The original action drama series, Matador, which launched on El Rey Network in July, will not return for a second season. The show was created by Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman, and ended its 13 episode run in October. Despite initial high hopes for the drama – the pilot of which was directed by network founder Robert Rodriguez – low international sales apparently played a significant part in the network’s decision not to renew. In a statement regarding the cancellation, El Rey Network explained its choice.
“Ultimately, it was a business decision but to be clear, we were very proud of the series on every level – creatively it hit the mark and we are gratified that it celebrated diversity in front of the cameras and behind the scenes. We want to thank everyone involved, from the extraordinarily talented cast and crew to the amazing production team. We appreciate all that they have...
“Ultimately, it was a business decision but to be clear, we were very proud of the series on every level – creatively it hit the mark and we are gratified that it celebrated diversity in front of the cameras and behind the scenes. We want to thank everyone involved, from the extraordinarily talented cast and crew to the amazing production team. We appreciate all that they have...
- 11/30/2014
- by Sarah Myles
- We Got This Covered
The El Rey network has cancelled its action-drama series "Matador" after one season. Gabriel Luna starred in the show as Tony Bravo, a soccer player who uses his position of access to powerful people around the globe to pull off his other job - being an undercover agent for the CIA.
The news comes as a minor surprise as the show was already picked up for a second season before it premiered in July. However, and despite performing well in the U.S., the series was a dud internationally and so the network has opted to axe it.
In a statement, the network said: "Ultimately, it was a business decision, but to be clear, we were very proud of the series on every level. Creatively, it hit the mark, and we are gratified that it celebrated diversity in front of the cameras and behind the scenes. We want to thank everyone involved,...
The news comes as a minor surprise as the show was already picked up for a second season before it premiered in July. However, and despite performing well in the U.S., the series was a dud internationally and so the network has opted to axe it.
In a statement, the network said: "Ultimately, it was a business decision, but to be clear, we were very proud of the series on every level. Creatively, it hit the mark, and we are gratified that it celebrated diversity in front of the cameras and behind the scenes. We want to thank everyone involved,...
- 11/29/2014
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
It’s game over for El Rey Network’s Matador.
The action-drama series, which starred Gabriel Luna as Tony Bravo, a soccer player and CIA mole, has been cancelled after one season, our sister site Deadline is reporting.
Related Cable Renewal Scorecard: What’s Coming Back? What’s Cancelled? What’s on the Bubble?
This decision will likely come as a surprise to Matador fans, as the series was picked up for a second season before it premiered in July. According to Deadline, Matador performed well in the U.S., but the network had hoped for more international success.
“Ultimately,...
The action-drama series, which starred Gabriel Luna as Tony Bravo, a soccer player and CIA mole, has been cancelled after one season, our sister site Deadline is reporting.
Related Cable Renewal Scorecard: What’s Coming Back? What’s Cancelled? What’s on the Bubble?
This decision will likely come as a surprise to Matador fans, as the series was picked up for a second season before it premiered in July. According to Deadline, Matador performed well in the U.S., but the network had hoped for more international success.
“Ultimately,...
- 11/29/2014
- TVLine.com
There’s a beauty of convenience in modern cable TV. Sure, the average cable package contains roughly 659,000 channels, but that’s also more or less a guarantee that if you want to watch something, there’s a channel somewhere that carries it (and besides, you’ve got to pay for all 659,000 to get the one Orangutan Reality Network you’re actually interested in, so you might is well enjoy the excess). El Rey is one such niche network. Launched by Robert Rodriguez in December of last year, El Rey is basically a collection of shows and films given Rodriguez’ person “yes, this is cool” seal of approval. Or, at least it was last year. Now, a half a year or so into its youth, El Rey has begun the molting process, and is starting to look like a bona fide cable channel, picking up original series and adding new voices alongside Rodriguez to dole out the approvals...
- 8/20/2014
- by Adam Bellotto
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
The El Rey Network, Robert Rodriguez's brainchild, will be premiering its second original series tonight. The Latin-American network will now have, in addition to Rodriguez's series adaptation of From Dusk Till Dawn, Matador- a sleek spy-sports series. The show will follow special narcotics agent Tony Bravo, as he goes undercover as a soccer player in order to gain access to international crime rings.
"Tony 'Matador' Bravo (Gabriel Luna) is a professional soccer player for the La Riot who comes to be known as much for his antics off the field as his moves on it. But what his fans and family don't realize is that it's all a cover—in truth, he is a skilled covert operative executing missions for the CIA. Agent Bravo, nicknamed “Matador” after he takes out a top player known as 'The Bull' during tryouts for the team, finds himself suddenly thrust into a clandestine world.
