Another hunky Hallmark Channel actor has just confirmed he’ll be part of the second season of “The Chicken Sisters,” now filming in Vancouver.
On April 14, 2025, Ektor Rivera informed his fans via social media that he’s back on set — music to the ears of not only the show’s fans, but likely to his co-stars, including Lea Thompson, Wendie Malick, Schuyler Fisk and Genevieve Angelson.
Before the series first premiered on Hallmark+ in the fall of 2024, Fisk and Angelson joked to KATU Lifestyle about what a “hot” addition Rivera was to the cast, with Angelson blushing a bit as she told the outlet, “We found him to be extremely hot. Just really, like, a hot person in general.”
Ektor Rivera Auditioned for His Hallmark Channel Role While His Wife Was Giving Birth
During a chilly walk in Vancouver, Rivera recorded and posted a video in Spanish. According to the translation provided by Happy Scribe, the Puerto Rico native confirmed he’s back for another season as chef Sergio, who takes a liking to Fisk’s character, Amanda, in the first season.
His inclusion in the cast had not been confirmed when Hallmark announced its second-season renewal earlier in the month, but the network did announce that former “JAGS” star David James Elliott had been added to the show and that James Kot would be returning, too.
In his April 13 video, Rivera reminded his fans that he landed his role as Sergio after “the craziest audition I’ve ever done in my life,” as his wife was giving birth to their son Evan Dario.
In September, he told Southern Living, “Basically, I did the audition while my wife was giving birth. That’s crazy. That’s why this project is distant from anything I’ve been doing because it came with life. With actual life.”
Rivera had been scheduled to do a callback the day before his wife, Yara Lasanta, was scheduled to be induced, but her water broke hours before the audition. After they raced to the hospital, he told the outlet, the “Chicken Sisters” production team, including first season showrunner Annie Mebane, and several cast members decided to move ahead with the callback, getting on the phone with Rivera — with his wife’s blessing — as they waited for her labor to progress.
“So in the next room (over from) my wife… I did my audition,” he recalled. “And my mind was over there hoping that everything is fine. And then I see Schuyler and Annie and all the producers and I was just automatically doing this character, but I was in a cloud. It was something surreal.”
Rivera and Lasanta, who also have a daughter, Bria, welcomed their son seven hours later, per Southern Living. He learned the next day he’d landed the part of Sergio.
In Addition to Acting, Ektor Rivera is an Accomplished Artist
HallmarkNoting that he’s the only Latino cast member on the show, Rivera told fans in his April 13 video that the series is “also special because it’s the first time I’ve done an eight-episode show in English, with a major character” and “also the first time they’ve approved a second season, which is what we’re filming now here in Canada.”
Fans flooded his post with celebratory comments, including one who wrote, translated from Spanish to English, “That’s it!! Congratulations Ektor, you deserve it!!! 🙌”
Another commented, “I’m sooooo happy to see you on Hallmark again!!! You’re fantastic and quite handsome! I just started watching the Chicken Sisters last night and I love it! 🥰”
Rivera has appeared in other Hallmark projects, including co-starring with Lacey Chabert in 2022’s “Groundswell” and appearing in 2021’s “Sugar Plum Twist.” In addition to multiple Spanish-language projects, he’s also had supporting roles on a variety of American TV series, from “Fantasy Island” to “NCIS: Origins” in 2024, per IMDb. In his rare spare time, Rivera is also an accomplished visual artist, with original works selling for thousands of dollars.
During his recorded walk, Rivera said he’s loved working with Hallmark “because the content is family-friendly, the team is wonderful, and given where I am in my life right now with my children, it’s something I really like.”
The first season of “The Chicken Sisters” currently airs on Sunday nights on Hallmark Channel at 9 p.m. Eastern time, and can be streamed on Hallmark+.