October 17, 2025 • 26 mins
Latina actress Judy Reyes has been gracing our screens for two decades with a wide range of roles. And today, as Lieutenant Selena Soto in “High Potential” and as nurse Carla in the upcoming reboot of “Scrubs,” Judy is really having a moment. Host Maria Hinojosa, Judy’s longtime friend and fan, sits down with the Dominican-American actress to discuss her rising career, key moments in her Hollywood journey and her relationship with her family. They also talk about current politics, including government censorship, ICE raids, and immigration crackdowns in Los Angeles, Judy’s home.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
You know reggaeton, but do you know the whole story?
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Hi?
Speaker 3 (00:11):
I'm Genie Montaibo, senior producer and sound designer of Loud
The History of Reggaeton?
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Did you hear the news?
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Loud is backed by a popular demand. Listen to all
ten episodes that break down the beats, politics, and power
behind the genre, hosted by herself Evie Queen. Listen now
only on Spotify.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Judy made at the making an entrance with your biceps.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
I'm working on it. I'm trying, mate, I'm trying.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
You got it? Can I just say something?
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Say something? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (00:53):
Why you're so cute? Man? You are so cute.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
It's lighting, No.
Speaker 5 (00:59):
But it's look at Bassa's and I never say this
to you, but like, you're gorgeous and you always look
amazing on camera.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
I'm adorable.
Speaker 4 (01:16):
From Futuro Media. It's Latino Usa. I'm Mariano Posa.
Speaker 5 (01:20):
Today I speak with the adorable and talented actor Judy
ray Is. We talk free speech, motherhood and how Judy
ray Is is having a moment. Does the name Judy
ray Is ring a bell? Well, she's the kind of
actor that you might not know by name, but believe me,
(01:42):
you know exactly who she is.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
I've had it to here, so let me make it
very clear us for the last time, sir, I'm Dominican.
Speaker 5 (01:54):
She's Dominican from the Bronx, and she's been gracing our
screens for decad Aids. First as Nurse Carla on the
sitcom Scrubs.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
Hi, I'm Carla, You're handsome. Be careful, Mike's brown man,
we both do kill me.
Speaker 4 (02:11):
She was Zoila on Devious Maids.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Soila, you must know someone who's strapped for cash in
a barrio Santovius.
Speaker 4 (02:19):
Oh good, give him a call. Quiet Anne on clause.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Wouldn't even be in this position if you weren't some
dusty old hag Hey.
Speaker 5 (02:30):
And these days she's playing Lieutenant Selena Soto on the
true crime comedy High Potential.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
She's not a cop. She certainly didn't sign up for this, Selena.
Speaker 5 (02:41):
Stop.
Speaker 4 (02:42):
Judy is really having a moment.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
That's when you figure out you're having a moment, right,
because I've been doing this for over twenty something years
and I've never done Good Morning America.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
Back now with Dodgres Judy Rays she's.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
No stranger, so you're like, oh snap.
Speaker 5 (02:57):
The second season of High Potential is now one, and
a reboot of Scrubs is on the way. And before
we start, well, full disclosure, Judy and I have been
friends for over twenty years.
Speaker 4 (03:11):
So here we go.
Speaker 5 (03:13):
Judy, it's so wonderful to have you on Latino USA.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Thank you, thank you very much.
Speaker 5 (03:19):
All Right, So what we're going to do to open
is three rapid fire questions.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Okay, okay.
Speaker 5 (03:24):
Number one, what is the most embarrassing thing that has
ever happened to you on set?
Speaker 3 (03:28):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (03:29):
I know exactly the third or fourth episode for Scrubs
when Carla and Turk become a love interest and we
have a kissing scene and I just shove my tongue
in his mouth.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
And he say, oh, you still lattice? I was like,
what you know?
Speaker 6 (03:43):
Character?
Speaker 1 (03:50):
I was mortified. Everybody was laughing at me.
Speaker 4 (03:52):
Sounds like an honest mistake.
Speaker 5 (03:55):
I would say, Number two, what is the most frustrating
thing that you've ever experienced while acting?
Speaker 2 (04:03):
That's tricky, I think, having to remind a certain creative
So what am I?
Speaker 5 (04:10):
So?
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Am I really a Mexican because I'm Dominican and immediately
get defensive. I was like, no, no, no, I just I
want to be able to deliver the correct accent. It
was a thing of having to communicate that consistently. That
kind of thing is frustrating.
Speaker 4 (04:25):
Finally, your fondest memory of Scrubs.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Wow, we did this musical that was one of my
favorite moments and I got to sing.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
For the last time.
Speaker 4 (04:41):
Don't make a big to do. I was simply testing you.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Then why'd you tell jd R Baby's Black Second? That
was the story by the way, about the frustrating moment
was on there. And my favorite thing about Scrubs is
that Bill and team always respond to the concerns or
the worries with some humor or a really speaking to
whatever it is that you're asking for. But we did
a musical that I got to sing and dance on, So.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Card When will you be back?
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Not for one long?
Speaker 2 (05:25):
And we did an adaptation of The Princess Bride, So
those things to be part of. Things like that are
like my favorite things, which are musicals. And The Princess
Bride is a dream come true.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
Being an actor.
