For Mental Health Awareness Month, we asked Latine comedians and creators we admire how comedy has supported them in overcoming trauma and confronting life's most significant challenges. Read the pieces here.
Erik Rivera's life is good. Joining our Zoom session from his Los Angeles home, the writer, actor, and comedian is all smiles beneath a worn baseball cap. Maybe it's that sunny weather Angelinos are always bragging about. Or maybe it's the fact that he's worked hard to achieve what he has now: a respectable career, a stable marriage, and two wonderful boys. Either way, the contrast between where he once was and his current status isn't lost on him, even if it is lost on his kids.
"My kids have no idea how good they have it," the comic says with a laugh.
Growing up as the child of a Puerto Rican father and Guatemalan mother in New Rochelle,...
Erik Rivera's life is good. Joining our Zoom session from his Los Angeles home, the writer, actor, and comedian is all smiles beneath a worn baseball cap. Maybe it's that sunny weather Angelinos are always bragging about. Or maybe it's the fact that he's worked hard to achieve what he has now: a respectable career, a stable marriage, and two wonderful boys. Either way, the contrast between where he once was and his current status isn't lost on him, even if it is lost on his kids.
"My kids have no idea how good they have it," the comic says with a laugh.
Growing up as the child of a Puerto Rican father and Guatemalan mother in New Rochelle,...
- 5/6/2024
- by Miguel Machado
- Popsugar.com
Digital media and entertainment company NGLmitú, the result of a merger last year between Ngl Collective and mitú, have launched the new Latino-focused streaming platform mitúTV. Targeting bilingual and English dominant U.S. Latinos, the service also announced three new shows: “Three Gs in a Pod,” hosted by Erik Rivera, Sasha Merci and Jesus Sepulveda; “Girl, Let Me Tell You,” hosted by Jessica Flores, Ivana Rojas and Glorelys Mora; and the game show “Spill the Chisme.”
“We were more of a business-to-business type of organization,” said Ngl Collective founder and CEO David Chitel, “which is why it made so much sense for us to merge with mitú, because they were the leading business-to-consumer entity connecting with we call ‘new generation Latinos.’ So the marriage of our two companies is sort of a big deal in our space.”
Chitel noted that mitú had already been producing a lot of content for the ‘new generation Latino’ market,...
“We were more of a business-to-business type of organization,” said Ngl Collective founder and CEO David Chitel, “which is why it made so much sense for us to merge with mitú, because they were the leading business-to-consumer entity connecting with we call ‘new generation Latinos.’ So the marriage of our two companies is sort of a big deal in our space.”
Chitel noted that mitú had already been producing a lot of content for the ‘new generation Latino’ market,...
- 5/2/2023
- by Michael Schneider
- Variety Film + TV
A new collective of Latino actors, writers, directors and executives in Hollywood called “La Mesa” will host its inaugural “La Mesa Live Table Read” at the Latc Theater on Aug. 15.
The event will spotlight unproduced pilot scripts by three up-and-coming Latinx television writers who have been paired with seasoned Latinx television directors. Writers Linda Dillon Moya, Meredith Garcia-Painter and Spiro Skentzos have been workshopping their pilots with Linda Mendoza, Jon Huertas and Victor Gonzalez for the last few weeks, and the pairs will present the first 10 pages of their scripts at the event with casts of predominantly Latinx actors.
“La Mesa Table Read” is produced in partnership with Nosotros and the Latino Theater Co. The event and “La Mesa” itself work towards a goal of increasing visibility and opportunity for Latinx creatives in film and television. “La Mesa” was founded in early 2021 by “Mr. Iglesias” and “Wizards of Waverly Place” producer and writer Peter Murrieta,...
