News

Netflix is doubling down on its investment on Mexico, pledging $1 billion over the next four years.

The move, which was unveiled during a Thursday press conference with co-ceo Ted Sarandos and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, is aimed at “growing the audiovisual industry and creating jobs and opportunities all across the country.”

As part of the investment, the streamer will give $2 million to “elevate” Mexico City’s iconic Churubusco Studios, one of the country’s oldest and largest production facilities. Netflix will also continue creating and funding programs to provide more opportunities to diverse and creative talents behind the camera after unveiling a $1 million fund for this purpose last year.

“President Sheinbaum, at Netflix, we share your vision of a vibrant, prosperous Mexico full of growth and opportunity. And we want to play our part in making it a reality,” Sarandos said. “Our journey in Mexico so far has taken us...

Netflix is making a major investment in Mexico’s film and TV industry. Co-CEO Ted Sarandos announced that the streaming giant will spend $1 billion in the country over the next four years. This commitment, revealed during a press conference with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, is aimed at strengthening the local audiovisual industry and creating new opportunities.

“It is great to be back in Mexico City. Every time I come here, I’m amazed by the blend of the old and the new — between history and modern culture,” Sarandos said. “It’s inspiring. And it helps explain why there’s always been so much creativity in Mexico — from art and food to literature, architecture and, of course, storytelling.”

Since arriving in Mexico in 2011, Netflix has played a huge role in the country’s entertainment scene. It launched its first international series, Club de Cuervos, in Mexico, setting the stage for more local productions.

Netflix has pledged to spend a whopping $1B on Mexican production over the next four years. The streamer’s Co-CEO, Ted Sarandos, spoke at President Sheinbaum’s morning press conference, Thursday, and unveiled the bumper commitment to Mexican production.

“President Sheinbaum, at Netflix we share your vision of a vibrant, prosperous Mexico full of growth and opportunity. And we want to play our part in making it a reality,” Sarandos said.

“That’s why today, I’m happy to announce that Netflix will be investing $1 billion US dollars to produce series and films in Mexico over the next four years — growing the audiovisual industry and creating jobs and opportunities all across the country.”

Netflix has been investing heavily in original fare out of Latin America and is keen to highlight the benefit to local film and TV industries and wider economies. It touted the financial boost making 100 Years of Solitude brought Colombia,...

Exclusive: Luis Gerardo Méndez and Adriana Paz are the latest to join the cast of the Netflix crime thriller Animals. Ben Affleck will star and direct with Kerry Washington, Steven Yeun and Gillian Anderson also on board. The plan is for the film to shoot in Los Angeles from a script by Connor McIntyre and Billy Ray.

Plot details are being kept under wraps other than the film revolving around a kidnapping.

Affleck, Matt Damon and Dani Bernfeld will produce through their Artists Equity banner, the artist-led studio founded by Affleck, Damon and Gerry Cardinale/RedBird Capital Partners. Brad Weston and Collin Creighton are also producing for Makeready, which developed the project in partnership with Fifth Season. Artists Equity’s Michael Joe, Kevin Halloran and Lucy Damon will serve as executive producers alongside Fifth Season.

For Mendez, the role is a huge get for one of Mexico’s biggest stars.

Miami — The best thing about the Miami Hilton Downtown is its vistas from above Biscayne Bay and opposite the city’s iconic serried strip of high-rises. Delegates at Content Americas, which begins its third edition this Monday, will be hoping that the market will afford an equally panoramic view of the international TV business.

That’s crucial. Few areas of the world became so dependent on global platform investment as Latin America during the pandemic. Bucking worldwide trends, series season orders actually soared in Spain over 2024, shooting up from 43 a year earlier to 75, according to Ampere Analysis.

“Content Americas is the first TV event of the year and, therefore, an opportunity to test, by talking to folks, your incoming hypotheses about how market trends will play out,” says Gaumont USA’s Christian Gabela.

As of Sunday, participation sits at just short of 2,000 delegates and 175 exhibitors, edging up from compared to...

Ricky Gervais’ career-launching mockumentary series “The Office” is getting a Mexican remake with Prime Video, Amazon MGM Studios and Gary “Gaz” Alazraki’s Máquina Vega leading the charge.

Alazraki, who proved his comedy chops directing and producing major hits “Nosotros los Nobles” and “Club de Cuervos” serves as director and executive producer of “La Oficina” while Marcos Bucay (“Cómo Sobrevivir Soltero”) showruns the Mexican adaptation.

As part of the overall deal signed between Amazon MGM Studios and Máquina Vega, “La Oficina” will be available exclusively on Prime Video in Latin America, Brazil and Spain.

The wildly popular BBC Studios format has already been adapted in the U.S., France, Chile and Poland, among others, in addition to the Australian version, which begun streaming on Prime Video this October.

This new version is set in the Mexican state of Aguascalientes where the office will be led by Jerónimo Ponce III, regional...

The universe of Simu Liu’s upcoming sci-fi thriller for Peacock is expanding: Melissa Barrera (Scream) is one of five new additions to the cast, the streamer announced on Wednesday.

Along with Barrera, who will play Michelle, the cast of the untitled series will also include Brian d’Arcy James (Evil) as John Moira, Mark O’Brien (Halt and Catch Fire) as Cobb, Sinclair Daniel (The Other Black Girl) as Parker and Kathleen Chaflant (The Affair) as St. George.

