Selena Quintanilla fans, get excited! After almost two years since announcing that a scripted series would be heading to the small screen, Netflix has officially unveiled the release date and teaser trailer for the highly anticipated Selena: The Series.
Nearly 25 years after her tragic death, the singer’s legacy will continue to live on in a brand new adaptation of her life and career. Known as the Queen of Tejano music, Selena is considered one of the most celebrated and influential Mexican-American artists, thanks to hits like “Amor Prohibido,” “Dreaming of You” and “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom”. She became the first Tejano artist to win a Grammy in 1994 for her album “Selena Live” and her posthumous crossover album “Dreaming of You” debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 charts — a first for a Latinx artist. She is also an undeniable fashion and beauty icon.
As we all already know, this is far from the first time that Quintanilla’s story has been brought to life. In 1997, Jennifer Lopez starred as the late musician in the biographical drama, Selena, her breakout role. This time around actress Christian Serratos will be stepping into the role of the leading lady.
Here, we share everything we know about the show — including the trailer.
Selena: The Series is set to be released in December 2020.
Our holidays just got that much sweeter as Netflix has announced on Tuesday, October 6th that the series will be premiering on Friday, December 4th. The first installment, containing six hour-long episodes, will be dropping at that time. Currently, there’s no word on how long the second installment will be and at what time those episodes will be released.
The first teaser trailer is already here.
While a full-length trailer hasn’t been released just yet, Netflix did drop a minute-long teaser to hold fans over in the meantime. The black-and-white trailer shows Christian Serratos on stage as Selena, singing “Como La Flor” as narration from her father Abraham Quintanilla (played by Ricardo Chavira) echoes in the background.
“Do you trust your father? If you keep practicing, it’s all gonna pay off. Just watch,” he can be heard saying in the clip. “And when I see you on that stage, I still see the six-year-old girl singing in our backyard.”
Netflix released the video, alongside the caption: “Every legend begins with a dream.”
The series will follow Selena’s rise to stardom.
Described as a coming-of-age story, Netflix’s Selena: The Series will chart the singer’s rise to fame and “all the heart-wrenching and life-changing choices she and her family have to make as they navigate success, family, and music,” according to Deadline.
The official synopsis reads:
“Before she became the Queen of Tejano music, Selena Quintanilla was a young girl from Texas with big dreams and an even bigger voice. The two-part coming-of-age drama Selena: The Series explores the once-in-a-generation performer’s journey as a young artist, from singing small gigs in Corpus Christi with her family to becoming one of the most successful Latin artist of all time — and the years of grit and sacrifice the Quintanilla family navigated together before Selena’s meteoric rise to fame.”
The full cast has been assembled.
Back in November, Netflix announced with a first-look video that Christian Serratos will be playing Selena in the series. The video depicts Serratos wearing the singer’s trademark red lipstick and iconic purple jumpsuit — and we must admit that her resemblance to the star is rather uncanny.
The actress is of Mexican and Italian descent and previously starred in The Walking Dead and the Twilight movie franchise. Back in 2015, Serratos seemingly foreshadowed her portrayal of the beloved singer, telling MTV that she would one day love to play “someone who is very famously Latina.”
The remaining cast members include: Gabriel Chavarria as A.B. Quintanilla, Selena’s eldest brother; Ricardo Chavira as Abraham Quintanilla, Selena’s father; Noemi Gonzalez as Suzette Quintanilla, Selena’s sister; Seidy Lopez as Marcella Quintanilla, Selena’s mom; Madison Taylor Baez as a young Selena; and Jesse Posey will play Chris Perez, Selena’s husband.
Jaima Davilla, who will be executively producing the series, spoke up about the stellar casting in a statement with Deadline.
“Selena is an inspirational figure who’s transcended generations. At Campanario, we’ve always known it was crucial for this series to find actors with the right mix of talent, charisma, and passion to honor Selena’s legacy and the story of her family,” said Davila, who also serves as the president of the show’s production company, Campanario Entertainment. “Our casting director Carla Hool and her team have found an amazing cast to depict the Quintanilla family, and we’re sure fans everywhere will be captivated yet again by Selena’s incredible life.”
Selena’s family will be collaborating with Netflix on the series.
According to a Netflix press release ,the Quintanilla family is “fully involved” in the project and will produce the series alongside Moises Zamora who is writing the script. In fact, Selena’s father, her sister Suzette Quintanilla, and family attorney Simran A. Singh are all listed as executive producers for the show.
“Selena will always have a lasting place in music history and we feel great responsibility to do justice to her memory. With this series, viewers will finally get the full history of Selena, our family, and the impact she has had on all of our lives,” Suzette Quintanilla said in a statement. “We are excited to partner with Campanario and Netflix to give fans a never-before-seen glimpse at our story and highlight why Selena will remain a legend for generations to come.”
Apparently, her widower, Chris Perez is not involved in the series.
While Selena’s family is fully behind the forthcoming show, unfortunately, Quintanilla’s widower, Chris Perez hasn’t been as supportive. In fact, back in April, he alleged in an Instagram post that he has not been clued into the show at all.
Perez shared an image of the actor portraying him in the Netflix series, Jesse Posey, alongside this caption: “Here is a pic I just saw of the actor playing me in the Netflix series. For the record, never met him, haven’t seen the script, and I have NO idea what is going on … but, I’d love to find out.”
Fans will remember Perez as the former lead guitarist of the music legend’s family band, Selena y Los Dinos. He married Selena in 1992 and the pair were married for three years before she died in 1995, just days before their third wedding anniversary.
Back in 2012, he penned a memoir about their relationship titled To Selena, With Love. The book was set to be adapted into a television show but in 2016, Selena’s father filed a lawsuit block production which halted any plans for a TV show based on the book. The case was later dismissed in 2019.
Will you be tuning in to watch Selena’s new Netflix series? Let us know in the comments.
