Tag Archive: Army Wives

Sunday, March 16

In that final pause before Spring Sweeps, there are more reruns than originals, but still, you’ll find Lana Parrilla in Once Upon a Time, 8P on ABC, Makenzie Vega in The Good Wife at 9P on CBS, and Madeleine Stowe in Revenge at 10P on ABC. And Lifetime is doing a farewell tribute to the inexplicably cancelled Army Wives at 9P.

Photos: Madeleine Stowe and Lana Parrilla

Latinos on Cable: A Whirlwind of Activity

Alyssa Diaz and Joseph Julian Soria

Lifetime cancels Army Wives, FX renews The Bridge, and Starz develops a new Latino-themed drama…and Latinos are part of it all.

Within a few days of each other, three different networks made moves that remind us of just how intimately involved Latino Hollywood is in the ongoing strategies of the cable industry.

First, while the Lifetime Network is enjoying the growing success of Devious Maids (its season finale attracted a series-high number of viewers), it also decided to pass on an eighth season of its long-running drama Army Wives, which has included Alyssa Diaz and Joseph Julian Soria in recent years. All in all, 117 episodes were produced, and the season-ending cliffhanger will get some sort of resolution in a “two two-hour retrospective special featuring the show’s cast,” whatever that means, that will be broadcast early in 2014.

Demián Bichir

Meanwhile, FX has renewed Demián Bichir’s The Bridge, ordering up another 13 one-hours episodes that will begin airing in the summer of 2014. Critically well-received, this gritty cop-drama based on the U.S./Mexico border is, somewhat ironically, produced by a Canadian company, and though its received strong critical acclaim, its ratings have been moderate at best.

And finally, Starz is just one of many networks, cable and broadcast alike, who continue to develop new Latino-centric programs. This time it’s a one-hour scripted drama called Gringo, said to “chronicle a Mexican-American Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent who infiltrates one of Mexico’s most deadly drug and human smuggling cartels.” Because that’s what the Latino experience is in the U.S. is all about: drug wars. Inspired by The Shadow Catcher, a non-fiction book by U.S. Immigration Officer Hipolito Acosta, Gringo is currently in the screenwriting stage. No casting news, or even a cast list, has been released as yet. We’ll see where it goes.

Joseph Julian Soria Joins Kristen Stewart in “Camp X-Ray”

Joseph Julian Soria

Our buddy Joseph Julian Soria can’t seem to get out of uniform. He’s just finishing up another season of Army Wives on Lifetime with Alyssa Diaz…and now he’s off to Guantanamo Bay for Camp X-Ray, where he co-stars as a soldier who ends up working with close friend Stewart, also a soldier…but one who’s built up a friendship with one of the Gitmo prisoners.

Soria moved up from “Gangster #3” to named-man status about five years ago in hour-long TV programs like NCIS and The Closer. Since then he’s been seen on the tube in everything from Lie to Me to Sons of Anarchy to Bones to Dexter, while appearing in action pics like Fast & Furious and Crank: High Voltage, as well as tough and slightly wonderful independent films, including Filly Brown and Mission Park. Army Wives is on hiatus at the moment, but Soria isn’t: he’s already completed 10 Cent Pistol with Emilio Rivera.

“Army Wives” Finale Sunday Night

Army Wives, Another season of this solid, surprisingly realistic show about soldiers and their spouses finishes its season–as always, featuring Joseph Julian Soria and Alyssa Diaz. 9P on Lifetime and again at 1A, so set your DVRs.

Latinos on Cable: “Devious Maids” to Preview All Over the Place, “The Fosters” and “Secret Life” Score Big

It’s worth mentioning (again) that Latino actors and even Latino themes are thriving on cable TV. Apart from the ongoing success of Dallas, Dexter, Psych, Separated at Birth, Army Wives and all those talented young Latinos on ABC Family and The Disney Channel, two new major shows are entering the mix as well.

Lifetime is very high on its controversial new soap Devious Maids–so much so they’re releasing the pilot of the series on multiple platforms weeks before its official premiere on Sunday, June 23. Beginning Sunday, June 9, you’ll be able to see the complete first episode on myLifetime.com and the Lifetime video watch app, as well as A&E Networks’ distribution partners’ VOD services, sites and apps. And it will be available in English and Spanish in all those iterations as well.

This is the first time that Lifetime–any network, in fact–has made a show available in both language across all these platforms. And the commitment is ongoing: Lifetime has announce that it will make each episode of Devious Maids available in both English and Spanish in all these forms the day after its Sunday 10P airing, every week.

Meanwhile, Raisa and The Secret Life of the American Teenager left the stage with its head held high, garnering more than 1.5 million viewers in its final new episode, many of them in the core 18-34 demographic (the No. 2 scripted cable TV show that night on all of cable). It was followed by the premiere of Jennifer Lopez’ The Fosters, with Jake T. Austin and Cierra Ramirez. The new drama retained almost the entire 1.5 million audience, and even did better than the premiere of Bunheads a year ago.

Original programming on cable has been making summer television far more interesting for years; now Latino entertainers and topics are part of the process.

Joseph Julian Soria Gets Regular on “Army Wives”

Joseph Julian Soria

We got the word directly from Joseph: “Finally! ABC and Lifetime official picked me as a series regular! I start work on December 5. I guess this means no more sparring with giant Samoans for a while. So much to do before I head back to Charleston.” Joseph has been a recurring role as “Hector Cruz” since last April. Now “I need to find a place to live before I even get there, or I’m gonna end up living out of my car!” Army Wives is between seasons at the moment, but you can see a string of Season Five episodes on Saturday and Sunday November 3, 4, and beyond. Check for times here. You can also follow his hilarious tweets as @JJSoria.

Gina Rodriguez: Still Going For It!

Se Fija! loves to keep an eye out for the up-and-comers, and the lovely young Latina actress Gina Rodriguez is definitely one of the kids to keep an eye on.

You’ll probably remember her best for her strong supporting role in Carmen Marron’s Go For It! that’s just come out on DVD. (She got an Imagen Award nomination for that) She also appeared on three episodes of Army Wives last year, and guest-starred in an episode of ABC’s Happy Endings. And now our colleagues over at CBS’ Soap Opera In Depth tell us that Gina’s slated to join the cast of the daytime drama The Bold and the Beautiful. She’ll appear in the recurring role of Beverly, a friend of Dayzee’s from the homeless shelter (Dayzee’s time on the streets is a big mystery, y’see, and Read the rest of this entry »