More from TVLineCriminal Minds' Matthew Gray Gubler to Star in Einstein Pilot for CBSTVLine Items: Topher Grace Joins Kevin Williamson Series, Olivia Rodrigo...

Skincare is a thriller film about an aesthetician facing sabotage from a rival in the skincare industry. Luis Gerardo Mndez believes the film explores mental health and ambitions in Los Angeles. Mndez emphasizes the importance of balancing success and mental health in the movie.

Currently available to see in theaters, Skincare is a new thriller directed by Austin Peters that explores how far a person will go to protect their image. The film stars Elizabeth Banks as Hope Goldman, an aesthetician taking the next step in her career by launching her own skincare line. When Luis Gerardo Mndez's character, Angel Vergara, opens a competing boutique across the street, Hope believes he may be responsible for tarnishing her reputation.

Prior to Skincare, Mndez is known for starring and executive producing Netflixs first Spanish-language original comedy series, Club de Cuervos. He worked with Banks on the 2019 film, Charlie's Angels, and looked forward...

“Una Pequeña Confusión,” an ensemble comedy starring “Ted Lasso” star Cristo Fernandez, Emmy-nominated actor-producer Juanpa Zurita, Ana de la Reguera (“Nacho Libre”) and Vico Escorcia (AppleTV+’s “Acapulco”) is set for a December theatrical release by Mexican powerhouse film company, Videocine.

The comedy revolves around two couples: Lola and Cuau (De la Reguera and Fernández), a progressive middle-class pair, and Iñigo and Majo (Zurita and Escorcia), a young conservative, well-heeled duo. Both couples turn to artificial insemination as a last resort to have children.

In a madcap twist based on actual events, a mix-up at the clinic results in each mom-to-be carrying the other one’s baby. The couples must navigate their vastly different lifestyles and parenting philosophies, finding common ground for the sake of their future children, all while dealing with societal norms and the complexities of love.

Produced by No Dancing Today and Gebo Films, producers of such...

Exclusive: Mariana Treviño will star opposite Owen Wilson in the Untitled Golf Comedy Series from Jason Keller as a series regular. Marc Maron and Peter Dager also star.

From Apple Studios, the untitled comedy stars Wilson as Pryce Cahill, an over-the-hill, ex-pro golfer whose career was derailed prematurely 20 years ago. After he gets fired from his job at an Indiana sporting goods store and his wife walks out on him, Pryce hedges his bets entirely on a troubled 17-year-old golf phenom, played by Dager.

Treviño will play “Elena,” mother of the 17-year-old golf phenom.

The untiled series will be directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, and executive produced by Propagate Content’s Ben Silverman (The Office), Howard T. Owens and Rodney Ferrell, Entertainment 360’s Guymon Casady, Piece of Work’s Lee Eisenberg and Natalie Sandy,...

A Man Called Otto, an adaptation of Swedish author Fredrik Backman’s 2012 novel, A Man Called Ove (available on Amazon), is a poignant tale of human connection and second chances.

Meet the Cast of A Man Called Otto Tom Hanks as Otto Anderson Mariana Treviño as Marisol Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as Tommy Truman Hanks as Young Otto Anderson Rachel Keller as Sonya Juanita Jennings as Anita Peter Lawson Jones as Reuben Cameron Britton as Jimmy

This captivating comedy-drama revolves around Otto, a grieving widower who unexpectedly finds himself entangled in his neighbors’ lives thanks to a chance encounter. He finds his way from despair to newfound joy through an unforeseen friendship.

The talented ensemble cast of A Man Called Otto during the film’s special screening in New York City on January 10, 2023 (Credit: Dave Allocca / StarPix / Startraksphoto / Cover Images)

Although it did not receive extensive awards and recognition, the film shines with its exceptional ensemble cast,...

Hello, and welcome to the Scene 2 Seen Podcast!

I am Valerie Complex, an associate editor and film writer at Deadline. You may be wondering why this is publishing on a Tuesday, instead of Friday? Well, the good news is this is the first of a special two-part episode series taking place this month. Don’t worry, though! The show will be back for its third season officially on Fridays soon!

Today, I’m chatting with actress, singer and dancer Melissa Barrera, a dynamic, multifaceted talent who has captured the attention of audiences through her versatile and charismatic performances. Barrera can currently be seen starring in the Universal Studios horror film Abigail.

The film follows a group of criminals who have been hired to kidnap the 12-year-old ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure. All they have to do to collect a $50 million ransom is watch the girl overnight. In an isolated mansion,...

Prime Video Mexico is firing up a new original series, “Mentiras,” based on the popular Mexican stage musical.

Singer-actor Belinda and Luis Gerardo Méndez lead a stellar cast that includes Mariana Treviño (“A Man Called Otto”), Diana Bovio (“Lecciones para canallas”) and Regina Blandón (“Maquíllame otra vez”).

Gabriel Ripstein, whose credits include series “An Unknown Enemy” (“Un extraño enemigo”) and Berlin best first feature winner “600 Miles,” created the series and will serve as director and showrunner.

“In this adaptation, we will pay tribute to a story and characters that the audience adores and expand their universe, thanks to a completely innovative visual narrative,” Ripstein said. “To bring this story to life, told with more than 30 of the most successful songs of the ’80s, we have assembled a spectacular cast and crew.”

The move comes despite system-wide cutbacks announced in January that have seen layoffs across Prime Video, Amazon MGM Studios and livestreaming platform Twitch.

