Selena: The Series celebrates Selena Quintanilla’s life from her early childhood to her historical career. In the first part of season 1, actress Madison Taylor Baez portrays a young Selena with powerful vocals and a can-do attitude. Transitioning to her teenage years and adulthood, actress Christian Serratos takes over, transforming into the Queen of Tejano Music with Selena’s signature bangs, hoop earrings and red lip. For The Walking Dead alum, it’s a role of a lifetime — one she’s been dreaming about for as long as she can remember.
“As a Mexican girl, I’ve always wanted to be Selena, so the fact that I was getting this opportunity to play her and bring a little bit of her spirit back was so meaningful to me,” she tells Good Housekeeping.
Now, that part 1 of Selena: The Series is on Netflix, here are all the details to know about part 2:
When does Selena: The Series part 2 come out?
Part 2 of Selena: The Series is premiering on Tuesday, May 4. Ahead of the second installment debuting on Netflix, a minute-long teaser shows Christian dressed up as Selena in her iconic purple and sequined jumpsuit singing "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom."
Shortly after, Netflix released the official trailer for Selena: The Series part 2. In the two-minute clip, Christian portrays Selena during significant career, family and relationship moments from her life
“When you’re gone, how do you want to be remembered?” a reporter asks in the video below. “Somebody who wanted to be a role model, the best daughter, the best sister, the best friend, the best wife,” the late singer says. “I just want to be remembered as somebody who gave it her all.”
Originally, Netflix announced that the show would be returning on Friday, May 14, but now there's less time to wait. The streamer revealed that the first part of Selena: The Series was watched by 25 million people in its first 28 days. The biographical drama was in the Top 10 list in 23 countries — most notably, the show was in this category for 26 consecutive days in Mexico.
What will Selena: The Series part 2 be about?
The first part of Selena: The Series is comprised of nine episodes titled after songs performed by Selena like "Dame Un Beso," "Dulce Amor," "My Love," and "Que Creías." This brought fans up to 1990, when Selena released her second album, Ven Conmigo, as a solo artist. With her career taking off, Selena’s father and manager, Abraham Quintanilla Jr., wanted her more focused than ever. But as fans saw, he discovers that she’s secretly dating the band’s guitarist, Chris Pérez, and fires him. Yolanda Saldívar was also introduced as the president of Selena's fan club, who later kills the singer.
“Fans will get to see how [she] balances family, love, and a burgeoning career,” said Netflix’s VP of Latin American Originals, Francisco Ramos, according to TVLine. “Part 2 of Selena: The Series chronicles the years of hard work and sacrifice the Quintanilla family navigate together as she becomes the most successful female Latin artist of all time.”
As the trailer hints, Chris and Selena's real-life love story will be a focus in Selena: The Series part 2. Despite Abraham’s greatest efforts to separate Selena and Chris, the two eloped on April 2, 1992.
Speaking about Selena’s relationship with Chris, actor Jesse Posey, who plays Selena's love interest and husband, tells Good Housekeeping about how deep their love ran.
"There's a whole other story between Selena and Chris. She cared so much about her family, her culture, her community, and her husband. She had a lot of loyalty toward him, and the same vice versa," he says. "There was really a lot of genuine love between the two of them. She never let any of the outside world get in the way of that. She loved him endlessly, unconditionally, through and through. And he, the same for her. No matter what was going on in the outside world, no matter how big and popular she got, she was always there for him and he was always there for her."
The storyline has really pushed Jesse as an actor. "I had to dig deep to put myself in the right place to reach certain emotions, especially working with Ricardo [Chavira]. There was a lot of animosity between Chris and Abraham that was definitely challenging," he reveals. "And just getting myself to places I never thought I'd have to go to emotionally has been very challenging but very rewarding."
Apart from their marriage, Selena’s continued career success will also likely be celebrated. The singer was nominated at the Grammy Awards for Best Mexican-American Album and won. That same year, the Mexican-American artist opened her first boutique, Selena Etc., in her hometown of Corpus Christi, Texas.
What’s more, Selena: The Series began with a scene in Chicago in 1994, which appears to be a reference to Selena’s last tour called “Amor Prohibido.” Most notably, Selena's death will likely conclude the series.
Who is in the cast of Selena: The Series part 2?
Creator and executive producer Moisés Zamora will continue telling Selena’s story alongside most of Selena: The Series cast from part 1. With part 2 focusing on Selena’s trajectory as a crossover artist, the younger cast members may only appear in flashbacks. The main cast of Selena: The Series part 2 will include:
- Christian Serratos as Selena
- Ricardo Chavira as Abraham Quintanilla Jr., Selena’s father
- Seidy López as Marcella Quintanilla, Selena’s mother
- Gabriel Chavarria as A.B. Quintanilla III, Selena’s brother
- Noemi Gonzalez as Suzette Quintanilla, Selena's sister and best friend
- Jesse Posey as Chris Pérez, Selena's husband
- Hunter Reese Peña as Ricky Vela, cowriter and keyboard player
- Julio Macias as Pete Astudillo, backup vocalist
- Carlos Alfredo Jr. as Joe Ojeda, keyboard player
- Natasha Perez as Yolanda Saldívar, president of Selena’s fan club
For the second part, Christian had a special request: to do her own makeup just like Selena did. She told LA Times about how this routine helped her feel more connected to the late Tejano singer: “Her eyebrows and her eyeliner and her lips were so specific to me. But every time I did my makeup on set, it made me feel so much more like her. That started off my day in character, going to work and doing my makeup. For [part 2], I was like, ‘I want to do it. Selena did her own makeup, I’m doing my own makeup.’”
How can I watch and stream Selena: The Series?
Selena: The Series is available to watch exclusively on Netflix. Start streaming the first part on your laptop by heading over to the Netflix site. If you prefer to watch from a mobile device, make sure to download either the iPhone or Android app.
