Hulu’s musical romantic comedy series, Up Here, has signed on its leading man. Carlos Valdes has been tapped to star in the show opposite the previously announced Mae Whitman. The project is being penned by Steven Levenson, Danielle Sanchez-Witzel, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, and Robert Lopez and will be helmed by Thomas Kail.
Up Here takes place in the final days of 1999 in New York City. As the decade comes to a close, newly formed couple Lindsay (Whitman) and Miguel (Valdes) find themselves battling with their own inner demons in an attempt to see where their relationship will go. Will they both be able to set their pasts aside, or will their traumatic memories, worries, and dreams prove to be too much and stand in the way of their newly found happiness? The question is a layered one for Valdes’ Miguel. Quiet and introspective, Miguel is a serial monogamous who loves being in love. Unfortunately, his last relationship ended up giving him some deep emotional scars and caused him to leave parts of his sweet side behind. He also ditched his promising and creative video game career to step into the money-making world of investment banking, fully leaving his fun-loving side buried deep in the past.
A perfect fit for the Hulu musical comedy, Valdes first made a name for himself in the entertainment world with his breakthrough performance in the Tony Award-winning musical, Once. From here, he transferred his skills to television, starring as Cisco Ramon for seven seasons on The Flash and appeared in other Arrowverse series such as Arrow, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, and Supergirl. Most recently, Valdes was featured in the Starz drama, Gaslit, which centered its story on the Watergate scandal.
As for Up Here, Anderson-Lopez and Lopez will team up to compose the show’s songs. The duo is best known for their work on the blockbuster animated film, Frozen as well as its sequel, Frozen 2. The two also worked on songs for Disney’s Coco and have both nabbed Academy and Grammy Awards for their compositions. Production for the series is eying a summer start date and will take their cameras all over New York City.
In this new project, Valdes is certain to be at home. With his long credit sheet of not only on-screen productions, but his beefed up background in musical theater, he’ll be a great asset to Hulu’s newest project. As of right now, a release date for Up Here has yet to be announced, but stay tuned to Collider for more information as it becomes available.