The event will spotlight unproduced pilot scripts by three up-and-coming Latinx television writers who have been paired with seasoned Latinx television directors. Writers Linda Dillon Moya, Meredith Garcia-Painter and Spiro Skentzos have been workshopping their pilots with Linda Mendoza, Jon Huertas and Victor Gonzalez for the last few weeks, and the pairs will present the first 10 pages of their scripts at the event with casts of predominantly Latinx actors.
“La Mesa Table Read” is produced in partnership with Nosotros and the Latino Theater Co. The event and “La Mesa” itself work towards a goal of increasing visibility and opportunity for Latinx creatives in film and television. “La Mesa” was founded in early 2021 by “Mr. Iglesias” and “Wizards of Waverly Place” producer and writer Peter Murrieta,...
- 7/29/2021
- by Selome Hailu
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Actress, activist, Voto Latino co-founder and queen Rosario Dawson is set to host the inaugural Confab W from content producer Ingeñuity and AARP. The free two-day virtual event will celebrate Latinas during Women’s History Month and will livestream on March 30 and 31 at 8pm Est.
The first annual Confab W is designed as a series of shows and vignettes featuring dynamic conversation, music, spoken word, and comedy — all revealing inspiring secrets of life success, recognizing extraordinary Latina stories of achievement, and celebrating “herstory” milestones and significant moments in time.
The event will include appearances from pop culture queen Charo, American musical icon Vikki Carr, Latin Grammy Winner Gaby Moreno, among others.
“Women play very important roles in the Hispanic community. From taking care of their families in multigenerational homes to serving our country, their contributions are invaluable, said Yvette Peña, VP of Hispanic/Latino Audience Strategy, Office of Diversity,...
The first annual Confab W is designed as a series of shows and vignettes featuring dynamic conversation, music, spoken word, and comedy — all revealing inspiring secrets of life success, recognizing extraordinary Latina stories of achievement, and celebrating “herstory” milestones and significant moments in time.
The event will include appearances from pop culture queen Charo, American musical icon Vikki Carr, Latin Grammy Winner Gaby Moreno, among others.
“Women play very important roles in the Hispanic community. From taking care of their families in multigenerational homes to serving our country, their contributions are invaluable, said Yvette Peña, VP of Hispanic/Latino Audience Strategy, Office of Diversity,...
- 3/24/2021
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Rapper Snoop Dogg is to voice and exec produce an animated comedy for Amazon with Vince Vaughn also exec producing.
The streamer is developing Oaklandia, which is written by Daniel Dominguez (right), head writer and exec producer for season two of HBO Max’s Michael B. Jordan animated series Gen:Lock, and Chris “Comedian Cp” Powell (left), who starred in Comedy Central’s Detroiters and created Adult Swim special Ole Bud’s Anu Football Weekly.
The animated series is set in Oakland, California. Produced by Amazon Studios, Snoop Dogg and his manager and business partner Ted Chung exec produce alongside Vaughn, Victoria Vaughn and Peter Billingsley for Wild West Picture Show Productions and Dominguez and Powell.
It is the streamer’s latest move into adult animation. Earlier this year, it ordered Fairfax, a series based on the strange phenomenon of Los Angeles hypebeast culture, from Matt Hausfater, Aaron Buchsbaum, and...
The streamer is developing Oaklandia, which is written by Daniel Dominguez (right), head writer and exec producer for season two of HBO Max’s Michael B. Jordan animated series Gen:Lock, and Chris “Comedian Cp” Powell (left), who starred in Comedy Central’s Detroiters and created Adult Swim special Ole Bud’s Anu Football Weekly.
The animated series is set in Oakland, California. Produced by Amazon Studios, Snoop Dogg and his manager and business partner Ted Chung exec produce alongside Vaughn, Victoria Vaughn and Peter Billingsley for Wild West Picture Show Productions and Dominguez and Powell.
It is the streamer’s latest move into adult animation. Earlier this year, it ordered Fairfax, a series based on the strange phenomenon of Los Angeles hypebeast culture, from Matt Hausfater, Aaron Buchsbaum, and...