"Tony 'Matador' Bravo (Gabriel Luna) is a professional soccer player for the La Riot who comes to be known as much for his antics off the field as his moves on it. But what his fans and family don't realize is that it's all a cover—in truth, he is a skilled covert operative executing missions for the CIA. Agent Bravo, nicknamed “Matador” after he takes out a top player known as 'The Bull' during tryouts for the team, finds himself suddenly thrust into a clandestine world.
- 7/15/2014
- by Mario-Francisco Robles
- LRMonline.com
It’s a spy drama set in the world of soccer. Or, er, football to the rest of the world. Gabriel Luna stars as a world-famous soccer player who is also secretly a CIA agent, cause when you think CIA, you think soccer. Then again, if you wanted to get as far away from the CIA as possible, maybe getting an agent to become a world-famous soccer player is the way to go. That seems to be the premise of “Matador,” which is set for Robert Rodriguez’s El Rey Network this summer. I still have absolutely no idea how to get the El Rey channel, or if I even can. Based on a true story, Matador stars Tony Bravo, a DEA agent from Boyle Heights who’s recruited for a top secret mission: investigate the La Riot, one of the greatest soccer teams in the world, by going undercover as one of their players.
- 5/21/2014
- by Nix
- Beyond Hollywood
Genre filmmaker Robert Rodriguez's El Rey Network announced today that Alfred Molina (The Da Vinci Code, Spider Man 2) has been cast as Andres Galan in the network's upcoming scripted original set to premiere July 2014. Previously announced cast members include Gabriel Luna, Nicky Whelan and Neil Hopkins.
Created by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, and produced in association with K/O Paper Products, the coveted writing/producing team behind Sleepy Hollow, Fringe , Star Trek and the Transformer franchise, Matador will feature Molina as Andrew Galan, a man who built his fortune in the telecom industry, but his true passion is soccer. As owner of the ascendant La Riot franchise, he is celebrated in both the sports and business worlds. But there is another world that he operates in -- as a member of an elite group of powerful global players, ruthless individuals who can effect world events on a scale that one would never imagine. What Galan doesn't know is that there is a mole in his midst. One of his new players, Tony Bravo, is actually an undercover operative, sent in to expose him and his cohorts. As Tony and Galan grow closer, the fate of their relationship may very well determine the fate of the world.
Irreverent and action-packed, Matador chronicles the unlikely rise of Antonio "Matador" Bravo, a popular soccer star, who comes to be known as much for his playboy antics off the field as his dynamic moves on it. But what his fans and family don't realize is that it's all a cover--in truth, he is a skilled covert operative executing missions for a little known branch of the CIA. “Matador” has the kind of fame and notoriety that affords him access to powerful circles of corruption and villainy. But, in balancing the dueling roles in which he's been cast, he will be forced to confront the question of his true identity...and it is this mission which will prove to be his most dangerous.
Robert Rodriguez, El Rey Network's chairman and founder, is set to direct the first episode which will be penned by showrunners, co-creators and executive producers Jay Beattie and Dan Dworkin
An accomplished London-born actor whose diverse and distinguished gallery of performances have led to a lengthy and triumphant career in film, television and the stage, Alfred Molina is best known for his roles in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 and Steven Soderberg’s Frida. Molina made his American film debut in Raiders of the Lost Ark and later appeared in Letter to Brezhnev, but his movie breakthrough came two years later when he portrayed Kenneth Halliwell, the tragic lover of playwright Joe Orton, in Stephen Frears' Prick Up Your Ears. His other feature film credits include The Da Vinci Code, Boogie Nights, Magnolia , Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time , The Pink Panther 2, Enchanted April, Not Without My Daughter , The Perez Family, Anna Karenina and Chocolat , among others. On television, he most recently starred on NBC’s Law & Order: Los Angeles and David E. Kelley’s TNT drama series Monday Mornings. Molina’s stage work includes two major Royal National Theatre productions, Tennessee Williams' The Night of the Iguana and David Mamet's Speed the Plow, as well as his Broadway debut in Yasmina Reza's Art, for which he received a Tony Award® nomination. Molina also performed in the highly celebrated UK-based Donmar Warehouse production of Red which opened on Broadway in April 2010 and for which Mr. Molina received rave reviews and a Tony Award® nomination. Most recently, Molina completed the feature film Love Is Strange opposite John Lithgow for director Ira Sachs. The film premiered at Sundance this year, and will be released later in the year by Sony Classics. He also shot the feature films, Swelter for director/writer Keith Parmer, We'll Never Have Paris for director/writer Simon Helberg with co-stars Zachary Quinto and Maggie Grace, Return to Zero with co-star Minnie Driver and The Normal Heart for HBO in which he co-stars opposite Mark Ruffalo and Julia Roberts.