Speaker 5 (05:37):
Even though it's very glamorous, it can be very lonely
and scary, right, But I want to ask you, Ma
meet that what it feels like to be having this
moment because you're doing Scrubs, You're doing high potential, a
major comedy drama on ABC.
Speaker 4 (05:56):
You're a producer in your own right.
Speaker 5 (05:58):
You're an amazing mom and a amazing and I was
traveling someplace when I saw it. Oh my god, Judy's
full here and makeup doing Good Morning America.
Speaker 4 (06:06):
Okay, go Judy. What does it feel like?
Speaker 1 (06:10):
I'll tell you this.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Ever since Scrubs, I've worked pretty consistently, and I'm proud
of that, and I've had the opportunity and create the
opportunity to do a whole bunch of different things. But
when I start hearing that people are crazy about the
show and my mother and my sisters are texting me
about how much they love the show, is like, Okay.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
Something's happening here.
Speaker 4 (06:31):
I texted you know you did.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
That's when I think I really stepped outside of myself
and saw this thing is getting big.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
You know, I've been.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Up until recently able to just like get around everywhere
without oh my god.
Speaker 4 (06:47):
Don't tell me you're getting those things where you like
just go to get.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
It makes me really nervous.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
It makes me really nervous because I usually don't even notice,
you know, but I get self conscious sometimes I'm like,
am I really going to have to put on makeup
to go.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
To the store.
Speaker 5 (07:02):
That's what it ultimately comes down to, right, Isn't that tragic? Okay,
now let's talk about high potential.
Speaker 4 (07:14):
The cleaning ladies were arranging my boards.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
You see a cleaning lady, I see more. Morgan is
high potential.
Speaker 5 (07:21):
So the plot is that it's a single mom with
an exceptional mind. She's recruited by you, Lieutenant Selina Soto.
You're the boss of all of the detectives, and I
just wonder what it's been like for you to play
a Latina in a leadership role when you know, like
a lot of the media that we're seeing is about
white men.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
I mean, it's what an incredible opportunity for everything that
you just said.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
It's all about women.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
It's a mom, it's her kid, her kid is biracial,
and it's a really diverse group of people at a
time where it's literally very slowly being erased for lack
of a better term. And I know it sounds dramatic,
but it's happening right before our eyes. The director of
the pilot was a woman, and I had a really good,
(08:07):
authentic communication with her about how I wanted to be
who is this. I don't want to be token leadership,
you know. And she was like, Oh no, that's not
going to happen. And that created space for me. And
they were relentless about addressing concerns or changes or tweaks.
It's a constant project. I mean, when does that happens?
(08:30):
I'm saying it's a moment in time. How rare this is.
You know, if you're going to bring in subversive personalities
like a Caitlin, you're already a little bit off right
in terms of following the law or doing the right thing.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Me work with cops. You got a dead body, you
gotta go.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Which is why it makes it a little bit more
interesting pursuing these really complex and dark and strange cases.
I am wide open and actually inquisitive about using what's
happening now. You can't avoid the hest and Latino situation forever.
You have an audience to appeal to, so that you
have to have some kind of a balance. But I
(09:15):
don't know that we can get away with it for
too long. But in the meantime, the opportunity is there
and taken advantage of to have like multicultural casting before
AI takes over, so to speak.
Speaker 5 (09:27):
So from the profession of acting to the politics of
the moment, we are living through censorship by the government
towards media companies, corporations, journalists. As an actor, you're affiliated
with a major television network, ABC, and I'm wondering, how
are you processing all of this? Are you thinking about
(09:49):
what you can and can't say? You know when you
see what happened to Stephen Colbert and to Jimmy Kimmel.
So how are you kind of managing this moment on
the question of our First Amendment and being able to
survive at this time?
Speaker 2 (10:05):
What an excellent and difficult question, because I find myself
to the point of me having a moment, having had
the blessing and the opportunity to work pretty consistently all
the way up until now, up until this moment. For me,
the message is that I'm here to serve additional purposes,
(10:29):
right in terms of using whatever you want to call it,
the achievement and the notoriety or the celebrity or the
fame to really communicate to fans or two people who
will listen that things are pretty fucked up right now,
and that you know everything we are. Everything that I
(10:50):
am as an Afro Latina, as an actor, as a
middle aged woman, mother of a queer kid, creative, everything
that I am is being threatened.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
And yet here I am.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
So is the answer to not say something or to
say something, and I struggle with it constantly. You get
that survivor's guilt. As a Latino, I have two huge jobs,
I'm making incredible money, I'm living in LA I'm all right.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
Oh, I see what you and I don't want to
not that I say.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
I'm all right in that guilt where I'm doing better
as most actors and the most Latinos. You know what
I'm saying, and you want to be able to make
something out of it, to make some kind of a contribution,
and to.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
To stay silent is not an option.
Speaker 5 (11:42):
Coming up on Latino USA, I continue my conversation with
actress and producer Judy Reyes.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
The second you stand up, and it's that's what's been
happening over this version of the Trump administration. The second
you stand up for yourself, they back.
