Hypable got the chance to attend Jane the Virgin’s Paleyfest panel this Sunday at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood. Here’s the highlights from our favorite telenovela’s panel:

On how the Executive Producers cast ‘Jane the Virgin’

The producers knew that the success of the show would hinge on finding an actress who could embody Jane’s spirit and heart. Executive Producer Jennie Snyder Urman was nervous about finding the right actress to play Jane, but Gina Rodriguez was the third actress they read for the part, and Urman told the Paleyfest audience that as soon as she saw her audition, she knew Gina was the one. Urman said that Gina already had Jane down inside and out — the performance she gave in the pilot was the same one she did in the audition: she didn’t need to change a thing.

Praise for Jennie Snyder Urman

All of the actors couldn’t stop singing praises about the writing on Jane the Virgin and Justin Baldoni highlighted that Jennie writes the characters in such a way that they always have a place to go forward, so even though the show is a comedy (and often broad comedy, at that), Jane the Virgin is still rooted in very real, honest moments.

Rogelio de la Vega can get away with anything

Jaime Camil is a clown — he obviously wouldn’t be able to pull off the lovably narcissistic Rogelio de la Vega if he wasn’t. Jaime and Jennie talked about how even though Rogelio is vain and eccentric, he still feels grounded in his love for his family. Jennie’s approach to writing him is that he can get away with saying ridiculous things because everyone is always aware that he’s coming from a good place, and is a man with a big heart… he just happens to also REALLY love himself too.

The strength of the Villanueva women

The matriarchal Villanueva family is the heart of Jane the Virgin, and Gina Rodriguez, Andrea Navedo, and Ivonne Coll talked about how honored they are to represent these kinds of strong women on television.

Gina fell in love with the character of Jane: she’s driven and strong, and on top of it all… a virgin! Gina enjoys getting to showcase Jane’s dual identity as a Latina-American on screen; she’s proud that she’s able to represent a culture on television that is not traditionally represented, especially not in the traditional hero narrative.

Andrea — who plays Jane’s mom, Xiomara — talked about her own experience being raised by a single mother and growing up in a strong, matriarchal family; she’s proud to be reflecting a positive face on television for her gente, Latinos, as well as single mothers. She hopes that her portrayal of Xo highlights how hardworking and loyal single mothers are.

Ivonne — who plays Jane’s Abuela — talked about how she is proud to show through Abuela how immigrants and Latinos are contributing to the fabric of America. Through her character, Alba Villanueva, she is putting a face to undocumented immigrants in the United States. “There are a lot of things in this teleplay that touch my heart because I think we’re doing something important.”

On addressing political issues on the show

Speaking of immigration, Executive Producer Jennie Urman went on to talk about how when they choose to explore political issues on Jane the Virgin, they try to make it less about the politics, and more about attaching a face to the people whom the politics affect. Andrea Navedo praised the show for humanizing the experience of undocumented immigrants. Gina Rodriguez agreed that the show allows for a discussion of various issues, from immigration to same-sex marriage: Jane the Virgin promotes peace and tolerance — and it gets to do it while also making people laugh.

On ‘Jane the Virgin’s unique voice

Finding the voice of Jane the Virgin’s beloved Latin Lover Narrator is what finally let Jennie Urman crack the pilot. Now, half a season later, nobody can imagine the show without him, as he’s become a character in his own right. In the same vein, they took a chance with all of the unconventional storytelling techniques, from the flashing on-screen text messages to the surreal narration.

On ‘Jane the Virgin’s Golden Globe nomination and Gina’s subsequent win

The entire cast had the sweetest things to say about their unexpected Golden Globe nomination — the first for the CW network. Justin Baldoni said, “I didn’t realize it was an option for us to get nominated. It was such a landmark achievement; I was just so proud of everybody.”

But even more than for themselves, everyone admits that they were really rooting for Gina to win. As Justin said about his co-star, “When you’re in a scene with Gina, she makes you better.”

Like a couple of proud parents, Jaime Camil and Andrea Navedo recounted their anxiety for their TV daughter at the Golden Globes:
Jaime: “I was focusing all my energy to the universe for Gina to win!”
Andrea: “(When she won) You almost flipped the table! We were so ghetto.”
Jaime: “When Gina won, we all won.”

And in one of many tear-inducing moments on stage Gina recounted how important her close-knit and brilliant cast was to her own Golden Globe win, “I wasn’t up there alone — I felt them all with me. I felt all of the little girls who have ever dreamed of being something.”

On the Latino experience

And speaking of those girls: the night closed with a question from the audience. A young woman stood up to praise Jennie Urman’s writing for bringing these characters and the Latino culture to television in a positive life, telling the panel that growing up as a Latina, she never had the experience of seeing a role model she could identify with on television.

Jennie closed the night by admitting that when she writes for Latino characters, she doesn’t think about them as stereotypes: she thinks about them as humans. Gina said that Jennie’s cracked the code for writing about minorities: write for humans. She ended the night by encouraging Latinos to embrace their differences, but unite as one culture so that our voices can be heard. “Latinos, we need to unite! Like Empire — 54 million viewers, where you at?”

Spoilers for tonight!!

Also… we got a special screening of tonight’s episode! And we can tell you: it’s a good one. Here’s the scoop on tonight’s Jane the Virgin episode, “Chapter Sixteen”!

–The episode centers around Jane’s favorite Miami festival: Calle Ocho. This festival has been a cornerstone in her romantic life: it’s where she first learned about true love!… And heartbreak.

–Speaking of which, Rafael and Jane aren’t exactly breezing past the whole rejected-proposal thing. (And by not “breezing past,” I mean that Rafael is still royally PISSED.)

–BUT, on another love front, at least Rogelio and Xiomara are finally looking to get their own place! But someone in Xiomara’s life won’t take the news quite how you’d expect…

–Finally, someone (unexpected) in Jane’s life encourages her to join a romance writers’ workshop, where she meets someone (else) unexpected.

“Chapter Sixteen” of Jane the Virgin premieres tonight, Monday, March 16, 2015 at 9 p.m. on the CW.

What do you love most about ‘Jane the Virgin’?

More Jane the Virgin: Jane the Virgin and why diversity on TV matters
More Paleyfest: The Good Wife at Paleyfest 2015