Jennifer Lopez Shared Her Thoughts on Netflix’s ‘Selena’ Series Coming in December

1997’s Selena is a special movie for many reasons. For one, it brought Selena Quintanilla’s music to many people that may not have known her or her story before. She had only died a couple of years prior, but she was growing and was only just about to hit mainstream popularity. Another reason was that it really jumpstarted Jennifer Lopez’s career. So what does Lopez think of the upcoming Netflix series about Quintanilla’s life? It might not be what you think.  

Jennifer Lopez played Selena Quintanilla, the Tejano singer who was murdered in 1995

As stated above, Selena was the first big role Lopez booked. She’d worked in other movies and appeared in shows like Living Color — she’d been working since the ‘80s — but this was her first lead role in a major studio film. 

And in hindsight, playing Selena Quintanilla skyrocketed Lopez’s music career as well as the rest of it, which led to her being the star she is today.

Selena was only 23 when she was murdered by Yolanda Saldívar, a manager for one of the singer’s boutiques in Texas. She had just won a Grammy and was recording her first English-language album. That album would go on to be released posthumously and include popular songs like “Dreaming of You,” the title track, and “I Could Fall in Love” along with rereleases of “Amor Prohibido” and a “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom” Remix.

Lopez just shared what she thinks of Netflix retelling the story in 2020

With the success that Selena had and that it brought Lopez, what does she think of the new Netflix series touching on the same parts of Selena’s life? She “gives her blessing” as the Netflix Twitter account wrote on Nov. 24.

“Guys, I don’t know if you’ve heard about this new Selena series on Netflix,” Lopez said in a video they shared across their platforms. “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.”

She went on to say that this is a “great way” for a new generation of people to learn and “get to know” Selena. 

“I love Selena. It’s a big part of my life and my career,” she said. “And I can’t wait to see it.”

Christian Serratos is taking on the role of Selena this time around 

The main difference between the 1997 movie and this new project is that this is a series. It’s unclear if it will be more than one season, but considering that Selena’s life was cut short, it won’t go on for too much longer most likely. Different ages of the characters have been cast, with The Walking Dead’s Christian Serratos taking on the role of Selena. 

The show will touch on the Tejano singer’s famous performances and show-life, but also go deeper into her youth as well, which the movie didn’t do as much of. 

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly on Oct. 6, Serratos shared how she grew up listening to Quintanilla in her house and then YouTubed the singer when that became a thing. She specifically called out a performance of her singing “Que Creias”

“Whenever I would talk about Selena, that was the video I showed every one of her,” Serratos said. “I was able to perform that song on the show, and I was so nervous and so excited! I didn’t want to speak to anyone because that was my special moment with her. It was really incredible!”

Serratos has been in the business for a while longer than Lopez was before she scored the role of Selena, but who knows? Maybe this will be a “landmark” role for her as well.