BURBANK, CA – September 22, 2014 – (HISPANICIZE WIRE) – On September 16th the Latino Premiere Club (latinopremiereclub.com), a new partnership between the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) and the LatinHeat Media Institute, held a screening at ABC/Disney Studios of the network’s upcoming sitcom Cristela. The pilot episode introduces Cristela, played by breakout comedienne Cristela Alonzo, who stars as a woman laughing her way to the new American dream in a family comedy loosely based on her life and stand-up routine.
Cristela Alonzo breaks new ground with Cristela as the first and only Latina to have a TV show in which she not only stars, but is also co-creator (along with Kevin Hench), co-executive producer, and writer. Not since George Lopez and Ugly Betty has there been a TV show on broadcast TV created and starring a Latino/a on TV and once again ABC leads on that front.
Cristela revolves around the character of Cristela and her dream of becoming a lawyer, something her traditional Mexican-American family doesn’t quite understand. She’s entering her sixth year of law school after juggling home obligations and working multiple jobs to pay her way. She lives in cramped quarters with her sister Daniela (Maria Canals-Barrera), her long-suffering brother-in-law Felix (Carlos Ponce) and their two young kids (Isabella Day & Jacob Guenther), and a traditional Mexican mother (Terri Hoyos), while Felix’s cousin and co-worker Alberto (comedian Gabriel Iglesias) drops in to shamelessly flirt with Cristela – something she wants nothing to do with.
Cristela has been dubbed “the little show that could” because after the pilot was pitched, ABC passed on the script Alonzo and Hench had written. At the urging of another executive producer, Becky Clements, the creative team took a huge risk by taping a pilot presentation. It worked. “We knew we had a funny script but it’s not the same thing reading the words than actually seeing it in action,” said Cristela during the Q&A which followed the screening.
The show tested through the roof with audiences and ABC took a chance on a relatively unknown Alonzo with a great stand-up pedigree, and gave Cristela an order for 13 episodes with a premiere date of October 10th on Friday nights at 8:30 p.m. / 7:30 p.m. central.
The pilot episode features Cristela Alonzo as Cristela, Carlos Ponce as Felix, Maria Canals-Barrera as Daniela, Terri Hoyos as Natalia, Andrew Leeds as Josh, and Sam McMurray as Trent. Stand-up sensation Gabriel Iglesias (The Fluffy Movie) also appears as Alberto. Guest Cast includes Sarah Halford as Maddie, Bridget Barrera as Isabella, and Matthew Velasquez as Henry.
The Latino Premiere Club membership, which is comprised of influential Latino leaders from all fields including education, public relations, business, law, and non-profit organizations, enthusiastically applauded the show and its fair and multi-dimensional portrayal and inclusion of a Latino family on primetime and overwhelmingly encourages Latino audiences across America to tune in for the series’ premiere on Friday, October 10, at 8:30 p.m./ 7:30 p.m. central, as well as to join the social media conversation at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CristelaABC
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CristelaABC
Hashtag: #Cristela
Tumblr: http://cristelaabc.tumblr.com/
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/cristelaabc/
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+Cristela
Instagram: CristelaABC
About Latino Premiere Club
The Latino Premiere Club (LPC) is a partnership between National Hispanic Media Coalition and Latin Heat Media Institute, whose goal is to give Latinos a voice on upcoming film and television projects that tell Latino stories and/or employ Latinos in front and behind the camera. LPC is a forum through which American Latino influentials may converse with the entertainment industry, better equipping it to include Latinos at all levels of production and to create authentic American Latino stories and other stories that appeal to Latinos.
For photos of Cristela, please visit ABCMedianet.com or email photo.request@disney.com