Actress Christian Serratos will portray the late Mexican-American entertainer Selena in a new Netflix bioseries. Last December, the streaming service first ordered Selena: The Series, which will explore the Queen of Tejano Music’s rise to fame. Serratos is best known for portraying Rosita Espinosa in AMC’s The Walking Dead.
Born and raised in Texas, Selena Quintanilla-Pérez began her musical career as a member of Selena y Los Dinos. From 1984 to 1988, the Tejano band released six studio albums. By 1989, Selena released her self-titled solo debut, and became known for her exuberant stage performances and distinct style. In 1994, after releasing her third studio album, Selena won her first Grammy Award for Best Mexican/American Album. Selena’s fame steadily increased throughout the same year due to her fourth studio release, Amor Prohibido. In March 1995, at 24 years of age, Selena was murdered by Yolanda Saldívar, the president of the musician’s fan club and the former manager of Selena Etc. boutiques. Selena’s fifth and final album, Dreaming of You, was released in July 1995, and won Album of the Year at the 1996 Tejano Music Awards.
Per TV Line, Netflix has cast Serratos as the lead for Selena: The Series. At 28-years-old, the American actress already has a loyal fan base thanks to The Walking Dead, in which she’s had a main role since 2014. Serratos began her acting career on Nickelodeon’s Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, and later had a prominent role in the ABC Family series The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Prior to The Walking Dead, Serratos starred in the Twilight movie franchise as Angela Weber, and also portrayed a singer in the 2013 feature film Pop Star. For Selena: The Series, Netflix enlisted Moisés Zamora as the screenwriter and co-executive producer in collaboration with Campanario Entertainment. Netflix’s official logline reads, “As Mexican-American Tejano singer Selena comes of age and realizes her dreams, she and her family make tough choices to hold on to love and music.” Jennifer Lopez previously starred as the Tejano star in the 1997 film Selena.
After the box office success of Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman, music biopics are more popular than ever. A Judy Garland biopic starring Renée Zellweger will premiere in September, and actor Austin Butler (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) was recently cast to portray Elvis Presley in a future biopic. In addition, Jennifer Hudson will star as soul singer Aretha Franklin in the 2020 feature Respect. As for Netflix, the two-part format will be slightly different for Selena: The Series, but the running time will undoubtedly be longer than the average feature.
Serratos feels like a good fit for Selena: The Series, as she’s a well-known TV performer and franchise movie actress but not necessarily a household name. Incidentally, Netflix subscribers can experience her as Selena without having a strong cerebral connection to a major lead performance from past years. Given the subject's legacy not only in pop culture but within the world of Tejano music, Serratos will undoubtedly be under major pressure to pull off an effective and authentic portrayal of the beloved Mexican-American icon Selena.
Source: TV Line