Speaker 5 (11:57):
Off with us. Yes, hey, we're back, And I'm speaking
(12:22):
with Judy Reyes about her acting career, but also about
how she's processing the political moment that our country is
living through. You were raised in the Bronx, you are
a Hollywood girl now, and we want to get into
LA and the politics of LA. I mean, it's kind
of crazy what we've been living through incessantly in these times.
(12:46):
And I think back actually to the protests outside of
Disney Studios.
Speaker 6 (12:51):
In the City of Angels. We have worked really hard
to uplift immigrants and support the Hollywood industry, and we
will not allow ourselves to be steamrolled by this weak
person in the White House.
Speaker 5 (13:04):
They were carrying signs that said, you know, defend free speech.
This is about what happened with Jimmy Kimmel. But then
they were carrying signs that said ice out of LA
along with signs that said ABC bends the knee to fascism.
So I'm just wondering about how you see this intersection
of politics and entertainment. Are we at a moment where
(13:26):
artists can and should be political?
Speaker 4 (13:29):
How do you see this moment?
Speaker 2 (13:30):
I think artists have always and should remain political. I mean,
at the end of the day, when the people can't
really be spoken to or they're being oppressed, or they're
being manipulated, or they're being gaslet that through comedy and
through film and through music you can really communicate and
connect with people. Do you know, algorithms and all this
(13:54):
AI madness that I can't keep up with, but because
it's being owned by media and by like a handful
of corporations, Ultimately, what is the pursuit is to be
able to control what people witness, what people consume. Live theater, artists,
(14:14):
people to express themselves and tell the story through film,
through comedy, through stand up, through music is our salvation.
It always has been, and I don't know that you
can get rid of it. Because the response to Jimmy
Kimmel was a huge relief because that was terrifying the
moment it happened.
Speaker 5 (14:31):
Also, it did in fact touch you because you are
tied to ABC, and therefore it's coming very very close.
In fact, I want to ask you about what it
felt like as a Latina, as an Afro Latina to
be in LA when Donald Trump unleashed ice and also
(14:53):
a militarization of your city.
Speaker 4 (14:56):
What was going on for you?
Speaker 2 (14:57):
It was terrifying, it's enraging, it's so upsetting. What I
will say is that it creates and strengthens community. We
reach out to each other, we talk, We make sure
that we're all right, extend ourselves to anybody who can
need help. Because the whole thing is to paralyze you,
right and to stop you and to silence you, to
(15:20):
really make you think that you do not have any
control of the situation, to make you blink first, because
the second you stand up, and that's what's been happening
over this version of the Trump administration, the second you
stand up for yourself, they back off, and it takes
a lot more because they have more resources, more access
(15:42):
to keep coming at us. But we have to use
the rights as they still exist. We have to take
advantage of them. We have to exploit them, and we
have to maintain and create community and keep screaming and
shouting and telling to the upsetting and obnoxious degree that
oftentimes we are.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
I know, I get sick of it.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
Sometimes I just have to shut down just for my
own emotional and mental health of workout and meditate, because
it can be paralyzing, it can be very very depressing.
But the silence is more upsetting to me. When people
don't say anything like act like nothing is happening, and
that I find sickening.
Speaker 5 (16:29):
Can I ask about your kid? You can your kid
is queer, your kid is trans. I mean, I cannot
imagine what it is like to be raising a non
binary child because it's almost impossible now to get healthcare support.
(16:51):
So I just want to tell you I think what
you have done is amazing just as a mom, and
I want to throw you those flowers thank you.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
I will tell you that my kid is an artist.
They are a singer and an actor and a performer.
They love everything about this business or they've been around
it since they were born. And my husband has an
enormous amount to do with that, since he was the
primary caregiver while I was off in Atlanta or New
Orleans in terms of building this incredibly inclusive environment that
(17:23):
it's awesome to have him around. They're incredibly talented. I'm
so proud, so proud of them. I learned something from
him every day. And my thing with my kid and
this moment is their mental health, their emotional health. Emotionally,
in the world, there's a lot of anxiety and having
to do with their sexual identity, reality existence. Emotionally, I
(17:48):
have to make sure you know that they're okay.
Speaker 4 (17:53):
Let's take a quick break.
Speaker 5 (17:55):
Yes, hey, we're back with Dominican American Hollywood star Judy
ray Is. Now let's switch back to the reboot of
(18:19):
another show, which actually I didn't watch, Scrubs.
Speaker 4 (18:23):
I'm sorry, Judy.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Oh hey, fellas, I'm trying to give somebody evil eye
over there.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
Would you mind breaking it up so I can you understand?
Speaker 4 (18:33):
Thank you.
Speaker 5 (18:38):
For those people who are mega fans. Tell us a
little bit about what to expect from Nurse Carla in
the reboot.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
I'll tell you two things.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
First, the last No Kings March here in La, I
ran into a young man couldn't have been more than thirty,
and he was like, excuse me, are you Judy Rayes?
And he just went bananas over the Karla thing. And
then his mom comes over. You don't understand he's seen
the show like four times. And then he pulls up
his sleeve and his army says, I'm no.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Superman, I'm no Superman. I was like, wow. And one
of the things that.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
I that I realized was after COVID and then after
the strike, a lot of people became hip to the show.