Exclusive: Luis Gerardo Méndez will be in front of and behind the camera in Technoboys, a Netflix movie about a boyband on the comeback trail.

Hailing from Netflix Mexico, the Spanish-language film follows the titular band two decades after they topped the charts. Now they are back to reclaim their pop throne, but the music world has changed and they have to battle rival groups and make it all over again in a world they barely understand. Meanwhile, the lead singer of the Technoboys has a hidden reasons for wanting to return to the music scene. The film will bow on Netflix later this year.

Méndez will play the band’s lead singer, Alan, and co-directs Technoboys alongside Gerardo Gatica. The pair’s production company, Cine Vaquero, is making the movie, alongside Panorama and Bengala. Alexandro Aldrete penned the script.

The Noble Family, Murder Mystery, Narcos: Mexico, Netflix’s first...

Exclusive: Amazon MGM Studios has signed an exclusive overall deal with Gary “Gaz” Alazraki’s Maquina Vega. Under the deal, Alazraki is set to produce, write and direct series for Amazon MGM Studios.

Alazraki is a Mexican director known for directing the movies Father of The Bride (2022; writer and director of Mexico’s record-breaking comedy Nosotros Los Nobles (2013); and co-creator, executive producer and director of Club De Cuervos (2015), Netflix’s first Spanish original series. He heads Maquina Vega and is a board member of Oceana.

Alazraki began his career by directing commercials and the short films: Volver (2005) starring Jaime Camil, Martha Higareda, Tony Dalton and La Hora Cero (2008) produced by Guillermo Arriaga.

In 2011, he began production on Nosotros Los Nobles starring Gonzalo Vega, Luis Gerardo Méndez, Karla Souza and Juan Pablo Gil which he directed/wrote/produced. The film was released by Warner Bros. in 2013 and it became the highest-grossing Mexican movie of all time.

Far-out cineaste Santiago Mohar Volkow (“Los Muertos”) will deliver his fourth feature “A History of Love & War” (“Una Historia de Amor y de Guerra”) to audiences at the 53rd edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam.

A viscally ludicrous examination of Mexico’s colonial history and the duplicitous nature of high-wealth, the film screens as part of the Harbor strand, dedicated to a wide range of contemporary narratives.

The plot opens on insufferably spoilt and corrupt real estate mogul Pepe Sanzhez Campo (Andrew Leland Rogers) as his mega-mall development plans roil on and an engagement offer to his affluent love interest Constanza (Lucía Gómez Robledo) proves a success.

When militant forces challenge his land rights and an otherwise cliche bachelor party turns sour after his fiancé’s lover Teo (Darío Yazbek Bernal) sets off a rip-roaring tide change, Pepe’s left with a reckoning that derails his privileged future.

Providing...

Paramount+ today released the official teaser trailer for the second season of the Spanish-language thriller series The Envoys (Los Enviados).  The original series features an all-star cast, including Luis Gerardo Méndez and Miguel Ángel Silvestre.  Oscar winner Juan José Campanella (El Secreto de Sus Ojos) serves as showrunner, producer and director. All eight episodes will be available to binge exclusively on Paramount+ soon. In the second season, Priests Pedro Salinas (Méndez) and Simón Antequera (Silvestre) delve into a web of mystery and murder in a Galician convent. With ... Read more...

Former Amazon executive Leo Zimbrón has been appointed senior vice president of Spanish-language features and international co-productions at Eugenio Derbez and Ben Odell’s 3Pas Studios.

“There are few executives with the levels of experience and success that Leo has garnered over the years. Eugenio and I have both worked with him previously and love what he will bring to 3pas as we continue to build and scale our business,” Odell said. “He has great creative instincts combined with a sharp business mind. I don’t want to call him a unicorn for Spanish-language content – but oops, I just did.”

Previously, Zimbrón served as head of local original movies for Latin America at Amazon Studios; he has worked on 40 projects for the company. In 2018, he held the position of director of fiction programming at EndemolShine Boomdog. Zimbrón also served as director of local production for Warner Bros. Pictures in Mexico from 2004 through 2010. Additionally,...

Updated: Ron Leshem, creator of the original Israeli “Euphoria” and an exec producer on its U.S. version, has been added to Iberseries & Platino Industria’s conference strand – signalling a larger paradigm pivot at one of the biggest film-tv events in the Spanish-speaking world as it expands to encompass an ever more globalized international TV scene.

Fresh off a huge hit on Israel’s Reshet 13 for Series Mania buzz title “Red Skies,” at Iberseries, Leshem, who co-created “Valley of Tears” and “No Man’s Land,” joins some of the most influential voices on the Spanish-speaking film-tv and beyond such as former Netflix exec Erik Barmack at Wild Sheep Content, Ran Tellem at The Mediapro Studio and Axel Kuschevatzky at Infinity Hill. Wild Sheep has a production alliance with Tms.

At Netflix, Barmack oversaw Netflix’s first-ever push into fully foreign-language content beginning with Mexico’s “Club of Crows” and Brazil’s...

TelevisaUnivision’s ViX has dropped the official trailer of romantic comedy “Dime lo que Quieres (De Verdad),” which is set to premiere July 27 on the streamer.

“Dime lo que Quieres” toplines Manolo Cardona (“Who Killed Sara?”), “Club of Crows’”Stephanie Cayo, Angie Cepeda (“Encanto”) and “Better Call Saul’s” Tony Dalton.

