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Eze Olzanski’s Buenos Aires-based Eo Media has confirmed the Jan. 27 A&e Latin America debut for Argentine-Brazil series “Sumergidos” as it descends on Content Americas.

This follows a raft of various new movie deals that the production and distribution company sealed at Mip Cancun with the likes of Paramount, NBC Universal, Globo and Mvs. It also closed free TV pacts in Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Mexico, Brazil and Uruguay as well as inflight deals for several movies in its slate at the Mexico event.

“Sumergidos”is one of the latest additions to A&e’s catalog of crime drama series alongside titles led by “Narcos,” “Narcos: Mexico,” “El Chapo,” “Rosario Tijeras,” “El Patrón del Mal” and “Sobreviviendo a Escobar: Alias JJ.”

“When we sold ‘Narcos,’ ‘Narcos: Mexico’ and ‘El Chapo’ to A&e, not many believed that they could play on both a pay TV network and Netflix simultaneously. We proved...

Netflixs 100 Years of Solitude adaptation is a deeply ambitious project, and there has been a lot of hesitation around the streamer's ability to bring the magical realism classic to life on the screen. However, recently released images, which show the cast and set of the TV series, seem to bode very well for the limited series.

The photos, published by Deadline, grant fans a first look into the live-action world of Macondo, the fictional town in Colombia where the story transpires. The images show the town being flooded, and people and animals wading through the water, as well as two of the characters meticulously engaged in an alchemical endeavor. From the set design, to the costuming, the previews for the Dynamo-produced series demonstrate a great attention to detail, which elicits much of the charm of the novel.

Related Prime Video's God of War Series Gets Unfortunate Update 2 Years After...

The second episode of “Gangland Chronicles,” titled “The Sinaloa Cartel: The El Chapo Years,” promises to be a gripping exploration of one of the most notorious drug trafficking organizations in history. Set to air on Sunday, August 11, 2024, at 10:36 Pm on History, this episode dives deep into the rise of the Sinaloa Cartel under the leadership of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

Viewers will witness how El Chapo and his organization aimed to dominate the global drug trade. The episode highlights their strategic moves and the ruthless tactics they employed to establish power. However, the journey to the top is not without challenges. The Tijuana Cartel poses a significant threat, leading to a violent rivalry that escalates tensions in the drug world.

Additionally, the episode sheds light on the relentless efforts of both U.S. and Mexican authorities to dismantle the Sinaloa Cartel’s operations. The clash between law enforcement and...

On Wednesday June 12 2024, Vice broadcasts Hells Angels: Kingdom Come!

The Hells Angels, The Mafia, & El Chapo Season 1 Episode 3 Episode Summary

In this episode of “Hells Angels: Kingdom Come,” tensions escalate as a war erupts between the Hells Angels and a formidable enemy. The situation takes a dark turn when the Mafia intervenes, sparking an unexpected alliance with El Chapo. This unholy collaboration sets the stage for a gripping narrative that culminates in a tragic fate for a Hells Angels kingpin.

Viewers will be on the edge of their seats as the power dynamics shift and alliances are tested in the world of organized crime. The intricate web of relationships between these notorious groups unravels, revealing the high stakes involved in their deadly games. As the story unfolds, the audience will witness the consequences of crossing lines and the brutal reality of life within these criminal circles.

With each twist and turn,...

Get ready for a high-octane episode of “Hells Angels: Kingdom Come” with Season 1 Episode 3, titled “The Hells Angels, The Mafia, & El Chapo.” Tune in at 10:00 Pm on Wednesday, June 12th, 2024, on Vice for an intense exploration of the volatile world of motorcycle gangs and organized crime.

In this gripping installment, viewers are thrust into the midst of a violent conflict between the Hells Angels and their adversaries. When war erupts between the rival factions, the Mafia sees an opportunity to assert its influence and intervene in the power struggle. As tensions escalate, an unholy alliance is formed between the Hells Angels, the Mafia, and notorious drug lord El Chapo.