So it just got an entirely new audience. So there's
a lot of young people who have like watched it
over and over and over again, and it speaks very
much to like the twenties and the thirty somethings of
this generation.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
We had a wonderful table read. It was really special.
Speaker 4 (19:39):
Oh my god.
Speaker 5 (19:39):
So it's like literally just happening as we speak. Are
you excited? What's going on?
Speaker 1 (19:44):
Really excitedly?
Speaker 2 (19:45):
They sent us the script and I was like, this
is really good.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
You know, you always worry because it's a reboot.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
And so we go to the place where we were
going to do the table read for the for the
studio and for the writers. We're all there and we're
all like skipping and hopping and excited to see each
other and blown away how wonderful the script is and
running into each other. At least half of the team
from the original group is there in front of and
behind the camera. Wow. Carla is still working at the
(20:14):
hospital and she and Turk have four girls.
Speaker 4 (20:17):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
And that's really all I know. You know, we kind
of reconnect at the hospital. Jad comes back and you know,
kind of resume where we all left off.
Speaker 5 (20:28):
So Judy, one of the things that I've known about
you is that you are also very active behind the scenes.
You are now producing a show which I'm a big
fan of, freestyle, a love Story. The premise of the
show is essentially to say, there is a style of
music that's called freestyle, and if you think you've never
(20:50):
heard it, oh my god, it's like the greatest hits
of our youth. Tell me a little bit about why
you wanted to do this, why elevate freestyle? And you're
busy enough you're like, yeah, let me produce a show too.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
Well.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
My husband and I have been fans of freestyle since
we were teenagers, you know, when we used to go
clubbing in Manhattan where you play freestyle music and the
icons the stars of that time were George Lemon and
Judy Torres and Tka and I mean cover girls and it.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
Culminates with like Lisa, Lisa.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
Right right, and when she crosses over and then the
music just kind of fades away.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
But it was born in the Bronx.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
And it's mostly Latinos, and the fans were all up
and down the East Coast and some parts of la
And it dies immediately because parts of the sound have
been adapted by pop music, so it kind of pushes
the Latinos out of the scene almost immediately right when
cross is over. But it was the sound of our
teen and early twenties that you know, you fall in love,
(21:56):
you meet somebody in the club, and George and I
and Ortiz by the way, who's also one of the producers,
we say, wouldn't it be great if we told the
story a freestyle And ultimately what it culminated into was
George Valencia writing a piece about a couple who's going
to a freestyle reunion concert but ends up having to
(22:18):
go alone because they're plus ones canceled on them, and
they both are reminiscing that man, the last time I
went alone to a club, I met my first wife,
I met my first husband. So it's an experience in
which we use rotating casts of Latino actors to kind
of bring you back in the day and share our experience,
(22:39):
tell our story, because what people don't understand is that
freestyle is still huge and it's using that moment at
the opportunity to tell that story.
Speaker 4 (22:53):
We're going to end with some rapid fire questions, you ready,
no is your dream role?
Speaker 2 (23:01):
I want to be on stage. I want to be
in a musical. I would love Hamilton or Wicked. If
I sang that will.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
All the great ones a chorus line. But I'm not
a dancer or like a cabaret or something.
Speaker 5 (23:15):
Yes, and if you got that role, you would dance
and sing your heart out. So don't even tell me
I'm not a dancer. I'm not a singer.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
Three days.
Speaker 4 (23:26):
Okay, Number two. Who inspires you?
Speaker 1 (23:30):
My kid inspires me. My husband inspires me.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
There's a relentlessness to the two of them that is
so motivating and so original. It takes a lot of
courage what people don't realize to be themselves.
Speaker 4 (23:44):
I love that me too. What gives you hope these days?
Speaker 1 (23:50):
My kid and young people.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
I had never thought I would be at the age
where I would say young people inspire me. I know
when people try to take away from young people, it's
because they know what the power is and they have
it and they have courage, wit, intelligence, persistence, talent, art,
you know, And I am excited for young people.
Speaker 5 (24:19):
Judy Ray is actor, producer, mom, wife Amiga Gorgasa.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
Thank you for doing what you do.
Speaker 5 (24:30):
Thank you, honey, I'm so happy for you, so proud
of you, Thank you, I'm proud of you. Get This
(25:03):
episode was produced by Monica Morales Garcia. It was edited
by Andrea Lopez Gruzado. It was mixed by Julia Caruso.
Fernando Echavari is our managing editor. The Latino USA team
also includes Roxana Guire, Jessica Ellis, Revecca Ibarra, Renaldo Leanos, Junior,
(25:23):
Luis Luna yorimr Marquez, Julieta Martinelli, JJ Krubin, Adena Rodriguez,
and Nancy Trujillo. Benedea Mirez and I are executive producers
and I'm your host Maria no Hoosa. Latino USA is
part of Iheart's Mike Uldura podcast Network. Executive producers that
iHeart are Leo Gomez and Arlene Santana.
Speaker 4 (25:45):
Join us again on our next episode.
Speaker 5 (25:46):
In the meantime, I'll see you on all of our
social media and dear listener, don't forget to join Fuduo plus.
Speaker 4 (25:53):
It's so easy.
Speaker 5 (25:55):
Do it right now. You'll get everything at free plus.