Peruvian actor-helmer Bruno Ascenzo is directing the ViX Original movie, a production by Colombian outfit 11:11 Films & TV.

Brothers Juancho and Manolo Cardona, Stephanie Cayo, FilmSharks’ Guido Rud and Patagonik Film Group’s Juan Vera, Juan Pablo Galli and Christian Faillace executive produce.

The film also features a special appearance from Argentine double Grammy Award-nominated pop singer Diego Torres and Sofia Niño de Rivera.

Adapting Argentine film “Dos más dos,” which Patagonik produced in 2012, the comedy shows how even the dullest marriage can be shaken up and questions aspects of normal communication in a couple.

Deal on the format...

Exclusive: Candle Media’s Exile Content Studio is partnering with acclaimed Colombian journalist Daniel Coronell and director Gaz Alazraki (Father Of The Bride) to produce a scripted feature about the incredible recent news story of the four children, including a baby, that survived a plane crash and 40 days in the Amazon Rainforest before being rescued by Colombian special forces.

A story this remarkable was unlikely to go unnoticed by the industry for long, but this is a quick turnaround even for Hollywood.

Earlier this month, world media was captivated by the story of the four children – Lesly, 13; Soleiny, 9; Tien Noriel, 4; and Cristin, 1 – who were found alive in the Amazon after a rescue operation that searched more than 1,600 miles of dense forest.

The children survived the plane crash that killed their mother, the pilot and the only other adult on board, and then got through the dense jungle, alive with jaguars,...

Driving ever more into Latin America, Wild Sheep Content, the L.A.-based label of former Netflix head of international original series Erik Barmack, has launched the Mexico City-based Wild Sheep Latin America as well as a dedicated film completion finance-distribution fund targeting five-to-eight investments a year in the region.

“Three Idiots” producer Jimena Rodríguez, who also created the distribution arm of Mexican exhibition giant Cinepolis, will head up Wild Sheep Latin America following on her production with Barmack of a burgeoning line in star-studded, character-driven crime thrillers begun by Netflix Mexico original “Invitation to Murder.”

In all, in movies and series, Wild Sheep Content, which has a production alliance with The Mediapro Studio, has 16 projects, – movies and series – greet globally, including seven projects greenlit with streamers – set up in Mexico, Brazil, Chile and the Latino U.S. – and two more in development in the region.

If it continues adding to its investments,...

Last October, the National Association of Television Program Executives – NATPE – filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, cancelling its January 2023 conference in the Bahamas.

Three conventions contend for NATPE’s crown: Content Americas, organized by C21 International; Discop Miami, announced in October by Basic Lead’s Patrick Zuchowicki, behind Discop Budapest; and January’s NATPE Global itself, bought this month by RealScreen owner Brunico Communications.

For January 2023 at least, only one event has made it across the starting line: Content Americas, which runs Jan. 24-26 at the Hilton Downtown Miami. Following, 10 takes on this year’s inaugural event.

Content Americas: A Pre-Market Take

Founded in 1963, NATPE was born and boomed as a U.S. TV syndication emporium. Moving to Miami in 2011, many of its overseas delegates instantly came from Latin America. Their presence came to dominate the event. Now the tail isn’t just wagging the dog. It’s nearly the whole beast.

The 42 Film, a new Madrid and Mexico City-based film-tv company of producer Alberto Müffelmann, an executive producer on early Sundance hit “Cassandro,” is forging a first slate of titles, led by “El Origen,” to be voiced by Gael García Bernal.

Based out of Madrid and Mexico City, the new shingle is headed by Müfflemann whose producer credits take in “Museum,” Alfonso Ruizpalacios’ Berlin 2018 best screenplay winner, Fernando Frías’ 2019 “I’m No Longer Here” – a jolting, timely piece of cinema I urge everyone to see,” said Guillermo del Toro – and 2013 best film Ariel winner “The Prize,” directed by Paola Markovitch.

The 42 Film underscores the drive into international co-production by the world big arthouse players as they seek to make titles of theatrical potential in a contracted market.

News of Müffelmann’s new shingle comes as “Cassandro,” starring García Bernal as the openly gay lucha libre wrestler Saul Armendáriz, has won large critical...

Erik Barmack, the former senior Netflix exec, and Mexico-based producer Jimena Rodríguez have added two new Spanish crime novels – “El Susurro del Angel” and “Pequeñas Infamias” – to their burgeoning line in star-studded, character-driven crime thrillers begun by Netflix Mexico original “Invitation to Murder.”

Shot this Summer in Mexico, “Invitation to Murder,” adapting a Carmen Posadas novel and the first title in the crime thriller movie series, starred Peru’s Stephanie Cayo (“Club of Crows”), Spain’s Maribel Verdú (“Pan’s Labyrinth”), Colombia’s Manolo Cardona (“Who Killed Sara?”), and Mexico’s Regina Blandón (“Yo No Creo en Los Hombres”) and Aaron Díaz (“Toda la Sangre”) in a murder mystery reminiscent of “Knives Out,” Barmack said.

Marking out the most original facet of these new movies, “Murder,” “Susurro” and “Pequeñas Indiscreciones” – as the movie makeover is known – will, like “Invitation,” be made for global audiences by adapting high-profile Spanish literary IPs to Mexican settings.