Matador executive producers are Jay Beattie and Dan Dworkin, also showrunners, alongside executive producers Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Andrew Orci. Also joining as executive producers are Heather Kadin of K/O Paper Products; Robert Rodriguez and FactoryMade Ventures and El Rey Network co-founders John Fogelman and Cristina Patwa.
Entertainment One Television (eOne) exclusively represents worldwide distribution rights (with the exception of U.S. broadcast network rights) for El Rey Network's "Matador" and other original scripted series created for the U.S based cable network, to be announced.
About El Rey Network:
El Rey Network is a new 24-hour English-language network founded by maverick filmmaker Robert Rodriguez. Curated by Rodriguez and his artistic collective, the network will unite the most culturally diverse generation in history through fearless, badass and original content that awakens the renegade in everyone. The network's action-packed content is anchored by original signature dramas, feature films, grindhouse genre, cult classic action and horror/sci-fi. El Rey Network LLC (www.elreynetwork.com) is jointly owned by Robert Rodriguez and FactoryMade Ventures with a minority stake held by Univision Networks & Studios, Inc.
About FactoryMade Ventures:
Founded by John Fogelman and Cristina Patwa, FactoryMade develops, produces and oversees media and entertainment franchises in partnership with leading Hollywood talent and global brands and investors. The company founded El Rey Network and Tres Pistoleros Studios with renowned filmmaker Robert Rodriguez and Univision Communications, Inc. It also forged a joint venture with leading Mexican wrestling league Lucha Libre Aaa and four-time Emmy® Award winner Mark Burnett and Hearst Corporation’s One Three Media. It executive produces a slate of scripted and non-scripted television shows including From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series, the remake of the cult classic by Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, and Matador, an original production with Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman. Previously, the team spearheaded the creation of Hasbro’s film business and television business with Transformers, G.I. Joe, Hasbro Studios and the Hub Network with Discovery Communications, and created retail’s first digital gaming and commerce platform Hsn Arcade.
About Entertainment One:
Entertainment One Ltd. (Lse: Eto) is a leading international entertainment company that specializes in the acquisition, production and distribution of film and television content. The company’s comprehensive network extends around the globe including Canada, the U.S., the UK, Ireland, Spain, Benelux, France, Germany, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and South Korea. Through established Entertainment and Distribution divisions, the company provides extensive expertise in film distribution, television and music production, family programming and merchandising and licensing. Its current rights library is exploited across all media formats and includes more than 35,000 film and television titles, 2,800 hours of television programming and 45,000 music tracks. Through strong relationships with broadcasters and content providers, eOne Television International has successfully sold eOne’s original and third-party productions to over 500 broadcasters in 150 countries, including key Us networks and international pay TV channels.
Created by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, and produced in association with K/O Paper Products, the coveted writing/producing team behind Sleepy Hollow, Fringe , Star Trek and the Transformer franchise, Matador will feature Molina as Andrew Galan, a man who built his fortune in the telecom industry, but his true passion is soccer. As owner of the ascendant La Riot franchise, he is celebrated in both the sports and business worlds. But there is another world that he operates in -- as a member of an elite group of powerful global players, ruthless individuals who can effect world events on a scale that one would never imagine. What Galan doesn't know is that there is a mole in his midst. One of his new players, Tony Bravo, is actually an undercover operative, sent in to expose him and his cohorts. As Tony and Galan grow closer, the fate of their relationship may very well determine the fate of the world.
Irreverent and action-packed, Matador chronicles the unlikely rise of Antonio "Matador" Bravo, a popular soccer star, who comes to be known as much for his playboy antics off the field as his dynamic moves on it. But what his fans and family don't realize is that it's all a cover--in truth, he is a skilled covert operative executing missions for a little known branch of the CIA. “Matador” has the kind of fame and notoriety that affords him access to powerful circles of corruption and villainy. But, in balancing the dueling roles in which he's been cast, he will be forced to confront the question of his true identity...and it is this mission which will prove to be his most dangerous.