- 11/19/2020
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Amazon has put in development Ricky & Cricket, an animated comedy from Mr. Iglesias writer-producers Peter Murrieta and Isaac Gonzalez and Erik Rivera (Super White).
Written by Murrieta, Gonzalez and Rivera, Ricky & Cricket revolves around nice guy Ricky, a down on his luck Mexican-American actor, who starts taking control of his life with the help of Cricket — a brash, foul-mouthed guardian angel from the east side of heaven.
Murrieta, Gonzalez and Rivera executive produce, along with David Miner of 3 Arts.
Murrieta is co-executive producer on Netflix comedy series Mr. Iglesias, which will premiere its second season this year. The 2018 recipient of the Norman Lear Writer’s Award at the Imagen Awards, Murrieta shared in two Emmy awards as showrunner of Wizards of Waverly Place, and has served as a Co-ep on multiple series, including One Day At A Time for Netflix and Superior Donuts for CBS. Murrieta created the autobiographical...
Written by Murrieta, Gonzalez and Rivera, Ricky & Cricket revolves around nice guy Ricky, a down on his luck Mexican-American actor, who starts taking control of his life with the help of Cricket — a brash, foul-mouthed guardian angel from the east side of heaven.
Murrieta, Gonzalez and Rivera executive produce, along with David Miner of 3 Arts.
Murrieta is co-executive producer on Netflix comedy series Mr. Iglesias, which will premiere its second season this year. The 2018 recipient of the Norman Lear Writer’s Award at the Imagen Awards, Murrieta shared in two Emmy awards as showrunner of Wizards of Waverly Place, and has served as a Co-ep on multiple series, including One Day At A Time for Netflix and Superior Donuts for CBS. Murrieta created the autobiographical...
- 5/8/2020
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Hispanic comedian Erik Rivera has a brand new HBO standup special called Super White that pokes fun at his “whiteness” and discusses his family’s humorous culture clashes. The comedian and writer — who is best known for his roles on the televise series Off Script and Superior Donuts — spoke to uInterview exclusively about his new comedy special and what it was like […]
The post Video Exclusive: Comedian Erik Rivera Explains How He Made Culture Clashes Funny In HBO Standup Special ‘Super White’ appeared first on uInterview.
The post Video Exclusive: Comedian Erik Rivera Explains How He Made Culture Clashes Funny In HBO Standup Special ‘Super White’ appeared first on uInterview.
- 11/8/2019
- by Pablo Mena
- Uinterview
CBS’s “Superior Donuts” is tackling immigration issues in what may be the series’ most relevant episode ever. Monday night’s episode, “The ICEmen Cometh,” was inspired by star Diane Guerrero’s own experience with her family and deportation.
“We learned about Diane’s story when we first talked to her about joining the show, and we were struck by how brutal it was to see this hot-button political issue play out on a personal level, where a family gets torn apart and there’s nothing they can do about it,” said executive producer Bob Daily.
In the episode, Guerrero’s character, Sofia, enlists her pal Franco (Jermaine Fowler) to help hide her undocumented brother Rafael (Erik Rivera) when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement starts conducting raids in their uptown Chicago neighborhood. The Ice presence has everyone on edge, including donut shop owner Arthur (Judd Hirsch), whose store is where Franco secretly hides Rafael,...
“We learned about Diane’s story when we first talked to her about joining the show, and we were struck by how brutal it was to see this hot-button political issue play out on a personal level, where a family gets torn apart and there’s nothing they can do about it,” said executive producer Bob Daily.
In the episode, Guerrero’s character, Sofia, enlists her pal Franco (Jermaine Fowler) to help hide her undocumented brother Rafael (Erik Rivera) when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement starts conducting raids in their uptown Chicago neighborhood. The Ice presence has everyone on edge, including donut shop owner Arthur (Judd Hirsch), whose store is where Franco secretly hides Rafael,...