Showrun and directed by Academy Award winner Juan Jose Campanella (“The Secret in Their Eyes”), burgeoning hit Paramount+ franchise “The Envoys” has gone into production on Season 2 in Galicia, North-West Spain.

Miguel Angel Silvestre (“En el corredor de la muerte”) and Luis Gerardo Méndez (“Club de Cuervos”) are reprising their roles as Vatican dispatched miracle corroborators, playing alongside Assira Abbate (“Empire of Lies”), who also starred in Season 1.

Described as a gripping thriller, Season 2 is again produced by Vis, Paramount’s international studio, in collaboration with 100 Bares, Campanella’s Buenos Aires production label and, this time round, Galicia’s A Coruña-based Portocabo. A producer on Movistar Plus+ hits “Hierro” and “Rapa,” Portocabo has also been behind pioneering premium TV co-productions with Portugal (“Dry Water”).

Released on Paramount+ on Dec. 12, Season 1 saw priests Pedro Salinas, a doctor with a scientific bent, and Simon Antequera, a looser cannon, dispatched to the...

Spain’s Marc Clotet and Argentina’s Juan Gil Navarro (“100 Days To Fall in Love”), Santiago Achaga and Esteban Pérez (“Limbo”) are attached to star in “Fragile,” a slice of Patagonia noir thriller from Argentina’s StoryLab.

Created and produced by StoryLab partners Nacho Viale and Diego Palacio, “Fragile” is backed by Flow, Telecom’s dominate Argentine SVOD service, and Televisión Publica Argentina, the country’s public broadcast network.

Palacio will direct “Fragile” (“Fragiles”) from screenplays penned by Lucas Molteni, whose has written on five StoryLab series dating back to 201’s “Estocolmo,” up-and-coming scribes Juan E. Cordoni and Luciano Cocciardi and Viale and Palacio.

The eight part series will be presented on Sept. 28 at the Iberseries & Platino Industria Forum, where Palacio and Viale will be looking for partners in Spain.

That goes with the story. In it, Olivia, 28, the assistant of a powerful public prosecutor in Spain, flies back to...

Revamped with a Latino cast, the 2022 iteration of “Father of the Bride” harnesses the generational and cultural divide between immigrants and their children to put a spin on this romantic comedy premise 30 years after the release of the previous version starring Steve Martin and Diane Keaton (and 72 years after Spencer Tracy walked Elizabeth Taylor down the aisle).

With new gravitas, this venerable property serves as an excellent vehicle for veteran Cuban-born actor Andy Garcia to savor a lead role that feels custom-made for him.

This is Mexican filmmaker Gaz Alazraki’s first feature since his 2013 mega hit “We Are the Nobles” (“Nosotros los Nobles”) broke box office records in his home country. Alazraki went on to create Netflix’s first Spanish-language episodic series, the soccer comedy “Club de Cuervos.” That screenwriter Matt Lopez is an American-born Latino and the director a Mexican national making strides in Hollywood make this reboot...

Revamped with a Latino cast, the 2022 iteration of “Father of the Bride” harnesses the generational and cultural divide between immigrants and their children to put a spin on this romantic comedy premise 30 years after the release of the previous version starring Steve Martin and Diane Keaton (and 72 years after Spencer Tracy walked Elizabeth Taylor down the aisle).

With new gravitas, this venerable property serves as an excellent vehicle for veteran Cuban-born actor Andy Garcia to savor a lead role that feels custom-made for him.

This is Mexican filmmaker Gaz Alazraki’s first feature since his 2013 mega hit “We Are the Nobles” (“Nosotros los Nobles”) broke box office records in his home country. Alazraki went on to create Netflix’s first Spanish-language episodic series, the soccer comedy “Club de Cuervos.” That screenwriter Matt Lopez is an American-born Latino and the director a Mexican national making strides in Hollywood make this reboot...

Exclusive: UTA has signed Luis Gerardo Méndez (Narcos: Mexico), one of Mexico’s biggest stars, for representation in all areas.

Méndez is an actor, writer and producer best known for exec producing and starring in Netflix’s first Spanish-language original comedy series, Club de Cuervos. He most recently appeared in the third season of Netflix’s Narcos: Mexico, as well as in Los Enviados (The Envoys) for Paramount+, where he is currently under a first-look producing deal for Spanish-language projects.

Méndez will next be seen in a starring role in the Netflix limited series, Belascoaran, and in Netflix’s Me Time, with Kevin Hart and Mark Wahlberg, which is slated to premiere later this year. He will soon begin filming for the Peacock limited series, The Resort, which was written and will be directed by Andy Siara.

The actor made his entrance into the U.S. feature marketplace opposite Adam Sandler...

Netflix’s ties with Latin America and the region’s much-loved telenovela format go back to the company’s first steps in original production outside of the U.S., when the streamer picked, as its first international original, Gary “Gaz” Alazraki’s “Club of Crows,” a soccer-themed soapy drama about a dynastic sports ownership family.

Since then, there have been several further incursions into the world of the novela, including some of the streamer’s most popular ever series such as “Who Killed Sara,” currently filming its third and final season, and “Café con Aroma de Mujer,” “Rebelde” and “The Queen of Flow,” the top three non-English language series on Netflix globally at the time of this article’s publishing, sure to be joined by the second season of “Dark Desire” when it launches on Feb. 2.

“Who Killed Sara” creator and showrunner José Ignacio “Chascas” Valenzuela’s next project “Donde...

