Experiencing Hotel Cocaine in the new crime series will be an experience like no other!
We are delighted to inform our readers that the much-awaited casting update has finally arrived as production on the MGM+ crime thriller series has resumed this month in the Dominican Republic following a pause during the dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. From MGM+ Studios, in partnership with MGM Television, the series is slated to release this year. As of writing this, the exact release date has not been confirmed, but the reports hint that the series is speculated to premiere in early 2024.
On a happy note, Deadline has exclusively confirmed that Tania Watson, Corina Bradley, and Laura Gordon have joined Danny Pino, Yul Vazquez, Michael Chiklis, and Mark Feuerstein as series regulars in the MGM+ eight-episode series Hotel Cocaine. Details about the new characters have been disclosed as follows:
- Tania Watson portrays Marisol: Roman’s (Pino) girlfriend and de facto stepmother to his daughter Valeria. She watches with growing fear as he becomes enmeshed in his drug-dealing brother’s life.
- Corina Bradley plays Valeria: Roman’s 16-year-old daughter who watches her father get pulled into the middle of the Miami drug wars. She later begins her investigation into her father and uncle’s activities.
- Laura Gordon plays Janice Nichols: The head of the Mutiny Girls, the fun-loving, charming, and vivacious women who populate the Mutiny Club.
Previously it has been confirmed that alongside Pino who will play the lead in Hotel Cocaine, Feuerstein has been cast to play Burton Greenberg, the owner of the Mutiny Hotel, the “Studio 54” of Miami. He’s a fun-loving hedonist whose spiritual journey will lead him into the heart of Miami’s drug wars. Whereas, Chiklis will play Agent Zulio who will stop at nothing to shut down the drug trade, even if it means using innocent civilians to accomplish his ends.
Vazquez will play Nestor Cabal, Roman Compte’s (Pino) brother and one of the biggest suppliers of cocaine to a coke-hungry Miami population. He’s dangerous, funny, wily, and seeking a reunion with his long-lost brother. On the other hand, the new recurring and guest cast includes Mayra Hermosillo, Juan Pablo Raba, Erniel Baez, Nick Barkla, Cale Ambrozic, Camila Valero, Maggie Lacey, John Ventimiglia and Larry Powell. Details about these characters are as follows:
- Mayra Hermosillo plays Yolanda: A ruthless Colombian drug smuggler and girlfriend of Gilberto Henao.
- Raba plays Gilberto ‘La Cobra’ Henao: A powerful Colombian drug lord who’s come to take over the Miami cocaine market.
- Erniel Baez plays Ray Dorado: An untrustworthy banker with criminal ties.
- Nick Barkla plays Congressman Landon: A corrupt-to-the-bone civil servant who works with criminals in order to further his political agenda.
- Cale Ambrozic plays Andrew Landon: Congressman Landon’s son and a potential love interest for Roman’s daughter Valeria.
- Camila Valero plays Alejandra: Nestor’s (Vazquez) fourth wife.
- Lacey plays Constance: The uptight sister of Burton Greenberg (Feuerstein).
- John Ventimiglia plays Hunter Thompson: The prolific writer who’s come to publish a piece about Burton’s family.
- Larry Powell plays Rick James: The renowned singer who’s come to the Mutiny in search of inspiration for his new album.
The series comes from Narcos’ Chris Brancato, who also serves as executive producer and showrunner. Guillermo Navarro directed the pilot and executive produced the series alongside Brancato, with Michael Panes and Alfredo Barrios Jr. also serving as executive producers. The official synopsis of the series is as follows:
“Hotel Cocaine is the story of Roman Compte, a Cuban exile and general manager of the Mutiny Hotel, the glamorous epicenter of the Miami cocaine scene of the late ’70s and early ’80s. The Mutiny Hotel was Casablanca on cocaine; a glitzy nightclub, restaurant, and hotel frequented by Florida businessmen and politicians, international narcos, CIA and FBI agents, models, sports stars, and musicians. At the center of it all was Compte, who was doing his best to keep it all going and fulfill his own American Dream.”
Hotel Cocaine will be distributed internationally by MGM, as part of the rebrand (MGM+) the network will continue to be available in the U.S. on Prime Video, cable, telco, and satellite.