Singer Bad Bunny Cast in ‘Narcos: Mexico’ Season 3 (TV News Roundup)

Eli Countryman
·9 min read

In today’s TV news roundup, Bad Bunny is joining Season 3 of Netflix’s “Narcos: Mexico,” and Disney Plus exclusively shared a trailer for “The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse” with Variety.

CASTING

Netflix announced that Luis Gerardo Méndez, Alberto Guerra, Luisa Rubino and Bad Bunny (née Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio) have been cast in Season 3 of “Narcos: Mexico.” The crime drama series shares the story of the war on drugs through Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo (Diego Luna), who led the Guadalajara Cartel. Méndez joins the series as a cop names Victor Tapia, while Guerra takes on the role of a drug trafficker and Rubino plays a journalist hoping to expose corruption. Bad Bunny will guest star as Arturo “Kitty” Paez, a young upper-class man who joined the “Narco Juniors.”

RENEWALS

IMDb TV and Amazon Prime Video have picked up a second season of “Alex Rider” ahead of the first season’s U.S. premiere on Nov. 13. The series premiered on Amazon throughout the U.K., Australia and Germany this summer. “Alex Rider” is based on the book series of the same name by Anthony Horowitz, who also executive produces the series. It follows a teenager who becomes a spy when recruited by MI6. The second season will be based on “Eagle Strike,” the fourth book in the franchise. Other executive producers are Jill Green, Eve Gutierrez and Guy Burt, who also writes the series.

DATES

AMC Networks’ Shudder streaming service will premiere “A Creepshow Holiday Special” on Dec. 18, which will also be available on the AMC Plus bundle. Starring Anna Camp and Adam Pally, the special will follow a man who seeks help from a support group after a growing feeling of anxiety that he might just be a murderer. “Creepshow” is a horror anthology series based on George A. Romero‘s 1982 film. It will make its Season 2 return in 2021. Showrunner Greg Nicotero also serves as the writer and director for the holiday special, with the plot based on J.A. Konrath‘s “Last Call” short story.

Netflix announced a Dec. 8 premiere date for the return of “Mr. Iglesias,” a comedy show starring Gabriel Iglesias as a history teacher at the high school from which he graduated. The show follows his attempts to inspire and motivate the kids in his class to achieve their dreams, but soon roles will be reversed as they push him to take his own advice and do the same. The kids soon begin to plan for their futures and Mr. Iglesias plans to pursue a love interest. The series also stars Sherri Shepherd, Cree Cicchino and Fabrizio Guido. Watch a trailer below.

FIRST LOOKS

Disney Plus shared an exclusive trailer for “The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse” with Variety ahead of the series’ Nov. 18 premiere. The collection will include 10 new animated shorts released throughout the rest of this year and 10 set for the summer of 2021. Each short will feature Mickey Mouse and members from his group of friends as they navigate their magical world in about seven minutes. The series is produced by Disney Television Animation. Paul Rudish serves as executive producer and supervising director. Music for “The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse” is provided by Christopher Willis. Watch the trailer below.

Netflix released a trailer for “Holiday Home Makeover with Mr. Christmas,” which premieres on Nov. 18. Benjamin Bradley — adopting the persona of Mr. Christmas for the holiday season — helps deck the halls of various homes and firehouses alike with lights and decorations. He and his team help spread Christmas cheer throughout communities and families with home makeovers in the season’s four episodes. The series is executive produced by Stephen David, Tim W. Kelly, Bianca Barnes-Williams, Benjamin Bradley, Jonathan Soule and Chaz Morgan. Watch the trailer below.

Epix released a trailer for the second season of “Pennyworth,” about the life of butler Alfred Pennyworth (Jack Bannon) long before he serves Bruce Wayne on his Batman journey. Season 2 finds the characters caught up in a civil war in England. Alfred, a former British SAS soldier now running a black-market club in Soho, knows he must find a way to escape the country before it collapses in on itself. The DC series will have its season premiere on Dec. 13, with the season expected to wrap up in 2021. Also starring in “Pennyworth” are Jason Flemyng, Hainsley Lloyd Bennett and Ryan Fletcher. Watch the trailer below.

PROGRAMMING

ABC announced the premiere dates for new seasons of “The Bachelor,” “To Tell the Truth” and “American Idol,” as well as the series premiere dates for “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune,” “The Chase” and “The Hustler.” “The Bachelor” returns Jan. 4 at 8 p.m. with leading man Matt James heading the 25th season, while Season 6 of “To Tell the Truth” will launch on Jan. 26 at 8 p.m. ABC’s fourth season of the long-running singing competition “American Idol” will see Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Ryan Seacrest reunite during the Feb. 14 premiere at 8 p.m. All three new series will premiere on Jan. 7. “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune,” hosted by Pat Sajak and Vanna White, will feature celebrities competing for cash prized that will go to charity at 8 p.m. “The Chase” pits contestants against the Chaser, a man bent on outwitting them in a quiz competition, at 9 p.m. And at 10 p.m., competition show “The Hustler, in which one of five contestants is secretly provided with the answers, will premiere. In the show, teams work to win a cash prize and figure out who the secret hustler is.