- 4/30/2018
- by Michael Schneider
- Indiewire
Erik Rivera jokes about contentious topics in TheWrap's exclusive preview from his upcoming NuvoTV comedy special, “Erik Rivera: I'm No Expert.” The special premieres Saturday at 10 p.m. Et. The comedian, who previously appeared as a contestant on Season 8 of NBC's “Last Comic Standing,” references Latino stereotypes in his routine and even touches upon the hot-button issue of domestic violence and how it affects his own relationship. See video: Comedienne Gina Brillon Sheds Light on the Differences Between Dog and Cat People “My wife doesn't speak Spanish. So, what I do now when I'm losing arguments — I yell at her.
- 11/6/2014
- by Travis Reilly
- The Wrap
Eva Longoria‘s UnbeliEVAble Entertainment has set up two more projects – a comedy at NBC and drama at Lifetime. The NBC project stars rising comedian Erik Rivera and is based on his life and standup. Comedy veteran Peter Murrieta will write the script and will executive produce with Scott Ellis, who is set to direct, and UnbeliEVAble’s Longoria and Ben Spector. The project stems from a deal UnbeliEVAble made with Rivera earlier this year to develop a vehicle based on his comedy. The setup is reminiscent of ABC’s The George Lopez Show, which also started with a well known actress, Sandra Bullock, championing a Latino comedian on the rise, Lopez, and partnering him with an established sitcom showrunner, Bruce Helford, for a comedy project starring Lopez and based on his standup. Rivera, repped by Ray Hughes Management and Loan Dang, is a familiar face to NBC brass — he...
- 11/8/2013
- by NELLIE ANDREEVA
- Deadline TV
Here is the full interview with Kristie Alley from Jay Leno's show on Friday. Alley is still in the running for the Disco Ball prize for "Dancing with the Stars" on ABC. Here is Part 1 (5/20/11) Part 1: Kirstie Alley talks about her weight loss and near death experience. Kristie Alley, Part 2 (5/20/11) Part 2: Kirstie Alley talks about being in the DWTS finals and what bugs her about Maks. Kristie Alley, Part 3 (5/20/11) Part 3: Kirstie Alley calls her Dancing With The Stars competition liars. Comic Erik Rivera (5/20/11) Comedian Erik Rivera makes his late night debut on The Tonight Show. Katie Couric (5/20/11)...
- 5/23/2011
- by April MacIntyre
- Monsters and Critics
Gary Green has been promoted to director of alternative content at the Carmike Cinemas theater chain. Green, who joined Carmike in 1986, has most recently been its Southern Division manager.
"We are delighted to appoint Gary as the company's new director of alternate content. He brings a wealth of technological expertise to this position and possesses a superior knowledge of the exhibition industry and the growing field of alternate content," said Carmike COO Fred Van Noy.
Carmike recently played two live 3-D sporting events -- the Fedex Bcs National Championship college football game and the NBA All-Star Saturday Night, which were both shown in more than 30 locations.
Upcoming special events are in the pipeline include a live, digital broadcast of "Handel's Messiah" from The Chapel of King's College Cambridge, England on April 5 and seven episodes of 'Stand Up 360,' hosted by comedian/actress Caroline Rhea and Erik Rivera in May and June.
"We are delighted to appoint Gary as the company's new director of alternate content. He brings a wealth of technological expertise to this position and possesses a superior knowledge of the exhibition industry and the growing field of alternate content," said Carmike COO Fred Van Noy.
Carmike recently played two live 3-D sporting events -- the Fedex Bcs National Championship college football game and the NBA All-Star Saturday Night, which were both shown in more than 30 locations.
Upcoming special events are in the pipeline include a live, digital broadcast of "Handel's Messiah" from The Chapel of King's College Cambridge, England on April 5 and seven episodes of 'Stand Up 360,' hosted by comedian/actress Caroline Rhea and Erik Rivera in May and June.
- 3/25/2009
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.