Small Screen: Mark Consuelos Leaves ‘Rviderdale;’ FX Picks ‘Up The Bear;’ Netflix's’ Gentefied’ Returns With Season 2 Trailer

Mark Consuelos - Toni Anne Barson

Broadcast: Mark Consuelos known for his role as Mateo Santos on All My Children and more recently as Veronica Lodge’s father on the CW series Riverdale just wrapped his last episode. He said this in a statement about the news: "First and foremost, I would like to thank Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa for this incredible opportunity. Never before has playing a character that was so bad, felt so good. Huge thanks to the Riverdale fandom, to the brilliant crew and amazing cast, whom I consider dear friends and family."

Ayo Edebiri - Jeff Kravitz

Cable: Ayo Edebiri stars in The Bear, a half-hour comedy special that was just picked up by FX. Other stars include: Jeremy Allen White (Shameless), Ebon Moss-Bachrach (NOS4A2, Girls), Ayo Edebiri (Big Mouth), Lionel Boyce (Hap and Leonard), Abby Elliott (Indebted, SNL) and Liza Colón-Zayas (In Treatment). Edwin Gibson and Matty Matheson will recur. FX’s president original programming, Nick Grad saif this “The Bear delivers thanks to the ferocious performances of Jeremy Allen White and fellow cast members Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, Lionel Boyce, Abby Elliott, Liza Colón-Zayas, Edwin Gibson and Matty Matheson. The series gets off to a fantastic start in the pilot and we know this creative team including Hiro, Nate and Joanna has the comedy chops and producing experience to deliver the latest in a storied line of FX comedies.” The Bear, will premiere on FX in 2022.

Streaming: Netflix’s Gentefied has returned with its season 2 trailer. It follows cousins J.J. Soria, Karrie Martin Lachney, and Carlos Santos as they struggle to save their grandfather from being deported back to Mexico. ‘The series, from creators Marvin Lemus and Linda Yvette Chávez, follows East Los Angeles Latinos on their respective and collective search for the American Dream. Season 2 picks up after the emotional debut season’s finale that saw Erik Morales (Soria) and his girlfriend Lidia (Annie Gonzalez) welcome their daughter, Delfina. Amid all the happiness, Erik realizes his grandfather Pops (Joaquín Cosio) is missing from the hospital celebration because he’s been arrested on an outstanding warrant and his beloved pick-up truck is being impounded.’ The sophomore season premieres November 10th.

Serge Ibaka - Axelle/Bauer-Griffin

Industry: Studio71 is teaming up with Serge Ibaka, the first player from the Republic of Congo to enter the NBA draft, for an animated children’s series recounting the story of his life. Ibaka’s production company Ouenzé Entertainment has signed a deal with Red Arrow Studios to create Overcoming. The series aim is to center on some of the greatest athletes in the world and their biggest challenges outside of sports, whether that be prejudice, poverty, disability or health issues. Ibaka said this about the project: “I always thought my story could be an inspiration for the younger generations, and I think sharing other athletes’ stories of overcoming this series will have a big impact. There is never a straight line to success and many of us have gone through different obstacles that required us to stay motivated and believe in ourselves. If we can inspire just one kid to not give up on their dreams, I’d consider this series a success.” Ed Ricourt is penning the script. 

Aristotle Athari has signed with Hyperion. Athari was the first male Persian cast member of Saturday Night Live being bumped up to featured regular with this recent season. ‘He is best known for his work acting in, writing, and directing Comedy Central’s, Goatface opposite collaborators Hasan Minaj, Fahim Anwar, and Asif Ali. He is also known for playing Gabe the programmer in the final season of HBO’s Silicon Valley. Athari was also most recently named to Just For Laugh’s New Faces this year. He joins as a SNL featured player this year with Sarah Sherman and James Austin Johnson. He directed Will Smith’s snapchat series, Will From Home, along with stand-up comedy specials for Rosebud Baker, Ian Edwards, Fahim Anwar, Erik Griffin, and Tom Arnold that have aired on Comedy Central, Showtime, and NBC.’

NBCUniversal snags Kenny Smith from the hands of Disney. Known for his co-showrunning role on the hit series Black-ish, Smith has signed a deal with Universal Television after a three year contract at ABC Studios. In this new role Smith will be working on developing/producing projects over several different platforms. He also has joined David Caspe as the new co-showrunner of Kenan. Jim Donnelly, EVP, Comedy Development, UTV said this about the deal: “Kenny is one of the most hilarious, collaborative and talented storytellers we know, and we’re thrilled to officially welcome him back to the UTV family. He elevates every project that he is a part of, and we feel lucky to be teaming up with him during such an exciting time in our business. We fully intend to utilize each of his many talents as we venture into the future.”