Amazon Prime Video has appointed seasoned Mexican film and TV producer Leonardo Zimbron for the newly created position of head of film for Spanish-speaking Latin America, effective January.

Zimbron was most recently with Endemol Shine Boomdog where he led its scripted unit since 2018. He has moved to Miami where he will report to Javiera Balmaceda, head of local originals for Spanish-speaking Latin America at Amazon Studios.

With this new role, Zimbron fulfills his long-time ambition to expand his purview from Mexico to the rest of the region. It is unclear who will oversee Portuguese-speaking Brazil.

Zimbron’s film credits include some of the biggest box office hits in Mexico, taking in 2013 comedy “We are the Nobles” (“Nosotros los Nobles”) Gary Alazraki’s debut feature, which has been or will be remade in various territories, including the U.S.

Aside from founding his own production company, Traziende Films, Zimbron ran Warner Bros.

Jesús Zavala (“Club de Cuervos”) and Sofía Espinosa (“Gloria”) have been tapped to lead the Spanish-language adaptation of NBCU’s hit series “Superstore.”

Titled “Supertitlán,” it will be co-directed by showrunner César Rodríguez (“Compañeros”) and Joserra Zúñiga (“Chumel”).

The English-language original, which reached 33.7 million viewers in its final season 6, was created by Justin Spitzer (“The Office”) and produced by Universal Television, in association with Spitzer Holding Company, Miller Green Broadcasting and The District.

“Supertitlán” is Universal Studio Group’s first co-production partnership in Mexico and its first Spanish-language title.

Joining Zavala and Espinosa in the Spanish-language version are Luz Aldán (“La Casadelas Flores”), Ricardo Peralta (“Sobreviví”), Carlos Orozco (“Plan Sexenalen”), Aldo Escalante (“El Señor de los Cielos”), Erika Franco (“Margarita”), Azalia Ortíz (“Dodo”), Martín Barba (“Cuatro Lunas”), Roberta Burns (“Dibujando el Cielo”), Francisco de la Reguera (“Sr. Ávila”), Viviana Serna (“Señor de los Cielos”), Amanda Farah (“La Casa de las Flores...

Matt Hausfater, Teddy Riley, and Aaron Buchsbaum, creators and executive producers of the upcoming Amazon Original adult animated comedy series Fairfax, have signed first-look deals with Amazon Studios. Under the pacts, they will create and produce projects via their The Adorable Trio production banner to premiere exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

Fairfax offers a satirical play on the young, new wave of the sneakerhead/streetwear community, while also capturing the very essence of hype culture — inclusive of the fashion, music, and pop culture that intertwines it all together. The hilarious series pokes fun at hype culture in silly and absurd ways that ultimately showcases the impact among younger generations. Fairfax plays on Gen Z hot topics including cancel culture, social media etiquette, social media activists, clout chasing, and sneaker obsessions.

Skyler Gisondo, Kiersey Clemons, Peter S. Kim and Jaboukie Young-White star.

Fairfax is co-produced...

In a move aimed at further building its roster of original content, LA-based Spanish-language streaming platform Pantaya and Latino Hollywood studio Pantelion have signed multi-year first look deals with Latin American companies El Estudio, The Lift and Traziende Films.

Under the terms of the pact, each company will produce direct-to-platform Spanish-language pics to stream exclusively on Pantaya in the U.S.

Pantelion will serve as the studio on the projects, tapping its long-established relationships with some of the leading producers in Mexico and beyond.

Paul Presburger, CEO of Pantaya and Pantelion said: “In the 10-plus year history of Pantelion, we have had the pleasure to work multiple times with Diego Suarez, Pablo Cruz and their team at El Estudio (“Cesar Chavez”), Avelino Rodriguez and his team at The Lift and the folks at Traziende Films (“Pulling Strings,” “Las Pildoras de Mi Novio”).

“They are all some of the best in...

Commission

ITV has commissioned West Road Pictures to produce “Ridley,” a new detective drama starring “Line of Duty” and “Blood” star Adrian Dunbar. The series is created and written by “Vera” lead writer Paul Matthew Thompson and West Road Pictures managing director Jonathan Fisher. They will executive produce the series.

“I couldn’t be happier to be getting started on ‘Ridley,’ as we continue to build the West Road production slate with our second commission for ITV,” said Fisher of the announcement. “ITV has a fine tradition of nurturing much-loved detective series, and it’s a real privilege to be bringing ‘Ridley’ to the channel.”

“Ridley” follows a detective inspector pushed into retirement from the force after 25 years investigating homicides. Convinced he is still in his prime, Ridley welcomes an invitation from his replacement and former protégé Carol Farman to aid her on a particularly complex case, eventually leading to more consulting jobs.

ViacomCBS’ ViacomCBS International Studios (Vis) has struck a first-look deal with the production firm of Luis Gerardo Méndez (Netflix’s Murder Mystery and Club de Cuervos), one of Mexico’s biggest stars, for Paramount+ Latin America.

Méndez owns the firm, Cine Vaquero, with Mexican producer Gerardo Gatica. “Under the terms of the agreement, they will create, develop, and produce exclusive Spanish-language scripted and non-scripted content for Vis and Paramount+ Latin America,” the company said.

“At Vis, we pride ourselves in partnering with the best talent and creatives to secure first-look deals that ensure we get the best global content,”...