It Chease me, Joe.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
Latino USA is made possible in part by California Endowment,
building a strong state by improving the health of all Californians.
The Heising Simons Foundation Unlocking knowledge, opportunity, and possibilities. More
at hsfoundation dot org and Skyline Foundation
You know reggaeton, but do you know the whole story?
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Hi?
Speaker 3 (00:11):
I'm Genie Montaibo, senior producer and sound designer of Loud
The History of Reggaeton?
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Did you hear the news?
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Loud is backed by a popular demand. Listen to all
ten episodes that break down the beats, politics, and power
behind the genre, hosted by herself Evie Queen. Listen now
only on Spotify.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Judy made at the making an entrance with your biceps.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
I'm working on it. I'm trying, mate, I'm trying.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
You got it? Can I just say something?
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Say something? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (00:53):
Why you're so cute? Man? You are so cute.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
It's lighting, No.
Speaker 5 (00:59):
But it's look at Bassa's and I never say this
to you, but like, you're gorgeous and you always look
amazing on camera.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
I'm adorable.
Speaker 4 (01:16):
From Futuro Media. It's Latino Usa. I'm Mariano Posa.
Speaker 5 (01:20):
Today I speak with the adorable and talented actor Judy
ray Is. We talk free speech, motherhood and how Judy
ray Is is having a moment. Does the name Judy
ray Is ring a bell? Well, she's the kind of
actor that you might not know by name, but believe me,
(01:42):
you know exactly who she is.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
I've had it to here, so let me make it
very clear us for the last time, sir, I'm Dominican.
Speaker 5 (01:54):
She's Dominican from the Bronx, and she's been gracing our
screens for decad Aids. First as Nurse Carla on the
sitcom Scrubs.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
Hi, I'm Carla, You're handsome. Be careful, Mike's brown man,
we both do kill me.
Speaker 4 (02:11):
She was Zoila on Devious Maids.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Soila, you must know someone who's strapped for cash in
a barrio Santovius.
Speaker 4 (02:19):
Oh good, give him a call. Quiet Anne on clause.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Wouldn't even be in this position if you weren't some
dusty old hag Hey.
Speaker 5 (02:30):
And these days she's playing Lieutenant Selena Soto on the
true crime comedy High Potential.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
She's not a cop. She certainly didn't sign up for this, Selena.
Speaker 5 (02:41):
Stop.
Speaker 4 (02:42):
Judy is really having a moment.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
That's when you figure out you're having a moment, right,
because I've been doing this for over twenty something years
and I've never done Good Morning America.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
Back now with Dodgres Judy Rays she's.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
No stranger, so you're like, oh snap.
Speaker 5 (02:57):
The second season of High Potential is now one, and
a reboot of Scrubs is on the way. And before
we start, well, full disclosure, Judy and I have been
friends for over twenty years.
Speaker 4 (03:11):
So here we go.
Speaker 5 (03:13):
Judy, it's so wonderful to have you on Latino USA.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Thank you, thank you very much.
Speaker 5 (03:19):
All Right, So what we're going to do to open
is three rapid fire questions.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Okay, okay.
Speaker 5 (03:24):
Number one, what is the most embarrassing thing that has
ever happened to you on set?
Speaker 3 (03:28):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (03:29):
I know exactly the third or fourth episode for Scrubs
when Carla and Turk become a love interest and we
have a kissing scene and I just shove my tongue
in his mouth.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
And he say, oh, you still lattice? I was like,
what you know?
Speaker 6 (03:43):
Character?
Speaker 1 (03:50):
I was mortified. Everybody was laughing at me.
Speaker 4 (03:52):
Sounds like an honest mistake.
Speaker 5 (03:55):
I would say, Number two, what is the most frustrating
thing that you've ever experienced while acting?
Speaker 2 (04:03):
That's tricky, I think, having to remind a certain creative
So what am I?
Speaker 5 (04:10):
So?
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Am I really a Mexican because I'm Dominican and immediately
get defensive. I was like, no, no, no, I just I
want to be able to deliver the correct accent. It
was a thing of having to communicate that consistently. That
kind of thing is frustrating.
Speaker 4 (04:25):
Finally, your fondest memory of Scrubs.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Wow, we did this musical that was one of my
favorite moments and I got to sing.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
For the last time.
Speaker 4 (04:41):
Don't make a big to do. I was simply testing you.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Then why'd you tell jd R Baby's Black Second? That
was the story by the way, about the frustrating moment
was on there. And my favorite thing about Scrubs is
that Bill and team always respond to the concerns or
the worries with some humor or a really speaking to
whatever it is that you're asking for. But we did
a musical that I got to sing and dance on, So.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Card When will you be back?
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Not for one long?
Speaker 2 (05:25):
And we did an adaptation of The Princess Bride, So
those things to be part of. Things like that are
like my favorite things, which are musicals. And The Princess
Bride is a dream come true.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
Being an actor.
Speaker 5 (05:37):
Even though it's very glamorous, it can be very lonely
and scary, right, But I want to ask you, Ma
meet that what it feels like to be having this
moment because you're doing Scrubs, You're doing high potential, a
major comedy drama on ABC.
