Maria Elena Fernandez
Vulture
California, United States
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Past articles by Maria Elena:
How Pose’s Mj Rodriguez Pulled Off an Incredible Whitney Houston Lip Sync
Mj Rodriguez breaks down her two most challenging scenes from Pose’s season two finale: The emotional exchange when Blanca gives her will to Pray Tell (Billy Porter), and her triumphant Whitney Houston lip sync when she returns to the ballroom. → Read More
How Lenox Hill Filmed a Special Coronavirus Episode Inside an NYC Hospital
For 33 days over two months, the Netflix docuseries Lenox Hill witnessed the coronavirus pandemic erupt inside a Manhattan hospital. Here’s how filmmaker Adi Barash made this special episode, documenting the devastating outbreak as it happened. → Read More
How The Bold Type Season Premiere Tackled Jane’s Double Mastectomy
Just a few minutes into The Bold Type’s season four premiere, Jane, Sutton, and Kat stand in a circle holding each other’s breasts. After nursing Jane back to health from a double mastectomy, these young women share a sweet, loving moment of levity. → Read More
How Dirty John’s Young Dan and Betty Channeled the Brodericks’ ‘Perfect, Happy’ Past
Tiera Skovbye and Chris Mason, who play young Dan and Betty Broderick in episode 2 of Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story, talk sharing performances with Amanda Peet and Christian Slater, the couple’s ‘perfect’ past, and that whole alligator thing. → Read More
There Is No Villain in Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story
Unlike most true crime shows, Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story features no clear-cut villains. Led by Amanda Peet’s spectacular performance, the show reexamines Betty’s infamous 1989 murder of her ex-husband Dan and his second wife Linda. → Read More
Insecure’s Yvonne Orji Isn’t Sure Who to Blame For Molly and Issa’s Big Fight
“It’s never easy to fight with Issa,” Insecure star Yvonne Orji says about Molly’s huge argument with Issa in season four. But this time, the fight between the Inglewood besties does feel different. Can Molly and Issa ever bounce back? → Read More
Better Call Saul’s Showrunner Teases ‘Big Trouble Ahead’ For Kim and Jimmy
After the end of Better Call Saul season five, what’s next for Jimmy and Kim? “I can safely say that there’s big trouble ahead for Jimmy McGill and Kim Wexler,” says showrunner Peter Gould. → Read More
‘He Was the Music’
Adam Schlesinger, who co-wrote over 150 songs for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, among many other film and TV songwriting credits, died this week of coronavirus complications. Rachel Bloom, Aline Brosh McKenna, and more remember the man behind the music. → Read More
If I Wrote a Coronavirus Episode
Tina Fey, Mike Schur, Damon Lindelof, and the TV writers behind Frasier, Lost, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Friday Night Lights, and dozens of other hit shows on what their characters would do during the coronavirus pandemic. → Read More
Station 19, The Resident, and Other Medical Dramas Are Donating Coronavirus Supplies
As the coronavirus spreads, primetime TV’s fake doctors and nurses are coming to the rescue with real medical supplies. ABC’s Station 19 and Fox’s The Resident are among the medical dramas donating masks and gloves to aid actual healthcare workers. → Read More
How Little Fires Everywhere Expanded the Novel’s Meditations on Motherhood
Showrunner Liz Tigelaar and novelist Celeste Ng break down how the Hulu series, starring Kerry Washington as Mia Warren and Reese Witherspoon as Elena Richardson, explores race and class through the lens of motherhood beyond what the novel allowed. → Read More
How On My Block Turned Jasmine From a Punch Line Into a Star
On My Block star Jessica Marie Garcia talks about the evolution of her character from punch line to fan favorite, the need for more Latinx representation in Hollywood, and whether that distressing finale time jump means the series could be over. → Read More
McMillions Found the Informant Who Took Down the McDonalds Monopoly Scam
The directors of the HBO true-crime series McMillions reveal how they solved a 20-year-old mystery: Who was the informant that tipped off the feds about the McDonalds Monopoly scam in the first place? → Read More
It Took Five Seasons, But Better Call Saul Finally Brought Back Hank and Gomie
Six years after Breaking Bad, Dean Norris and Steven Michael Quezada reunited on Better Call Saul to play Hank Schrader and Steven ‘Gomie’ Gomez. “It’s classic Hank yappin’ about ridiculous stuff. And poor Gomie has to put up with it,” Norris says. → Read More
Playing Gentefied’s Pop Let Joaquín Cosío Get in Touch With His Softer Side
Joaquín Cosío (“Narcos: Mexico,” “The Strain”) discusses playing Pop on the new Netflix series “Gentefied,” his first time playing a grandfather, and how he reacted to what happens to the Morales family patriarch in the season finale. → Read More
Gentefied Is So Much More Than a Gentrification Story
Gentefied co-creators Marvin Lemus and Linda Yvette Chávez had never sold a TV script or even set foot in a writers’ room. Then they convinced Netflix to let them make a bilingual love letter to their families, their culture, and Eastside L.A. → Read More
Dascha Polanco Is Hosting a Latinx Podcast for Netflix
Netflix’s upcoming streaming series Gentefied features a fictional podcast called Brown Love, which inspired a new real-life podcast of the same name, hosted by Orange Is The New Black’s Dascha Polanco, exploring Latinx experiences in the U.S. → Read More
The Morning Show’s Billy Crudup on the ‘Thrill and Terror’ of Playing Cory Ellison
The actor discusses his approach to playing the fast-talking executive on the Apple TV+ series, what he makes of the character’s motivations, and what it was like doing a Sondheim duet with Jennifer Aniston. → Read More
Why This Is Us Jumped So Far Into the Future to Meet Kate and Toby’s Son
This Is Us kicked off its fourth season with a giant leap into the far future, introducing us to Kate and Toby’s adult son Jack Damon, a blind musician with a honey voice and an adorable white Pomeranian named Sam. Here’s why they did it. → Read More
Dateline’s Keith Morrison Is Hosting a True-Crime Podcast
The Thing About Pam, a new podcast hosted by Dateline’s Keith Morrison, investigates the twists and turns behind a pair of brutal Missouri murders tied to a woman named Pam Hupp. → Read More