As the stakes rise and the body count mounts, viewers are taken on a rollercoaster ride of danger, betrayal, and intrigue. With each twist and turn, the line between friend and foe becomes increasingly blurred, leading to a deadly showdown...

Gabriel García Márquez’s famed novel “One Hundred Years of Solitude” is finally landing an adaptation courtesy of Netflix.

A sprawling 16-episode series is set to debut later this year, bringing Márquez’s beloved 1967 bestseller to the screen. “One Hundred Years of Solitude” is one of the most ambitious film projects in Latin America to date, brought to life by the most talented artists from Colombia and Latam, filmed entirely in Spanish and shot in Colombia with the support of author Márquez’s family.

The series is produced by independent Colombian entertainment company Dynamo, which has been behind more than 47 feature films and 25 television series. Previous Dynamo releases include fellow Netflix series “Wild District,” “Crime Diaries,” and “Green Frontier,” as well as providing location services to “Narcos,” “El Chapo,” and “Gemini Man.”

“One Hundred Years of Solitude” was filmed in the regions of La Guajira, Magdalena, Cesar, Cundinamarca, and Tolima in Colombia.

Sofia Vergara continues to maintain her reign as Queen Griselda with her latest series on Netflix. Following Vergara in the shoes of real-life Columbian drug lord Griselda Blanco Restrepo, Griselda is the latest addition to Netflix’s catalog of television series, which includes Narcos and El Chapo, from the gritty world of cartels and drugs. Best known for her role as Gloria Pritchett in Modern Family, Vergara leads the charge in Griselda through a story that delivers an impactful punch even when telling a familiar cautionary tale of reign and ruin driven by lust for power and ambition. With Narcos’ success already serving as a great precedence for a cartel crime drama, Griselda allows its female protagonist to flourish in its own, distinct ways. If you like Griselda for all it brings to the table, Netflix’s Queen of the South can offer all of it and a bit more...

Deepak Chopra’s Beacon Media has pacted with Mexico City-based Pirexia Films to develop Spanish-language content derived from Chopra’s vast IP library.

The partners plan to develop a range of Spanish-language properties, but the initial focus will be on Chopra books, starting with “The 13th Disciple,” “The Third Jesus” and “Jesus: A Story of Enlightenment.” The intent is to develop scripted, unscripted and documentary projects. Filming is expected to begin later this year in Mexico and Spain.

Pirexia was co-founded in 2015 by filmmaker José Manuel Cravioto, known for his work on the Univision/Netflix drama “El Chapo.”

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Pirexia Films in developing tailored content for Dr.

Chopra’s active community in Latin America and Spanish-speaking parts of the world,” said Beacon Media CEO Manoj Narender Madnani. “This partnership follows our motto that 1 + 1 must equal 11. We are a firm believer in partnerships that can...

If January sets the tone for any streamer’s year then 2023 is certainly going to be the Year of True Crime on Hulu. That’s right, Hulu’s list of new releases for January 2023 is highlight by several new true crime docuseries (and one charmingly goofy animated hero).

The true crime docuseries fest gets started with Death in the Dorms on Jan. 5. That will be followed by How I Caught My Killer on Jan. 12, and Web of Death on Jan. 19. The first is a six-episode series that will follow the real life case of murders at UCLA, while the latter two will both present several different stories.

It’s not just all true crime in January for Hulu. Jan. 9 sees the arrival of Koala Man, an animated series that envisions an Australian crime fighter of the same name. Also premiering is season 2 of How I Met Your Mather (Jan. 24) and superhero drama Extraordinary (Jan.

Lionsgate will mandate new policies and protections for abortion care for its employees in the wake of the overturning of Roe V. Wade, the company’s CEO Jon Feltheimer announced to staff on Friday.

“Our Company’s position on this matter is clear and unequivocal: the reproductive rights of every employee must be protected, individual choice will be safeguarded, and access to necessary health services will be prioritized,” Feltheimer wrote in his weekly memo to staff on Friday and obtained by TheWrap. “We are currently engaged in the process of developing a thoughtful and comprehensive policy to carry out this mandate – one that factors in health insurance issues, the legal and regulatory frameworks of the states in which we operate, and a host of other issues.”