Speaker 4 (05:56):
You're a producer in your own right.
Speaker 5 (05:58):
You're an amazing mom and a amazing and I was
traveling someplace when I saw it. Oh my god, Judy's
full here and makeup doing Good Morning America.
Speaker 4 (06:06):
Okay, go Judy. What does it feel like?
Speaker 1 (06:10):
I'll tell you this.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Ever since Scrubs, I've worked pretty consistently, and I'm proud
of that, and I've had the opportunity and create the
opportunity to do a whole bunch of different things. But
when I start hearing that people are crazy about the
show and my mother and my sisters are texting me
about how much they love the show, is like, Okay.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
Something's happening here.
Speaker 4 (06:31):
I texted you know you did.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
That's when I think I really stepped outside of myself
and saw this thing is getting big.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
You know, I've been.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Up until recently able to just like get around everywhere
without oh my god.
Speaker 4 (06:47):
Don't tell me you're getting those things where you like
just go to get.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
It makes me really nervous.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
It makes me really nervous because I usually don't even notice,
you know, but I get self conscious sometimes I'm like,
am I really going to have to put on makeup
to go.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
To the store.
Speaker 5 (07:02):
That's what it ultimately comes down to, right, Isn't that tragic? Okay,
now let's talk about high potential.
Speaker 4 (07:14):
The cleaning ladies were arranging my boards.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
You see a cleaning lady, I see more. Morgan is
high potential.
Speaker 5 (07:21):
So the plot is that it's a single mom with
an exceptional mind. She's recruited by you, Lieutenant Selina Soto.
You're the boss of all of the detectives, and I
just wonder what it's been like for you to play
a Latina in a leadership role when you know, like
a lot of the media that we're seeing is about
white men.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
I mean, it's what an incredible opportunity for everything that
you just said.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
It's all about women.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
It's a mom, it's her kid, her kid is biracial,
and it's a really diverse group of people at a
time where it's literally very slowly being erased for lack
of a better term. And I know it sounds dramatic,
but it's happening right before our eyes. The director of
the pilot was a woman, and I had a really good,
(08:07):
authentic communication with her about how I wanted to be
who is this. I don't want to be token leadership,
you know. And she was like, Oh no, that's not
going to happen. And that created space for me. And
they were relentless about addressing concerns or changes or tweaks.
It's a constant project. I mean, when does that happens?
(08:30):
I'm saying it's a moment in time. How rare this is.
You know, if you're going to bring in subversive personalities
like a Caitlin, you're already a little bit off right
in terms of following the law or doing the right thing.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Me work with cops. You got a dead body, you
gotta go.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Which is why it makes it a little bit more
interesting pursuing these really complex and dark and strange cases.
I am wide open and actually inquisitive about using what's
happening now. You can't avoid the hest and Latino situation forever.
You have an audience to appeal to, so that you
have to have some kind of a balance. But I
(09:15):
don't know that we can get away with it for
too long. But in the meantime, the opportunity is there
and taken advantage of to have like multicultural casting before
AI takes over, so to speak.
Speaker 5 (09:27):
So from the profession of acting to the politics of
the moment, we are living through censorship by the government
towards media companies, corporations, journalists. As an actor, you're affiliated
with a major television network, ABC, and I'm wondering, how
are you processing all of this? Are you thinking about
(09:49):
what you can and can't say? You know when you
see what happened to Stephen Colbert and to Jimmy Kimmel.
So how are you kind of managing this moment on
the question of our First Amendment and being able to
survive at this time?
Speaker 2 (10:05):
What an excellent and difficult question, because I find myself
to the point of me having a moment, having had
the blessing and the opportunity to work pretty consistently all
the way up until now, up until this moment. For me,
the message is that I'm here to serve additional purposes,
(10:29):
right in terms of using whatever you want to call it,
the achievement and the notoriety or the celebrity or the
fame to really communicate to fans or two people who
will listen that things are pretty fucked up right now,
and that you know everything we are. Everything that I
(10:50):
am as an Afro Latina, as an actor, as a
middle aged woman, mother of a queer kid, creative, everything
that I am is being threatened.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
And yet here I am.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
So is the answer to not say something or to
say something, and I struggle with it constantly. You get
that survivor's guilt. As a Latino, I have two huge jobs,
I'm making incredible money, I'm living in LA I'm all right.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
Oh, I see what you and I don't want to
not that I say.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
I'm all right in that guilt where I'm doing better
as most actors and the most Latinos. You know what
I'm saying, and you want to be able to make
something out of it, to make some kind of a contribution,
and to.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
To stay silent is not an option.
Speaker 5 (11:42):
Coming up on Latino USA, I continue my conversation with
actress and producer Judy Reyes.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
The second you stand up, and it's that's what's been
happening over this version of the Trump administration. The second
you stand up for yourself, they back.
Speaker 5 (11:57):
Off with us. Yes, hey, we're back, And I'm speaking
(12:22):
with Judy Reyes about her acting career, but also about
how she's processing the political moment that our country is
living through. You were raised in the Bronx, you are
a Hollywood girl now, and we want to get into
LA and the politics of LA. I mean, it's kind
of crazy what we've been living through incessantly in these times.
