The late Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, best known as Selena, remains one of the most iconic Mexican-American performers of the last century. Along with her siblings and husband, the Texas native put forth a fiery fusion of traditional norteñas, Mexican cumbias, and early ’90s techno. She could bidi bidi her bom bom with the best of them, earning the same kind of mononymous standing as Madonna and Prince among her fans. Her rise to the top of the Tejano music charts and subsequent crossover success were chronicled in the biopic starring Jennifer Lopez as Quintanilla-Pérez, who was killed by a former employee in 1995.
Now Variety reports that the late singer’s legacy has inspired a new series at ABC, though it seems limited to the content of her music. The network’s made a put-pilot commitment on a show from Private Practice and Grey’s Anatomy alum Miguel Nolla, who’s producing the show with the platinum-selling artist’s father, Abraham Quintanilla, Jr. , who co-produced the 1997 film that was written and directed by Gregory Nava, her sister and bandmate Suzette Quintanilla Arriaga. The as-yet-untitled series will center on Alex Guerra, “a chart-topping, award winning pop star who has been estranged from her family for 5 years.” When a crisis sends her packing for Texas, as crises are wont to do, she has to contend with a love triangle and the dread work life balance. And just to be clear that this is a drama, there will be some “the dark secrets of the family that she now desperately wants to win back.”