This week, a collective of Hollywood’s studios responded to an open letter signed by over 400 showrunners and TV creators demanding more specific demands as it pertains to abortions,...

Kathryn Busby joined Starz last fall as president of Original Programming, and settling into the job has been easy, the executive told TheWrap this week as the network gave their presentation at the Television Critics Association summer tour.

“It’s been fantastic. It’s a great honor, a great experience, a lot of fun working at Starz. The team that works here, they’re genius; they’re fantastic; they’re smart; they’re passionate. And for me, it was just such an opportunity,” she said. “I really admire what Starz stands for and what Starz does, and as somebody who was, when I was at Tri-Star, really wanting to put underrepresented voices in the premium space, to see Starz doing that year after year after year – and I really believed in that mandate – love our mandate of women and underrepresented voices. It just feels like the world is catching up to us.

Lionsgate is moving into the world of podcasts.

The studio joins the long list of television companies that have set up an audio division to respond to the increasingly booming world of podcasting.

It is launching with shows from 50 Cent and Michael Nathanson (The Punisher).

Lionsgate Sound will operate as a full-service podcast production company, handling podcast production for the studio’s film and television businesses while also overseeing all elements of podcast production for third party clients.

It will overseen by Gretchen Stockdale and Nicholas Caprio with Charlie Webster heading up creative for the division. Lionsgate’s Pilgrim Media Group is a minority owner in Lionsgate Sound and will handle the day-to-day operations of the group.

The division will launch with four shows: Cuate/twin/: the downfall of El Chapo (w/t), hosted and produced by Curtis ‘50’ Cent Jackson and his newly established G-Unit Audio, and exclusively distributed...

Mexican-American Netflix and Hulu veteran on why authenticity matters.

On launch day of the Spanish-language streaming service ViX+ in the US, Mexico and Spanish-speaking Latin America, EVP and general manager Rodrigo Mazon talks to Screen about what to expect and the streaming landscape.

The platform owned by US and Mexico-based entertainment giant TelevisaUnivision kicks off with more than 10,000 hours of entertainment, news and sports. More than 70 ViX+ Original series and films will stream in the first year.

ViX+ costs 6.99 a month in the US and MX119 (around 5.80) in Mexico and is available as an app and can be found on...

Newen Studios’ Spanish divison iZen has launched documentary producer Capa Spain with Emmy and Peabody-winning director and journalist Tomás Ocaña.

Capa Spain will work to develop international documentaries in Spain and the wider Hispanic market.

Investigative journalist Ocaña is known for docu-series such as Lucy in the Spiderweb, which was Spanish national television streamer RTVEPlay and selected to premiere on the 24th Malaga Festival in 2021.

He has also participated in major investigative journalism projects such as the Panama Papers and the Swiss Leaks and many of his stories focus on rime, gambling, corruption, drug trafficking, environmental destruction, labor exploitation and fraud. As such, he was worked on drama projects such as Netflix’s El Chapo.

Since 2017, Ocaña has led his own production boutique called The Facto Productions, based in Madrid and Miami to tell general interest stories that others can’t or won’t reveal. He...

Mexico’s Peninsula Films & Entertainment and Monica Lozano’s Alebrije Prods. have teamed up to produce feature film “El Hombre de la Multitud” about Mexican tabloid photojournalist Enrique Metinides.

His iconic, at times grisly, photos chronicled scenes of accidents, crimes and historical events from the 1940s until 1997 in Mexico. Now 88 years old, Metinides’ career in “nota roja” photojournalism began at the age of 10 when he started riding along with policemen with the camera his father gave him. His first photo was published when he was just 12. By the age of 13, he was hired by tabloid La Prensa, albeit unpaid, and earned the nickname “El Niño” (‘The Boy’).