ViacomCBS’ ViacomCBS International Studios (Vis) has struck a first-look deal with the production firm of Luis Gerardo Méndez (Netflix’s Murder Mystery and Club de Cuervos), one of Mexico’s biggest stars, for Paramount+ Latin America.

Méndez owns the firm, Cine Vaquero, with Mexican producer Gerardo Gatica. “Under the terms of the agreement, they will create, develop, and produce exclusive Spanish-language scripted and non-scripted content for Vis and Paramount+ Latin America,” the company said.

“At Vis, we pride ourselves in partnering with the best talent and creatives to secure first-look deals that ensure we get the best global content,”...

Melissa Barrera has been cast in the lead role of the Netflix drama series “Breathe.”

Variety exclusively reported that the series had been ordered at the streamer back in February. Barrera will star as Liv, a razor-sharp Manhattan attorney who finds herself profoundly out of her comfort zone when her small plane crashes in the Canadian wilderness and she must battle for survival.

Barrera got her start in acting in her native Mexico on shows like “Siempre tuya Acapulco” and “Tanto amor.” She also starred in the Netflix series “Club de Cuervos,” which as the streaming service’s first Spanish-language original.

She is best known in the U.S. for her starring role in the Starz series “Vida” from creator Tanya Saracho. That show ran for three seasons and wrapped up with its series finale last year on the premium cabler. Up next, Barrera will appear as Vanessa in the...

Netflix is about to introduce one of Mexico’s most legendary fictional families to the English-speaking world with “We Are the Nobles,” a new U.S. film adaptation of Mexican sensation “Nosotros los Nobles” (The Noble Family).

Eight years ago, Gaz Alazraki’s family comedy became a certified blockbuster, and still ranks as the second highest-grossing Mexican film of all time, behind “Instructions Not Included.” When Netflix was getting into original production outside of the U.S., its first effort was the series “Club of Crows,” created by Alazraki and inspired by his cinema super-hit.

Netflix is co-producing with Alazraki, who produced and directed the original, and Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan and Mark Radcliffe from 26th Street Pictures, with whom the streamer has a larger overall deal, which also includes an untitled Chupacabra film with Jonas Cuarón, son and frequent collaborator of Alfonso Cuarón. Guido Rud, CEO and founder at FilmSharks,...

The Mexican comedy Nosotros Los Nobles (We Are the Nobles) is getting an English-language feature take at Netflix from producers Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan and Mark Radcliffe for 26th Street Pictures as part of their overall deal with the streamer.

The 2013 movie directed and co-written by Gaz Alazraki follows three spoiled and superficial children and their self-made wealthy father who feigns bankruptcy to cut them off, and forces them to do the unthinkable: Get a job.

Nosotros Los Nobles stands as the second-highest grossing local movie in Mexico with $26.2M behind Eugenio Derbez’s Instructions Not Included which grossed $46.1M. Nosotros Los Nobles was also a success across Latin America and served as the inspiration for Netflix’s first Mexican original series Club de Cuervos. The original movie is based on the play El Gran Calavera written by Adolfo Torrado. The pic stars Gonzalo Vega, Luis Gerardo Mendez, Karla Souza and Juan Pablo Gil.

Chris Columbus, Gaz Alazraki. among producers. FilmSharks’ Guido Rud is EP.

Netflix is planning an English-language remake of Gaz Alazraki’s Mexican comedy juggernaut We Are The Nobles (Nosotros Los Nobles).

Chris Columbus is producing with Michael Barnathan and Mark Radcliffe for 26th Street Pictures as part of their overall deal with Netflix, and Alazraki.

Guido Rud, whose Buenos Aires-based sales agency FilmSharks has licensed remake rights to the film in multiple territories via its subsidiary The Remake Co., serves as executive producer.

The comedy centres on a self-made man who fakes bankruptcy and cuts off his spoiled children in...

Academy Award winning director Juan José Campanella (“The Secret in Their Eyes”) has gone into production in Mexico on the first title from ViacomCBS International Studios (Vis) for Paramount Plus, “Los Enviados,” an eight-part series action thriller about “two men searching for their souls,” the director told Variety.

Vis has shared in exclusivity with Variety some first photos from the shoot.

First fruit of a first look deal between Vis and Campanella, “Los Enviados” has also added to key cast Irene Azuela, star of Mexican movies such as “Miss Bala” and “The Obscure Spring,” as well as Netflix series “Monarca.”

Azuela joins two of the Spanish-world’s biggest names, Luis Gerardo Méndez, an actor with a rich comedic vein, exploited in Netflix soccer club comedy “Club de Cuervos,” and Miguel Angel Silvestre. A sex symbol thanks to his breakout role as El Duque in “Sin Tetas No Hay Paraíso,” Sylvestre...

Spain’s Soul Pictures has picked up international sales rights to Mexican helmer-scribe Carlos Cuaron’s dramedy “Amalgama,” while Mexico’s Cinepolis has snagged Latin American distribution rights to the film.

Best known for co-writing his brother Alfonso’s career-reviving road movie “Y Tu Mama Tambien,” “Amalgama” is Cuaron’s third feature although he has directed several award-winning shorts, and participated in 2015 anthology “Vidas Violentas” as well as written scores of notable screenplays.

The film’s stellar Latinx cast includes Colombia’s Manolo Cardona (“Narcos’) and Peruvian star Stephanie Cayo (“Club de Cuervos”), as well as Mexico’s Miguel Rodarte (“Time Share”) and Mexican-American thesp Tony Dalton (“Better Call Saul”).

