like a global Super Bowl for Drag,” said Chris McCarthy, president-CEO, Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios & Paramount Media Networks.

Italy has become the latest territory to jump on the RuPaul’s Drag Race hype.

Billie Eilish, Lana Del Rey and Kendrick Lamar are just three of dozens of names set to hit the stage at Lollapalooza this year!

Bloomberg reported.The user base grew by more than 500% in the first month since its launch in November, the report said, citing internal data. Its second month saw another 50% growth.The numbers pale in comparison to Netflix’s 231 million paying users — 74 million in the U.S.

Thania Garcia The Latin Recording Academy has announced changes to the Latin Grammy Awards including the addition of the best songwriter of the year honor, best singer-songwriter song and best Portuguese-language Urban performance. There’s also a series of revisions for song submissions, including changes to the album of the year and best engineered album categories that specify the percentage of playing time and credits for artists, producers, engineers, mixers, mastering engineers and songwriters. All updates go into effect immediately for the upcoming 24th annual Latin Grammys taking place in November. These changes come just as the Grammys experienced similar modifications, including the addition of the songwriter of the year award along with several new performance categories that were first applied at the 65th annual show in February.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Streaming platform Paramount+ has set a release date for Korean series “Yonder” that is one of the first titles flowing from Paramount Global’s alliance with CJ ENM. The show will premiere on April 11 in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, Latin America, Brazil, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and France.  Set in 2032, “Yonder” is a science fiction-drama series about a man who receives a message from his deceased wife inviting him to a mysterious space. The space is designed for the dead to be able to live on by uploading memories of their lifetime from their brain. The show raises questions about life and death and what it means to have eternal happiness as humanity faces a world altered by advancements in science and technology.

Jacqueline Lesko has been promoted to President of Production at Word Games — the production company founded by multiple Emmy-winning writer, producer and director Craig Mazin, which is best known for its work on HBO’s smash hit series Chernobyl and The Last of Us.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Amazon Freevee has landed the exclusive first-run U.S. rights to “Casa Grande,” a bilingual limited series that follows the tales of California’s hardworking, often undocumented migrant workforce, as well as the wealthy landowners in Northern California. The series, which consists of five one-hour episodes, premieres May 1 on Freevee. Lauren Swickard (“A California Christmas”) and Ali Afshar created “Casa Grande,” which comes from Afshar’s ESX Entertainment shingle. Series stars include John Pyper-Ferguson (“The 100,” “Suits”), Christina Moore (“That ‘70s Show,” “90210”), Madison Lawlor (“Juniper”), Karen Bethzabe (“Babylon”), Javier Bolaños (“All American”), Raquel Dominguez (“Chicago Med”), James Marsters (“Buffy The Vampire Slayer”), Kate Mansi (“Days of Our Lives”), Daniel Edward Mora (“Coco”), Loren Escandon (“The Baxters”) and Ali Afshar (“He’s Just Not That Into You”).

Emiliano De Pablos Uruguay-based Agustina Chiarino, one of the drivers of the new Latin American cinema industry and at the forefront of pan-regional co-production, is kicking-off early projects at her recently launched production-distribution company Bocacha Films.  Chiarino attended last week’s Malaga Film Festival edition to present Pablo Solarz’s official section contender comedy “Desperté con un sueño” (“I Woke Up With a Dream”), which she produced at Mutante Cine, the Montevideo-based outfit Chiarino and editor-producer Fernando Epstein co-founded in 2011. After “I Woke Up With a Dream,” two feature debuts are finishing production stage under the Mutante Cine brand: Vanina Spataro’s “Naufragios,” teaming with Kino Films in Argentina, and Sebastián Peña Escobar’s documentary “The Last” in partnership with Paraguay’s La Babosa Cine. 

Ed Meza @edmezavar The Barcelona-set feature “La nit no fa vigília” and Argentine film “Hidden City” (“Ciudad Oculta”) won the Malaga Festival Work in Progress awards for Spanish and Latin American projects on Friday. “La nit no fa vigília” (which roughly translates to “The Night Does Not Keep Watch”) centers on a young man who lives with and cares for his aging, frail grandmother, but still finds time for a nocturnal social life. It was among the frontrunners to win at the awards ceremony. A joint project from a student collective comprising Laura Corominas Espelt, Laura Serra Solé, Clara Serrano Llorens, Gerard Simó Gimeno, Ariadna Ulldemolins Abad and Pau Vall Capdet, “La nit no fa vigília” also won the industry magazine Cine y Tele prize.

Ed Meza @edmezavar Estíbaliz Urresola Solaguren’s celebrated Spanish feature “20,000 Species of Bees” and Kattia G. Zúñiga’s Panamanian drama “Sister & Sister” took the top prizes at the Malaga Film Festival, garnering the Golden Biznagas for Spanish and Latin American pictures respectively.   “20,000 Species of Bees” also won best supporting actress for Patricia López Arnaiz and picked up theSpanish Cinematographic Informers Association’s Feroz Puerta Oscura award. The film’s success follows two awards in Berlin, including a Silver Bear for Sofía Otero for her portrayal of a young girl going through a gender crisis. For Zúñiga, the Golden Biznaga is sure to help further propel “Sister & Sister,” an autobiographical story about two teenage sisters who travel from Costa Rica to Panama in search of their absent father.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent French pay TV group Canal+ has ordered a second season of its dazzling historical drama “Marie Antoinette.” BAFTA-nominated Ed Bazalgette (“The Last Kingdom,” “Doctor Who”) will direct the first four episodes. While Deborah Davis (“The Favourite”) still on board as creator, season 2’s writing team is led by Louise Ironside, joined by Charlotte Wolf, Francesca Forristal and Andrew Bampfield. The series, which is being backed by Banijay and Capa Drama (Newen Studios), is expected to start filming in the fall. The new season will continue telling the epic story of the avant-garde young queen, played by Emilia Schüle (“Ku’damm 56/ 63”), with Louis Cunningham (“Bridgerton”) as the king of France, Louis XVI.