To be directed by Jose Manuel Cravioto, whose credits include his feature debut “Mexican Gangster” and TV shows “Señor Avila,” “El Chapo,” and “Diablero,” “El Hombre de la Multitud” begins with Metinides as a child who’s toying with the camera he got...

Launched by “El Chapo” producer Camila Jiménez and its creator Silvana Aguirre, L.A.-based The Immigrant, in which Fremantle has a 25% stake, has hired Oscar-nominated filmmaker Javier Fesser to direct its upcoming Spanish series “Custodia Repartida” (“Shared Custody”), a dramatic comedy from María Mínguez (“Vivir dos veces”) and Juanjo Moscardó (“Amor en Polvo”).

The company recently expanded its Mexican team with the appointment of Claudia Valdez as director of physical production. Valdez brings more than two decades of experience from across film and television to The Immigrant and will be critical as the studio enters production on multiple television projects.

One such project, “Shared Custody,” is a dramatic comedy unraveling after the fallout of separation between two parents, and an examination of that increasingly common dynamic in the modern world. Many families cannot afford to live alone, because often those with money have little time and those who do have time frequently struggle financially.

Exclusive: Exile Content Studio, the Latinx-led Hollywood production company, is launching true-crime podcast Sacred Scandal, about the investigation into the 2001 murder of Sister Michelle Lewis, a Miami nun, by Mykhaylo Kofel, a teenage monk.

Kofel had been recruited in Ukraine by a man posing as a Catholic priest and brought to Miami’s Holy Cross Academy, where he witnessed and endured four years of improper behavior and alleged sexual abuse.

After confessing to the nun’s murder, Kofel (who was 18 at the time) was convicted and sentenced to a 30-year-term at Martin Correctional Institution in Indiantown, Fl, while the bogus priest Father Wendt and his partner Father Damian were able to walk away without punishment when the investigation was abruptly closed.

Sacred Scandal is hosted and co-produced by Chilean-born comedian and voice actress Paula Barros and Chilean-born documentary filmmaker Melanie Bartley (Full Dress). Dennis Funk is also executive producer for the podcast,...

Exclusive: Sicario and Traffic star Benicio Del Toro is teaming up with L.A.-based Exile Content Studio to develop a slate of scripted and unscripted TV projects from emerging creatives.

The partnership will look to support talent from Latin America and the U.S. Hispanic market who are working on Spanish- and English-language projects.

Traffic Oscar winner Del Toro, who was Emmy-nominated for Showtime series Escape At Dannemora, is joining the creative advisory board of the company, which is led by Wharton professor Adam Grant. The deal marks the actor-producer’s first such agreement with a production company.

“I’m excited to bring life to these underrepresented voices and stories by partnering with Exile Content,” Del Toro said. “For some time, I been impressed by the company’s vision and look forward to bringing our stories to global audiences.”

Alejandro Uribe, CEO of Exile Content Studio, commented: “Benicio del Toro is an icon,...

Exclusive: David Unger’s Artist International Group (Aig) and Barcelona-based Infinito Studios have launched a joint venture that will focus on international production and talent representation.

The company will produce and package English, Spanish-language and multi-lingual content while also representing a diverse set of international clients across film and television on a global basis. Aig’s Raquel Elfassi will coordinate the joint venture’s activities.

Aig has offices in Los Angeles, London, Paris, Barcelona, Mexico City, Seoul and Hong Kong, and reps clients including Donnie Yen, Anil Kapoor, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and Gong Li, among others.

“Together we are uniquely positioned to capitalize on the explosive growth from international opportunities and partnerships,” Unger said. “Today, more than ever, content across film and television must speak to diverse audiences with global appeal”.

Infinito Studios is headed by brothers Albert and Oriol Uria, and Mexican showrunner and director Daniel Posada.

Exclusive: Exile Content has teamed with Pulp Fiction producer Lawrence Bender to acquire the rights to Azam Ahmed’s New York Times article, “He Was One of Mexico’s Deadliest Assassins. Then He Turned on His Cartel”. Exile and Bender are currently developing the story into a film or series with Ahmed and Caitlin Roper as producers.

