If you’ve already watched Selena’s last concert on Amazon Prime and you’ve purchased your HBO Max account to stream Jennifer Lopez’s should-have-been Oscar-nominated turn as the Tejano singer, just wait because there’s more coming your way. Late last year, Netflix announced plans for a scripted series about the life of Selena Quintanilla and her rise to fame.
Now, we’ve got a full cast announcement and a first glimpse at Latina actress Christian Serratos (The Walking Dead) as Selena for the new show called Selena: The Series. The Mexican-American actress leads a cast that includes Honduran-American actor Gabriel Chavarria as Selena’s brother A.B., Mexican American Ricardo Chavira as her protective father Abraham and Noemi Gonzalez as Selena’s sister and drummer Suzette. Seidy Lopez (Mousie in Mi vida loca) plays Marcella, Selena’s mother, while newcomer Madison Taylor Baez plays Selena as a child. Netflix also confirmed that principal photography began last month and that Part 1 of the series features six 1-hour episodes.
On top of the announcement, a concept video was released showing Serratos reading the series’ script and listening to “Como la Flor.” Serratos puts on red lipstick, rocking Selena’s hairstyle and long eyelashes. Wearing the iconic purple jumpsuit she wore during her last concert, Serratos walks outside past Chavira as her dad and stopping to say hi to Baez. Serratos then makes her way to a mic and lip syncs the song on the soundtrack before being called to start filming. She gives a smile at the camera before fading out.
There isn’t much, but it’s just enough to whet the appetite. And Serratos looks a lot like Selena. We don’t know if this series will follow Selena from life to death since the show is being promoted as being about the singer’s rise, not her untimely murder. Either way, sign us up for this series now!
Selena: The Series Part 1 debuts on Netflix in 2020.