They play four dentists attending a conference in a Mexican resort where they decide to break away from the tedium to an island paradise. All three men seem to have designs on the nubile dentist played by Cayo, which revives...

James Schamus (pictured, left), the former co-president of Focus Features who is best known for his laureled producing partnership with multi Oscar-winning director Ang Lee, is creating his first TV series for Netflix Mexico.

Schamus will serve as executive producer and showrunner for the series, which he co-wrote with Monika Revilla and author Fernanda Melchor (“Hurricane Season”).

The series, whose storyline is under wraps, will shoot in Spanish with local crew and talent in Mexico and is set to debut later this year. Francisco Ramos, VP of Spanish-language originals for Netflix in Latin America, told Variety that Schamus is learning Spanish. Ramos also expressed his delight at the “complete and diverse slate” that Netflix Mexico has put together in recent years.

This is the first major Latino collaboration for Schamus — producer of Lee’s “Brokeback Mountain” as well as “The Ice Storm,” which he also co-wrote — since his 1990 producing debut,...

Gaz Alazraki is set to direct a “Father of the Bride” film remake with a Cuban-American twist at Warner Bros, according to an individual with knowledge of the project.

Screenwriter Matt Lopez is penning the script for the romantic comedy. For the remake, Lopez will draw on his experience from attending Cuban weddings. Executives Jesse Ehrman and Paul Perez will oversee development of the project at the studio.

“Father of the Bride” was a remake of the 1950 original film which starred Spencer Tracy and Elizabeth Taylor. The 1991 version of the film starred Steve Martin as George Banks as a dotting father who is reluctant to let go of his daughter when he discovers that she is getting married. Diane Keaton also starred in the 1991 film as George’s wife Nina.

The 1991 “Father of the Bride” grossed $89 million domestically at the box office. A 1995 sequel followed and grossed $76 million domestically.

Alazraki...

Exclusive: Warner Bros’ new take on the classic story Father of the Bride is gaining momentum as Club de Cuervos director Gaz Alazraki has been set to helm the studio’s new reboot. This latest will revolve around a Latinx family, with Matt Lopez penning the script.

The film will tell the story of a father coming to grips with his daughter’s upcoming wedding through the prism of multiple relationships within a big, sprawling Cuban-American family. It will be more of a rom-com than previous versions of film. While this will mark the third iteration of the story, sources say this will be more in the vein of the original Spencer Tracy pic and not the Steve Martin franchise from the 1990s.

Dede Garner and Jeremy Kleiner will produce for Plan B Entertainment.

Alazraki has quickly become a rising star in the directing ranks and one of the most...

Erik Barmack’s Wild Sheep Content, the new L.A.-based company of the former Netflix VP, has boarded steamy romantic comedy “Sweet Paprika,” the first animation project from internationally renowned comic book artist Mirka Andolfo (“Unnatural” “Mercy”).

Directed by Gabriele Pennacchiolo (“Love Death + Robots”), “Sweet Paprika,” which was originally announced last July, will be produced by Turin’s Arancia Studio and Gray Ladder Productions. Variety has also been given first-look access to three frames from an upcoming animated sequence.

Barmack and Wild Sheep will work as a creative producer on “Sweet Paprika.” Together with Grey Ladder and Arancia Studio, he will bring the project to global platforms and then serve as an executive producer.

Wild Sheep Content’s partnership on the project is its third high-profile animation announcement in the last few months. Barmack revealed last July that he was teaming with illustration influencer Nicholle Kobi on “Queens.” Barmack...

Francisco Ramos, VP of Spanish-Language Originals for Netflix in Latin America, headlined a San Sebastian chat on Wednesday evening, joined virtually by producers Agustina Chiarino of leading Uruguayan independent Mutante Cine and Olmo Figueredo, co-founder of Sevilla’s La Claqueta. The talk was hosted by Spanish industry blogger Elena Neira of La Otra Plantalla.

From the start, Ramos was unequivocal that, “Language is no longer a barrier. Only ambition and quality are barriers.”

Admitting that getting Spanish language content to travel outside of its domestic territories, even to other Spanish speaking countries, has been difficult in the past, Ramos was quick to point out the historical precedent for powerful stories to cross borders.

“I think the golden age in Spanish language storytelling started more than 500 years ago with Cervantes,” he said, “and since then, Spanish has been an essential storytelling language because it links so many civilizations across Latin America and Spain.

Seven drama series play at the 2020 San Sebastian Film Festival, a historic record. Three series, Movistar Plus’ “Riot Police” and HBO Europe’s “Patria” and “We Are Who We Are,” screen in their entirety in San Sebastián’s Official Selection, another first.

None of this seems a coincidence. Traditionally the highest-profile film event in the Spanish-speaking world, San Sebastian is fast becoming one of its most important drama series showcases as well.

This year the San Sebastián Film Festival’s TV cup runneth over. Why is another matter. Following, five suggestions:

San Sebastian Festival’s Backers

The Festival’s two major sponsors, Telefonica pay TV division Movistar Plus and public broadcaster Radio Televisión Española (Rtve), are TV companies. In Spain, local series have mesmerized local audiences for the last 25 years. Over 2011-16, only three U.S. shows – “The Pillars of the Earth,” “The Witch” and ABC’S “Resurrection” – made the...