Ahmed co-wrote the article with Paulina Villegas which was published in December 2019. It tells the story of a man who became one of the deadliest assassins in Mexico who eventually taken into custody via a makeshift witness protection program. He eventually fell back into the deadly trade. “This will never end, no matter what I do,” he said in the New York Times story. “But I just won’t be a part of it anymore.”

This is not the first story from Ahmed that has been acquired to be developed into a project.

Exclusive: Harold Torres has signed with ICM Partners for representation in all areas. Torres is currently receiving rave reviews for his chillingly brilliant turn as a Narco enforcer in Amazon’s limited series ZeroZeroZero. The series was created by Stefano Sollima, Leonardo Fasoli, and Mauricio Katz; Andrea Riseborough and Dane DeHaan also star.

While the show features incredible performances across the board, Torres stole every scene he was in. Following the show’s premiere in April, Torres quickly was on every agencies radar and seemed like only a matter of time before he was signed by one of the majors.

The three-time Ariel Award nominated Torres has appeared in more than 30 films in his native Mexico, including Rudo Y Cursi alongside Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna, as well as Cary Joji Fukunaga’s debut feature Sin Nombre. In 2013 he won the actor prize at the 2013 Morelia Film Festival for...

Exclusive: Telemundo’s La Reina del Sur is coming back for a third season with Kate del Castillo reprising the role of Teresa Mendoza.

The news comes ahead of NBC Universal’s Upfronts, which will feature the Spanish-language broadcaster’s slate.

The first season of the show, which is based on Arturo Perez-Reverte’s novel, launched in 2011 and returned for a second season in 2019. The third season will start production early next year, as long as production can resume as a result of Covid-19.

The show is the network’s most successful ‘Super Series’, used to differentiate it from its traditional long-running telenovelas.

The third season is a co-production between Telemundo Global Studios and Netflix; Telemundo holds rights in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, while the streamer airs globally.

The second series picked up eight years after the events of the season one finale with Mendoza was pregnant and unsure of her future.

Exclusive: Gaumont International exec Ben Bishop has joined Canadian firm Vortex Words + Pictures as President, International Distribution, based in Sydney, Australia.

Bishop, who started June 1, joins from Gaumont where he served as International VP of TV Sales for Asia Pacific and sold shows including Narcos, El Chapo, Art Of Crime, El Presidente, and Calimero.

Prior to Gaumont, he worked for 13 years at Entertainment One, latterly as Sales Director for Australia, New Zealand and Asia, selling The Walking Dead, Hell On Wheels, Girl On The Train, Divergent and Spotlight.

The exec will be tasked with growing the international footprint of Vortex, which has been on a buying spree. The company, run by veteran Canadian producer Bill Marks, acquired a majority interest in A71 Entertainment and V71 Entertainment in 2019 and this year purchased the assets of D Films. In January of this year the company announced Justin Rebelo as its new CEO.

In their continued bid to lock up leading talent for their fledgling TV development-production partnership, Endeavor Content and Exile have signed a first look series deal with lauded Mexican writer-director Alejandra Marquez Abella (“Las Niñas Bien”).

The alliance recently announced first look pacts with Sebastian Hofmann, “Roma” producer Nicolas Celis and Mauricio Katz’s shingle Subtrama.

Marquez Abella’s first project is the scripted dramedy series “La Liberación,” which follows a group of estranged female entertainment industry professionals who realize they need to resolve their differences in order to better face the future together.

“We as women have been condemned to ‘divide and conquer,’ to live clashing with each other,” said Marquez Abella. “Now we’re looking at each other and we’re learning that we don’t have to fight for a spot, that we all can co-exist and thrive together in this world.”

“La Liberación” stars “Los Espookys’” Cassandra Ciangherotti,...