OWN president Tina Perry announced a lineup of three new holiday films being released this year: “A Christmas For Mary,” “Cooking Up Christmas” and “First Christmas.” “A Christmas For Mary,” which premieres Dec. 8 at 9 p.m. stars Vivica A. Fox, Jackée Harry and Morgan Dixon in a story about a journalist who finds more than just the perfect Christmas story to submit to her editor when she visits the small town of Pineville. Airing Dec. 15 at 9 p.m., “Cooking Up Christmas” features Meagan Holder, who plays a chef fired just weeks before Christmas. She takes on the job of a live-in-chef for a pro baseball player (Lamman Rucker) and his family. In “First Christmas,” which airs Dec. 22 at 9 p.m., a writer portrayed by Idara Victor is invited to spend the holidays with the biological family she has never met, learning to embrace her family.

Fox announced premiere dates for new series including “The Masked Dancer” and “Call Me Kat,” as well as the season premieres of “Last Man Standing,” “Hell’s Kitchen,” “The Resident,” “Prodigal Son,” “9-1-1” and “9-1-1: Lone Star.” Based on “The Masked Singer,” upcoming show “The Masked Dancer” will premiere Dec. 27 live to all time zones at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT and feature a host of celebrity contestants who dance to compete for judges Ken Jeong, Paula Abdul, Brian Austin Green and Ashley Tisdale. A new comedy show starring Mayim Bialik, “Call Me Kat” premieres Jan. 3 at 8 p.m. and centers on a single 39-year-old woman who owns a cat café. “Last Man Standing” will enter its final season on Jan. 3 at 8:30 p.m.; “Hell’s Kitchen” Season 19 will begin airing on Jan. 7 at 8 p.m.; “The Resident” and “Prodigal Son” will return on Jan. 12 at 8 and 9 p.m., respectively, and “9-1-1” and “9-1-1: Lone Star,” two drama series about first responders, will have back-to-back season premieres on Jan. 18 starting at 8 and 9 p.m., respectively.

PRODUCTION

The production of Disney Channel‘s “Christmas Again” original movie has begun filming in Chicago. The film follows 11-year-old Rowena “Ro” (Scarlett Estevez), a girl who gets stuck repeating Christmas over and over after wishing for a do-over from her local mall’s Santa Claus. In the comedy, she learns the meaning of Christmas while navigating the realities of her parents’ divorce and accepting the change in traditions that comes with her changing family dynamic. The movie also stars Daniel Sunjata, Alexis Carra, Ashlyn Jade Lopez, Priscilla Lopez, Tony Amendola, Beth Lacke and Gary Anthony Williams.

Comic book publisher Webtoon announced the launch of Webtoon Studios, a production studio to branch the company’s library of content into film, television, interactive entertainment and other platforms. The publisher also revealed new partnerships with Vertigo Entertainment, Bound Entertainment and Rooster Teeth Studios. Through its access to a wide array of content, Webtoon Studios will utilize partnerships with artists and writers as it creates and expands upon the publisher’s franchises.

SPECIALS

NBC will air a production of “Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch Musical!” on Dec. 9 at 8 p.m., with the performance taking place at London’s Troubadour Theatre. “Glee” star Matthew Morrison will take on the lead role of the Grinch, a character who lives high above the cheery Who-ville and decides to plot ways to end the town’s joyous Christmas festivities once and for all. Set to join Morrison are Denis O’Hare, Booboo Stewart and Amelia Minto, as well as a slew of musical theater actors from London. It is directed for stage by Max Webster and directed for television by Julia Knowles.

Showtime announced a “Desus & Mero” special set to air Nov. 15 at 10 p.m. In the special titled “DMFM: The Home of Boom Bap,” hosts Desus Nice and The Kid Mero will take viewers through the history of hip hop through detailed conversations with various celebrity guests like Busta Rhymes, Sheila E, City Girls, Juicy J and Cam’ron. The show, which is an hour in length, will also take calls from listeners in a studio set up to resemble classic old-school radio stations. Season 3 of “Desus & Mero” will return in 2021.

PODCASTS

Audible Inc. has announced a first look deal with Unanimous Media, NBA star Stephen Curry‘s production company. The first two projects to be created under the deal include “The Greatest Sports Story Never Told” and “Fifteen Minutes from Home.” The first of the two projects will be made up of 10 episodes, each of which will run for 30 minutes. “Fifteen Minutes From Home” is based on the “5 Minutes from Home” YouTube series and will feature conversations had by Steph Curry and a special guest on his way home from games. The premiere dates for both series will be announced at a later time.

LATE NIGHT

“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” will feature Gillian Anderson, Emmanuel Acho and Ty Dolla $ign tonight, while Vince Vaughn, Lorraine Bracco and Gus Dapperton will appear on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.” Hugh Grant and Sturgill Simpson will be on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” while Demi Lovato, Edgar Ramirez, Ta-Nehisi Coates and Carter McLean will be guests on “Late Night With Seth Meyers.” Also, Lenny Kravitz will be on “The Daily Show With Trevor Noah.”

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