It’s time to trade in the zombie apocalypse for a stage and a microphone, asThe Walking Deadactress Christian Serratos has just snagged the starring role of real-life musician Selena Quintanilla in the upcoming Netflix showSelena: The Series. Previously announced in 2018, the series is executive produced by Moises Zamora (American Crime). Selena’s father Abraham Quintanilla Jr., sister Suzette Quintanilla, and family attorney Simran A. Singh are also on board to executive produce. As of now, production is set to begin next month in Mexico, and the plan is for the show to play out over the course of two seasons. Despite the report, Netflix has yet to officially comment on the casting.
Selena: The Serieswill serve as a coming-of-age story following the real-life rise to fame of Selena Quantinilla, leading up to her sudden and tragic end of her life. The show will specifically follow the choices made by Selena and the Quantinilla family to build her career as a musician and fashion icon. Echoing the passing of ’50s singer Richie Valens, Selena is also known for the circumstances surrounding her untimely death. At the age of 23, the singer was shot dead in 1995 by her fan club’s president, Yolanda Saldivar, who still remains behind bars serving a life sentence to this day. After her death, Selena’s crossover albumDreaming of Youhit the top of the Billboard 200 list, which was a first for a Latin artist.
This won’t be the first time Selena has been portrayed in an adaptation of her life. Director Gregory Nava previously released the biopicSelenain 1997 with Jennifer Lopez in the starring role. This turned out to be a breakout role for the singer’s movie career, as her performance as Selena is very highly revered and even earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination. We’ll see if Serratos' rise in Hollywood continues in similar fashion following her time as the Queen of Tejano.
Christian Serratosis of course best known for starring as Rosita Espinosa in the ensemble cast ofThe Walking Dead. The character first appeared during the show’s fifth season, accompanied by Abraham Ford (Michael Cudlitz} and Eugene Porter (Josh McDermitt). Despite losing so many of her friends over the past several seasons, Rosita is still kicking on the long-running show, remaining a fan favorite for viewers of the series. Additionally, Serratos has appeared in theTwilight Sagamovies and the Nickelodeon seriesNed’s Declassified School Survival Guide.
It remains to be seen if Serratos' casting as Selena will affect her involvement onThe Walking Dead. Depending on her shooting schedule, the role could mean Rosita’s time on the AMC series is coming to an end. If so, Serratos would be joining other fan favorites like Andrew Lincoln, Lauren Cohan, and Danai Gurira out the door. There’s no word yet on when this new Selena series will premiere onNetflix, but fans of Serratos can catch her as Rosita whenThe Walking Deadreturns to AMC in October. This news comes to us fromVulture.
