At first glance, the trailer for Netflix’s Selena: The Series is baffling. We open on a shot of a woman who looks very much like legendary music icon Selena, rehearsing lines from a script that is clearly about Selena’s life. The woman then puts on Selena’s lipstick and iconic purple jumpsuit, before strutting to a soundstage and singing “Como La Flor.†Then she’s called offstage by a voice who calls her “Christian.†This is, of course, Christian Serratos rehearsing as Selena Quintanilla. But what does that make this video? A trailer? Behind the scenes? A bit of meta-commentary on biopics?
Most likely, it’s Netflix trying to convince us that Serratos has immersed herself in the role so fully that she has become Selena. But can she oust the reigning queen of Selena portrayals, Jennifer Lopez herself? Interestingly, it seems that Serratos is not lip-syncing, like Lopez did in Selena (1997), but instead covering Selena’s songs in her own voice. Only time will tell if Serratos can match up to the Queen of Tejano music. If we know anything, it’s been a record year for actresses committing very deeply to the real-life women they portray.