Entertainment

Gina Rodriguez's New TV Series Already Has Major 'Jane The Virgin' Vibes

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Jane the Virgin is coming to an end, but fans of the show's star already have a new series to look forward to watching. As reported by TVLine, Gina Rodriguez will play the president in the upcoming Disney+ series Diary of a Female President. The Jane the Virgin actor is also the show's executive producer, and she's set to direct the premiere. While the series is aimed at kids and tweens, Rodriguez and Jane the Virgin fans will likely love the empowering plot, not to mention the strong family vibes of the premise.

The series follows 12-year-old Elena, a young Cuban-American girl and the future president of the United States as she navigates middle school. Rodriguez will play adult Elena on the campaign trail in the future, so while she won't be in every episode, her presence means viewers will get to see how Elena's journey turns out beyond her middle school days. Meanwhile, the younger version of the character will be played by newcomer Tess Romero.

Elena's story will be told largely via narration from her diary. And she certainly sounds like an interesting young woman. Per TVLine, the character is described as "unabashed, semi-dweeby, ultra-observant" and she has "strong point of view," which makes sense for a future president. In addition to Rodriguez and Romero, the series also stars Charlie Bushnell as Bobby, Elena's big brother and Selenis Leyva as Gabi, Elena and Bobby's mom; and Michael Weaver.

Disney+, Disney's new streaming service, has given Diary of a Female President a 10-episode order, and you can expect to see the show on the some time in 2020. For now, Rodriguez fans can continue to watch as she wraps her iconic role as Jane Villanueva.

Interestingly, it sounds like Diary of a Female President will share more in common with Jane the Virgin than just Rodriguez. The CW series is often lauded for its clever use of a narrator, and it sounds like the Disney+ series will follow a similar path with Elena narrating via her diary entries. Additionally, family seems to be an integral part of the future president's young life, just as Jane's family is key to surrounding her with love and support.

While nothing will be able to replace Jane the Virgin, it's nice to see that Rodriguez's next TV project will be a warm story of a young woman chasing her dreams, just like Jane has for the past five seasons. And having the series aimed at a younger audience means that a whole new generation will be introduced to the actor, and that can only lead to good things. Plus, family viewing opportunities are never a bad thing.

Even though Rodriguez won't be on Diary of a Female President every single week, her guiding presence will be felt throughout the show thanks to her work as an executive producer and director. The Disney+ series may not be the TV follow-up that fans expected for the actor, but Elena already sounds like a worthy successor to Jane. And come on, who doesn't want to visit a world where Rodriguez is the president?