This week’s Intl. TV Newswire analyzes a surge in new studio complex announcements; HBO’s “Run” is chosen to close next month’s Series Mania, Endeavor and Elite sign up Mexico’s Sebastian Hofmann; and Scandinavian series snag a remarkable presence at Canneseries and Series Mania.

Moviebox, Lansdowne Announce Portuguese Complex, as Studio Plans Proliferate

MovieBox Premiere and Lansdowne Partners have announced a €60million ($66 million) investment in developing a state-of-the-art film and media complex in the Algarve region of southern Portugal, headed by former Pinewood director Dave Godfrey. Based in the municipality of Loulé, the “vast complex” will host streaming platform Moviebox Premiere itself and “world class production facilities,” Moviebox announced Friday.

In positing what it describes as a “vast complex,” Moviebox Premiere is hardly alone. A Berlinale trend this year was the escalation in new big studio announcements. Reasons cut various ways.

Incentives have proliferated given a “growing...

Exclusive: El Chapo producer Exile Content Studios and Endeavor Content have closed an exclusive first-look deal with Mexican filmmaker Sebastian Hofmann.

Hofmann directed Time Share (Tiempo Compartido), the R.J Mitte-starring feature film that won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Screenwriting at Sundance Film Festival in 2018 and airs on Netflix.

Hoffman’s first project under the deal is elevated horror series Jabalí, which chronicles the disappearance of a local activist in a forgotten village in rural Mexico in the midst of the traditional feast of the boar.

Exile is focused on developing and producing long-form content for global audiences in English and Spanish. In addition to Netflix’s El Chapo, it was behind Emmy Award-winning documentary Science Fair, which won the Sundance Audience Award in 2018, and Netflix’s Who Killed Malcolm X. The company recently struck a partnership with Endeavor Content to finance, develop, and produce Spanish...

Madrid — Underscoring its ambitions to grow its Latin America business, Fremantle has named Manuel Martí, one of Latin America’s most cultured and respected TV executives, to the newly-created position of head of scripted development, Latin America.

Martí will report to Coty Cagliolo, Fremantle head of production, Latin America, He will be responsible for developing Fremantle’s drama slate in the region, securing and delivering commissions and ultimately building Fremantle’s scripted business in Latin America, Fremantle said in a statement Monday.

Both Martí and Cogliolo will attend Natpe:Miami next week with Fremantle.

The hire will bolster significantly Fremantle’s scripted series clout in the region where Martí, formerly head of development and international business at Buenos Aires-based Pol-ka helped turn the Argentine production house, into a name player on the international TV scene, where it evolved from a long-format producer for Argentina to a premium producer for global...

Madrid — Burgeoning Hispanic film and TV studio Exile Content, headed by former Univision and Televisa chief creative officer Isaac Lee, has struck an agreement with Spanish publishing house Planeta and Spanish author Elvira Lindo to create a Spanish-language TV series based on Lindo’s most famous creation, Manolito Gafotas.

The move is many ways marks Exile apart as a Los Angeles, Miami and Mexico based studio which is challenging Spanish companies on their home turf for a slice of prestige, highly popular IP.

Developed as a comedic monolog by author Lindo for a radio program in the 1990s, Manolito Gafotas typifies the combination of popular entertainment and social critique which runs through much of the best of Spanish movies and TV shows.

First published in 1994, the now eight Manolito Gafotas novels turn on a chubby, miopic, glass-wearing kid young enough to use expressions which suggest an innocence -“his worldwide...

Fremantle and Bron Ventures have invested The Immigrant production banner headed by Fusion and Story House alums Camila Jimenez and Silvana Aguirre.

Fremantle has taken a 25% stake in Immigrant with a plan to expand its equity interest down the road. Bron has also taken a minority stake.

Launched in January, Immigrant focuses on Latinx and Hispanic stories for the U.S. and global audiences. The company is working on a series order for an undisclosed project, and it is already co-producing a separate project with another Fremantle banner, Wildside.

