Over two decades after Jennifer Lopez played Selena Quintanilla in the 1997 biopic Selena, Christian Serratos will portray the late Queen of Tejano music in Netflix’s Selena: The Series . The Walking Dead star, 30, opened up about inevitably being compared to J.Lo during an appearance on Variety and iHeart’s The Big Ticket podcast. “Sometimes I do have to remind myself that I can’t please everybody because I’m human,” Christian said. “But the thing I tried to do first and foremost was to honestly portray her spirit because I think that’s what made her so lovely and so iconic.”
She added, “I think that’s why we all love her so much because there are icons and people we love, but there’s something so personal about Selena.”
Jennifer, who earned her first Golden Globe nomination for her portrayal of Selena, recently gave the upcoming series her seal of approval. In a video shared by the Netflix series, the Hustlers actress, 51, said, “Guys, I don‘t know if you’ve heard about this new Selena series on Netflix. Playing Selena was kind of a landmark moment in my career. And I was so excited when I saw the trailer and heard about it. It’s a great way for this generation to get to know Selena. I love Selena, she’s such a big part of my life and my career. And I can’t wait to see it!”
Part one of the two-part series premieres on Netflix Dec. 4. Selena: The Series, which also stars Seidy Lopez, Ricardo Chavira, Gabriel Chavarria and Noemi Gonzalez, is described as a “coming-of-age story that follows Selena as she chases her dreams, and the heart-wrenching and life-changing sacrifices she and her family make as they navigate the highs and lows of success, loss, love, and music.” The show will explore Selena’s journey from “singing small gigs to becoming the most successful female Latin artist of all time — and the years of hard work and sacrifice the Quintanilla family navigated together.”