Robert Rodriguez, El Rey Network's chairman and founder, is set to direct the first episode which will be penned by showrunners, co-creators and executive producers Jay Beattie and Dan Dworkin
An accomplished London-born actor whose diverse and distinguished gallery of performances have led to a lengthy and triumphant career in film, television and the stage, Alfred Molina is best known for his roles in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 and Steven Soderberg’s Frida. Molina made his American film debut in Raiders of the Lost Ark and later appeared in Letter to Brezhnev, but his movie breakthrough came two years later when he portrayed Kenneth Halliwell, the tragic lover of playwright Joe Orton, in Stephen Frears' Prick Up Your Ears. His other feature film credits include The Da Vinci Code, Boogie Nights, Magnolia , Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time , The Pink Panther 2, Enchanted April, Not Without My Daughter , The Perez Family, Anna Karenina and Chocolat , among others. On television, he most recently starred on NBC’s Law & Order: Los Angeles and David E. Kelley’s TNT drama series Monday Mornings. Molina’s stage work includes two major Royal National Theatre productions, Tennessee Williams' The Night of the Iguana and David Mamet's Speed the Plow, as well as his Broadway debut in Yasmina Reza's Art, for which he received a Tony Award® nomination. Molina also performed in the highly celebrated UK-based Donmar Warehouse production of Red which opened on Broadway in April 2010 and for which Mr. Molina received rave reviews and a Tony Award® nomination. Most recently, Molina completed the feature film Love Is Strange opposite John Lithgow for director Ira Sachs. The film premiered at Sundance this year, and will be released later in the year by Sony Classics. He also shot the feature films, Swelter for director/writer Keith Parmer, We'll Never Have Paris for director/writer Simon Helberg with co-stars Zachary Quinto and Maggie Grace, Return to Zero with co-star Minnie Driver and The Normal Heart for HBO in which he co-stars opposite Mark Ruffalo and Julia Roberts.
Matador executive producers are Jay Beattie and Dan Dworkin, also showrunners, alongside executive producers Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Andrew Orci. Also joining as executive producers are Heather Kadin of K/O Paper Products; Robert Rodriguez and FactoryMade Ventures and El Rey Network co-founders John Fogelman and Cristina Patwa.
Entertainment One Television (eOne) exclusively represents worldwide distribution rights (with the exception of U.S. broadcast network rights) for El Rey Network's "Matador" and other original scripted series created for the U.S based cable network, to be announced.
About El Rey Network:
El Rey Network is a new 24-hour English-language network founded by maverick filmmaker Robert Rodriguez. Curated by Rodriguez and his artistic collective, the network will unite the most culturally diverse generation in history through fearless, badass and original content that awakens the renegade in everyone. The network's action-packed content is anchored by original signature dramas, feature films, grindhouse genre, cult classic action and horror/sci-fi. El Rey Network LLC (www.elreynetwork.com) is jointly owned by Robert Rodriguez and FactoryMade Ventures with a minority stake held by Univision Networks & Studios, Inc.
About FactoryMade Ventures:
Founded by John Fogelman and Cristina Patwa, FactoryMade develops, produces and oversees media and entertainment franchises in partnership with leading Hollywood talent and global brands and investors. The company founded El Rey Network and Tres Pistoleros Studios with renowned filmmaker Robert Rodriguez and Univision Communications, Inc. It also forged a joint venture with leading Mexican wrestling league Lucha Libre Aaa and four-time Emmy® Award winner Mark Burnett and Hearst Corporation’s One Three Media. It executive produces a slate of scripted and non-scripted television shows including From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series, the remake of the cult classic by Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, and Matador, an original production with Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman. Previously, the team spearheaded the creation of Hasbro’s film business and television business with Transformers, G.I. Joe, Hasbro Studios and the Hub Network with Discovery Communications, and created retail’s first digital gaming and commerce platform Hsn Arcade.
About Entertainment One:
Entertainment One Ltd. (Lse: Eto) is a leading international entertainment company that specializes in the acquisition, production and distribution of film and television content. The company’s comprehensive network extends around the globe including Canada, the U.S., the UK, Ireland, Spain, Benelux, France, Germany, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and South Korea. Through established Entertainment and Distribution divisions, the company provides extensive expertise in film distribution, television and music production, family programming and merchandising and licensing. Its current rights library is exploited across all media formats and includes more than 35,000 film and television titles, 2,800 hours of television programming and 45,000 music tracks. Through strong relationships with broadcasters and content providers, eOne Television International has successfully sold eOne’s original and third-party productions to over 500 broadcasters in 150 countries, including key Us networks and international pay TV channels.
- 3/25/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Science Fiction is an interesting genre and one that I admit I live and die by. Over the years sci-fi has branched out into a variety of directions on the big and small screens. From hard core science fiction dramas like Battlestar Galactica to more subtle science fiction like Lost and FlashForward. But on December 8 Syfy will take us on a new science fiction adventure, but it's not one you might expect. Syfy announced yesterday a new series called Outer Space Astronauts that will mix live-action and 3D animation to produce a unique comedy about eight vaguely courageous military-misfit astronauts who explore the galaxy.
The new series has five episodes planned and will follow the adventures of the crew of the O.S.S. Oklahoma on their missions of exploration and adventure across the galaxy. Creator and producer Russell Barrett (who also stars in the series) developed and edited everything...
The new series has five episodes planned and will follow the adventures of the crew of the O.S.S. Oklahoma on their missions of exploration and adventure across the galaxy. Creator and producer Russell Barrett (who also stars in the series) developed and edited everything...
- 11/13/2009
- by Bryan Jones
- TVovermind.com
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