“Over the past several years Silvana and I have been working to change the paradigm around Latinx television focusing on creative talent, both established and emerging, and stories that connect with the audience, regardless of where they take place,” Jimenez. “We are very excited about this partnership: Fremantle’s established brand, international footprint and strong network of creative outlets, coupled with...

Fremantle has taken a 25% stake in The Immigrant, the production outfit set up by “El Chapo” producer Camila Jimenez and creator Silvana Aguirre. Bron, whose recent projects include “Joker” and “The Addams Family,” has also taken a smaller stake in the L.A.-based company, which was launched earlier this year and has outposts in Mexico and Spain.

The Immigrant will work with other talent in Fremantle’s worldwide stable of production outfits. A collaboration with “My Brilliant Friend” producer Wildside was already underway before Fremantle’s investment in the firm. Details of that joint project are closely guarded, but it will be a period piece based on real events, with Lucia Puenzo (“La Jauria”) as showrunner.

Fremantle has an option to up its 25% stake in The Immigrant to a majority holding. Fremantle has pushed heavily into scripted in recent years, and The Immigrant deal is its first major investment in the Latinx-focused content space.

Guadalajara, Mexico — Mexico’s Ernesto Contreras, best known for his lauded Sundance Audience Award winner “I Dream in Another Language” is preparing his next feature film, “Cosas Imposibles” (“Impossible Things”).

“I Dream…” producers Monica Lozano and Eamon O’Farrill of Alebrije Prods. and Luis Albores and Érika Ávila of Contreras’ Agencia Sha, are re-teaming to make the dramedy.

Set in a Mexico City housing complex, “Impossible Things” turns on a woman in her 60s whose dead abusive husband continues to torment her, but only in her head. She strikes an unlikely friendship with a troubled 19-year-old neighbor. Together they help each other to shake off their inner demons.

Story is by novice writer Fanie Soto, a Guadalajara native, whose first script won the Matilde Landeta top award given to female scriptwriters. “I was intrigued by what the juror said about it and asked to read it,” said Contreras, adding: “I...

Joaquín Guzmán, the feared Mexican drug lord known worldwide as “El Chapo,” has been found guilty of all 10 charges in his New York trial. The convictions follow a 42-day trial and include leading a criminal enterprise; drug trafficking of heroin, cocaine and other drugs; the use of firearms; and money laundering.

Convicted by a jury of eight women and four men, he could face life in a U.S. maximum-security federal prison and the forfeiture of some $14 billion.

Brooklyn U.S. District Court Judge Brian Cogan praised the jury, saying he has never seen a jury so committed to details in his 13 years on the bench. The jurors had asked 15 questions during their six-day deliberations and delivered an eight-page verdict sheet.

New York police and others are on high alert outside and around the Brooklyn courthouse, where authorities held an active-shooter drill Monday to prepare for the verdict.

“This trial...

Vice Media is laying off about 10% of its total workforce, Deadline confirmed Friday. This comes a week after BuzzFeed’s similar staff reduction and is the latest signal of scale-backs in what was maybe a too-fast-growing sector.

CEO Nancy Dubuc revealed the movie in a memo to staff Friday. It comes after the last round of layoffs in November of about the same amount; at the time those moves including a hiring freeze at the Brooklyn-based company aiming at millennial demos.

“Having finalized the 2019 budget, our focus shifts to executing our goals and hitting our marks,” Dubuc wrote in the memo, obtained first by THR. “We will make Vice the best manifestation of itself and cement its place long into the future.”

Last week, similar cuts swept through HuffPost (via Verizon) and Gannett. Media outlets reported Friday the number of Vice layoffs is pegged around 250. BuzzFeed’s total was about...

Former Story House Entertainment CEO Camila Jiménez-Villa and Silvana Aguirre, creator and showrunner of “El Chapo,” have joined forces to launch a production company dubbed the Immigrant.

Based in Los Angeles and Miami, Immigrant will develop and produce premium content in the U.S., Latin America and Spain. The shingle will focus on multicultural stories and talent in the United States, while sourcing stories with international appeal from Latin America and Spain.

