Anyone who was around in the '90s remembers hearing the terrible news that Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was shot by her fan club president, Yolanda Saldívar, on March 31, 1995. Even though she died at only 23 years old, Selena was already the Queen of Tejano music. To this day, the Mexican-American superstar is one of the most influential Latinx artists of all time. So, naturally, people were very excited when Netflix announced that they were creating a biographical series called Selena, consisting of six episodes and scheduled to be released sometime in 2020. As we wait with bated breath, here's what we know so far about Netflix's Selena series.
The series will cover Selena's entire life.
Of course, Jennifer Lopez famously played Selena in the beloved 1997 movie about the superstar, but Netflix's Selena series will go even deeper. According to the streaming service, Selena will be a "coming of age story following Selena as her dreams come true and all the heart-wrenching and life-changing choices she and her family have to make as they navigate success, family, and music."
Selena's family will be heavily involved in the Netflix series, as well; her sister, Suzette Quintanilla, is an executive producer. "Selena will always have a lasting place in music history and we feel great responsibility to do justice to her memory," she said in a statement. "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."
And the show will definitely go back to the beginning. Christian Serratos will play the titular legend and Madison Taylor Baez (both pictured below) will play young Selena.
Selena comes from a Mexican-American writer.
American Crime's Moisés Zamora is heading up the writers room and executive producing Netflix's Selena. And he's intent on focusing on her cultural identity. Selena was born and raised in Texas, but she rose to fame by singing in Spanish. Similarly, Zamora and his family moved from Mexico to California when he was 11, but he had his big professional break after writing a novel in Spanish at the age of 25.
"[Selena] was part of my existence as a Latino boy," Zamora told NBC News in Apr. 2019. "I associated her with my family and being Mexican in America. ... This feels like so many journeys I see around me through my family."
Selena's father handpicked Christian Serratos for the lead role.
Serratos is a 29-year-old actress of Mexican-Italian descent, best known for her role on The Walking Dead. And Selena's father, Abraham Quintanilla, gave her his seal of approval. Quintanilla told the Mexican newspaper Reforma that the series is "totally based on Selena and [his] family" and that, of all the actresses they saw, Serratos was "the best."
It's a role Serratos has been waiting years to take on. In 2015, she told MTV that she would love to someday play "somebody who is very famously Latina," and expressed interest in bringing more nuance and depth to Hollywood's depiction of the Latinx community.
Most of the Selena cast has been confirmed.
Ricardo Chavira, who you might know from Desperate Housewives, will play Abraham. Seidy López will play Marcella Samora Quintanilla, Selena's mother. Gabriel Chavarria is taking on the role of Selena's older brother and writing partner, A.B. Quintanilla; meanwhile Noemi Gonzalez will play Suzette, and Jesse Posey will play Chris Pérez, Selena's lead guitarist and eventual husband.
We've already gotten our first look��and listen—of Serratos as Selena.
While Netflix has yet to release a full trailer for the Selena series, they did drop a one-minute teaser in mid-Nov. 2019, which you can watch below. It shows Serratos reading the script, putting on Selena's signature red lipstick and purple bodysuit, and strutting to set to sing one of the icon's songs, "Como La Flor."
"All right, Christian, we're ready to shoot," a female voice off-stage says as Serratos flashes the camera a cheeky smile.
Filming on the Selena series is underway.
Based on Instagrams from the Selena cast, it's clear they've been hard at work on the Netflix series. Here's Chavarria on guitar and Gonzalez on drums.
Stay tuned for more updates on Selena, coming to Netflix in 2020.