(12:46):
And I think back actually to the protests outside of
Disney Studios.
Speaker 6 (12:51):
In the City of Angels. We have worked really hard
to uplift immigrants and support the Hollywood industry, and we
will not allow ourselves to be steamrolled by this weak
person in the White House.
Speaker 5 (13:04):
They were carrying signs that said, you know, defend free speech.
This is about what happened with Jimmy Kimmel. But then
they were carrying signs that said ice out of LA
along with signs that said ABC bends the knee to fascism.
So I'm just wondering about how you see this intersection
of politics and entertainment. Are we at a moment where
(13:26):
artists can and should be political?
Speaker 4 (13:29):
How do you see this moment?
Speaker 2 (13:30):
I think artists have always and should remain political. I mean,
at the end of the day, when the people can't
really be spoken to or they're being oppressed, or they're
being manipulated, or they're being gaslet that through comedy and
through film and through music you can really communicate and
connect with people. Do you know, algorithms and all this
(13:54):
AI madness that I can't keep up with, but because
it's being owned by media and by like a handful
of corporations, Ultimately, what is the pursuit is to be
able to control what people witness, what people consume. Live theater, artists,
(14:14):
people to express themselves and tell the story through film,
through comedy, through stand up, through music is our salvation.
It always has been, and I don't know that you
can get rid of it. Because the response to Jimmy
Kimmel was a huge relief because that was terrifying the
moment it happened.
Speaker 5 (14:31):
Also, it did in fact touch you because you are
tied to ABC, and therefore it's coming very very close.
In fact, I want to ask you about what it
felt like as a Latina, as an Afro Latina to
be in LA when Donald Trump unleashed ice and also
(14:53):
a militarization of your city.
Speaker 4 (14:56):
What was going on for you?
Speaker 2 (14:57):
It was terrifying, it's enraging, it's so upsetting. What I
will say is that it creates and strengthens community. We
reach out to each other, we talk, We make sure
that we're all right, extend ourselves to anybody who can
need help. Because the whole thing is to paralyze you,
right and to stop you and to silence you, to
(15:20):
really make you think that you do not have any
control of the situation, to make you blink first, because
the second you stand up, and that's what's been happening
over this version of the Trump administration, the second you
stand up for yourself, they back off, and it takes
a lot more because they have more resources, more access
(15:42):
to keep coming at us. But we have to use
the rights as they still exist. We have to take
advantage of them. We have to exploit them, and we
have to maintain and create community and keep screaming and
shouting and telling to the upsetting and obnoxious degree that
oftentimes we are.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
I know, I get sick of it.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
Sometimes I just have to shut down just for my
own emotional and mental health of workout and meditate, because
it can be paralyzing, it can be very very depressing.
But the silence is more upsetting to me. When people
don't say anything like act like nothing is happening, and
that I find sickening.
Speaker 5 (16:29):
Can I ask about your kid? You can your kid
is queer, your kid is trans. I mean, I cannot
imagine what it is like to be raising a non
binary child because it's almost impossible now to get healthcare support.
(16:51):
So I just want to tell you I think what
you have done is amazing just as a mom, and
I want to throw you those flowers thank you.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
I will tell you that my kid is an artist.
They are a singer and an actor and a performer.
They love everything about this business or they've been around
it since they were born. And my husband has an
enormous amount to do with that, since he was the
primary caregiver while I was off in Atlanta or New
Orleans in terms of building this incredibly inclusive environment that
(17:23):
it's awesome to have him around. They're incredibly talented. I'm
so proud, so proud of them. I learned something from
him every day. And my thing with my kid and
this moment is their mental health, their emotional health. Emotionally,
in the world, there's a lot of anxiety and having
to do with their sexual identity, reality existence. Emotionally, I
(17:48):
have to make sure you know that they're okay.
Speaker 4 (17:53):
Let's take a quick break.
Speaker 5 (17:55):
Yes, hey, we're back with Dominican American Hollywood star Judy
ray Is. Now let's switch back to the reboot of
(18:19):
another show, which actually I didn't watch, Scrubs.
Speaker 4 (18:23):
I'm sorry, Judy.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Oh hey, fellas, I'm trying to give somebody evil eye
over there.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
Would you mind breaking it up so I can you understand?
Speaker 4 (18:33):
Thank you.
Speaker 5 (18:38):
For those people who are mega fans. Tell us a
little bit about what to expect from Nurse Carla in
the reboot.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
I'll tell you two things.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
First, the last No Kings March here in La, I
ran into a young man couldn't have been more than thirty,
and he was like, excuse me, are you Judy Rayes?
And he just went bananas over the Karla thing. And
then his mom comes over. You don't understand he's seen
the show like four times. And then he pulls up
his sleeve and his army says, I'm no.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Superman, I'm no Superman. I was like, wow. And one
of the things that.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
I that I realized was after COVID and then after
the strike, a lot of people became hip to the show.
So it just got an entirely new audience. So there's
a lot of young people who have like watched it
over and over and over again, and it speaks very
much to like the twenties and the thirty somethings of
this generation.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
We had a wonderful table read. It was really special.
Speaker 4 (19:39):
Oh my god.
Speaker 5 (19:39):
So it's like literally just happening as we speak. Are
you excited? What's going on?
