NBC’s “Grimm” to Feature “The Legend of La Llorona” in Oct. 26 Episode

Now we get releases every day, and most of them really don't get us interested, but when The National Hispanic Media Coalition shares their news with us, 9 times out of 10, we pay attention. Who is the NHMC? It is a "non-partisan, non-profit, media advocacy and civil rights organization created to advance American Latino employment and programming equity throughout the entertainment industry and to advocate for telecommunications policies that benefit Latinos and other people of color." Their mission is our mission, and it should be the mission of US Latino pages everywhere.

So, here is exactly what we have been saying about creating more opportunities for US Latino talent in entertainment. The time to take risks is now, and for mainstream television, the following arrangement between NBC, Telemundo and mun2 feels a bit more authentic than say what MUNDOFOX is doing.

Here is the scoop: La Llorona is coming to NBC's "Grimm" on October 26. And all we can think of is our childhood.

Here is what NHMC sent us to share with others:

NBC's show "Grimm" will take on the Latin American tale of "La  Llorona"" for its Halloween episode. The episode is a joint project among NBC Universal, Telemundo and mun2. It will be aired Friday, 10/26 on NBC at 9 p.m. (ET), mun2 at 1 a.m. (ET) and Monday, 10/29 on Telemundo in Spanish at 11:35 p.m. (ET).

The episode guest stars Telemundo's Kate del Castillo as Valentina Espinosa a mysterious detective from New Mexico working with "Grimm" detectives Nick Burkhardt and Hank Griffin to catch an other worldly predator believed to be "La  " after a string of Portland children have been abducted. For those of you who are not familiar with the age old tale, Latin American folklore tells a story of a distraught mother who drowned her children and then herself. The ghost of the mother emerges from water in order to haunt and terrorize the living as "La  Llorona "("The Weeping Woman").

NHMC is a fan of NBC's "Grimm" because of the Latinos behind the camera working on the show such as Norberto Barba, Executive Producer, and Spiro Skentzos (NLMC/NHMC Writers Program 2009 alum), story editor. We also congratulate NBC Universal on this joint partnership with Telemundo and mun2, and applaud them for recognizing the thrilling, albeit terrifying, tale that so many Latinos remember and grew up with. The NHMC team will be watching "La Llorona" episode, join us.

Ok, is this the end-all and be-all of original Latino programming? No. But it is a baby step in the right direction? Absolutely. We can accept the choice of a legend in this case since La Llorona story falls into the "Grimm" genre. Just let's not make this a habit. We can stretch the envelope a bit more. 

We do have one criticism: Too bad Telemundo and mun2 are broadcasting the show at a later time slot. And only in Spanish on Telemundo.  Yet it is cool that a major television network will pay a bit of homage to one of the scariest stories we heard when we were growing up as kids. This is so much better than some Colombian cop and drug dealer shows.

Now we need to go to bed and hide from La Llorona.