Speaker 1 (19:44):
Really excitedly?
Speaker 2 (19:45):
They sent us the script and I was like, this
is really good.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
You know, you always worry because it's a reboot.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
And so we go to the place where we were
going to do the table read for the for the
studio and for the writers. We're all there and we're
all like skipping and hopping and excited to see each
other and blown away how wonderful the script is and
running into each other. At least half of the team
from the original group is there in front of and
behind the camera. Wow. Carla is still working at the
(20:14):
hospital and she and Turk have four girls.
Speaker 4 (20:17):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
And that's really all I know. You know, we kind
of reconnect at the hospital. Jad comes back and you know,
kind of resume where we all left off.
Speaker 5 (20:28):
So Judy, one of the things that I've known about
you is that you are also very active behind the scenes.
You are now producing a show which I'm a big
fan of, freestyle, a love Story. The premise of the
show is essentially to say, there is a style of
music that's called freestyle, and if you think you've never
(20:50):
heard it, oh my god, it's like the greatest hits
of our youth. Tell me a little bit about why
you wanted to do this, why elevate freestyle? And you're
busy enough you're like, yeah, let me produce a show too.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
Well.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
My husband and I have been fans of freestyle since
we were teenagers, you know, when we used to go
clubbing in Manhattan where you play freestyle music and the
icons the stars of that time were George Lemon and
Judy Torres and Tka and I mean cover girls and it.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
Culminates with like Lisa, Lisa.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
Right right, and when she crosses over and then the
music just kind of fades away.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
But it was born in the Bronx.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
And it's mostly Latinos, and the fans were all up
and down the East Coast and some parts of la
And it dies immediately because parts of the sound have
been adapted by pop music, so it kind of pushes
the Latinos out of the scene almost immediately right when
cross is over. But it was the sound of our
teen and early twenties that you know, you fall in love,
(21:56):
you meet somebody in the club, and George and I
and Ortiz by the way, who's also one of the producers,
we say, wouldn't it be great if we told the
story a freestyle And ultimately what it culminated into was
George Valencia writing a piece about a couple who's going
to a freestyle reunion concert but ends up having to
(22:18):
go alone because they're plus ones canceled on them, and
they both are reminiscing that man, the last time I
went alone to a club, I met my first wife,
I met my first husband. So it's an experience in
which we use rotating casts of Latino actors to kind
of bring you back in the day and share our experience,
(22:39):
tell our story, because what people don't understand is that
freestyle is still huge and it's using that moment at
the opportunity to tell that story.
Speaker 4 (22:53):
We're going to end with some rapid fire questions, you ready,
no is your dream role?
Speaker 2 (23:01):
I want to be on stage. I want to be
in a musical. I would love Hamilton or Wicked. If
I sang that will.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
All the great ones a chorus line. But I'm not
a dancer or like a cabaret or something.
Speaker 5 (23:15):
Yes, and if you got that role, you would dance
and sing your heart out. So don't even tell me
I'm not a dancer. I'm not a singer.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
Three days.
Speaker 4 (23:26):
Okay, Number two. Who inspires you?
Speaker 1 (23:30):
My kid inspires me. My husband inspires me.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
There's a relentlessness to the two of them that is
so motivating and so original. It takes a lot of
courage what people don't realize to be themselves.
Speaker 4 (23:44):
I love that me too. What gives you hope these days?
Speaker 1 (23:50):
My kid and young people.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
I had never thought I would be at the age
where I would say young people inspire me. I know
when people try to take away from young people, it's
because they know what the power is and they have
it and they have courage, wit, intelligence, persistence, talent, art,
you know, And I am excited for young people.
Speaker 5 (24:19):
Judy Ray is actor, producer, mom, wife Amiga Gorgasa.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
Thank you for doing what you do.
Speaker 5 (24:30):
Thank you, honey, I'm so happy for you, so proud
of you, Thank you, I'm proud of you. Get This
(25:03):
episode was produced by Monica Morales Garcia. It was edited
by Andrea Lopez Gruzado. It was mixed by Julia Caruso.
Fernando Echavari is our managing editor. The Latino USA team
also includes Roxana Guire, Jessica Ellis, Revecca Ibarra, Renaldo Leanos, Junior,
(25:23):
Luis Luna yorimr Marquez, Julieta Martinelli, JJ Krubin, Adena Rodriguez,
and Nancy Trujillo. Benedea Mirez and I are executive producers
and I'm your host Maria no Hoosa. Latino USA is
part of Iheart's Mike Uldura podcast Network. Executive producers that
iHeart are Leo Gomez and Arlene Santana.
Speaker 4 (25:45):
Join us again on our next episode.
Speaker 5 (25:46):
In the meantime, I'll see you on all of our
social media and dear listener, don't forget to join Fuduo plus.
Speaker 4 (25:53):
It's so easy.
Speaker 5 (25:55):
Do it right now. You'll get everything at free plus.
It Chease me, Joe.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
Latino USA is made possible in part by California Endowment,
building a strong state by improving the health of all Californians.
The Heising Simons Foundation Unlocking knowledge, opportunity, and possibilities. More
at hsfoundation dot org and Skyline Foundation
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