New company has up to seven English-language and Spanish-language scripted projects in development, including a co-production with Italian production house Wildside to be helmed by Argentine award-winning writer-director Lucia Puenzo (“The German Doctor”). Aguirre’s new series, of which details are still under wraps, will enter production in late 2019 in Mexico.

Immigrant will primarily focus on developing scripted and unscripted content for television, but will also produce a few select film projects in the U.S.

Company joins...

Los Cabos, Mexico — The 7th Los Cabos Festival, the most industrially-minded of Mexico’s film events, was the first to take place in full-blown digital Ott revolution.

Two TV panels, the biggest ever at Los Cabos, packed out by some of the foremost Latino TV and Ot show-runners, producers and directors, debated the huge, multi-faceted and still fast-evolving impact the digital platforms are having, and will have, on the industry. The result was maybe the most intense industry debate Los Cabos has ever seen. Eight takeaways:

1.Latin America Gets What It Needs

The panels underscored the huge paradigm shift in just a few years. For decades, Latin American TV production was dominated by free-to-air networks, producing in-house, producer Alex Garcia reminded a Los Cabos industry audience. Independent production companies – Mexico’s Argos, Argentina’s Pol-ka and Underground – were huge exceptions, their fortunes tied to producing for specific broadcasters. Then came the pay TV revolution.

A plus-sized makeup artist with candy-colored hair and a marijuana addiction has a hard time holding down a proper job, so to make ends meet she deals drugs door to door, pedaling her bike to a colorful cast of clients – including her landlady, a soap star, and a nun – across a wide swath of Mexico City.

An irreverent, transgressive, psychedelic romp, “Tripping-Thru Keta” (El viaje de Keta) is the feature directorial debut of Julio Bekhór and Fernando Sama. The film is screening in the Sexual Diversity Program in Morelia, coming off its world premiere at the Transylvania Int’l. Film Festival.

Bekhór said the idea for “Keta” was born out of conversations with Sama and scripter Beto Cohen about the taboos around recreational drug use in Mexican society. “We really wanted to…have a dialogue with people who watch the film, and to open the minds of the people about these matters,...

In another shakeup at Univision, Isaac Lee, chief content officer of the Spanish-language giant and its longtime programming supplier and shareholder, Televisa, is leaving the company as of today.

Lee cast the parting as amicable. It follows on the heels of a CEO transition at Univision in June, when broadcast TV veteran Vincent Sadusky took the reins from Randy Falco. The company has been in a restructuring mode and is now looking to sell the English-language digital businesses that Lee championed as acquisitions to diversify Univision’s portfolio.

Lee’s departure closely follows that of Univision entertainment president Lourdes Diaz, who joined Stuart Ford’s Agc Studios television division earlier this month.

Lee told Variety he believed Univision and its Mexican partner Televisa were well-positioned for the future. Televisa executive Patricio Wills will take over Lee’s duties as head of content.

“I set out to restructure the content operations...

Netflix has ordered a drama set in the world of Mexican billionaires titled “Monarca.”

The series, which was originally in development at ABC back in 2015, is described as a high stakes, multi-generational family saga about a tequila-born Mexican business empire, and the battle that ensues when a member of the family decides to fight the dirty system her family helped create. The series will go into production this fall and is slated to debut in 2019.

Starring Irene Azuela and Juan Manuel Bernal, “Monarca” is being produced by Salma Hayek’s Ventanarosa, Lemon Studios, and Michael McDonald from Stearns Castle. The series was created by Diego Gutierrez who will also serve as showrunner, and is written by Fernando Rovzar, Julia Denis, Ana Sofia Clerici, and Sandra García Velten.

“I’m extremely excited to partner with Netflix, and to be working with amazing Mexican talent in front of and behind the camera,...

In dueling pre-upfront press conferences Thursday, Spanish-language media rivals Univision and Telemundo revealed a similar objective: to explore a more diversified, multi-generational, multi-platform programming aimed at a fast-evolving U.S. Hispanic market.

The stakes for both networks are high. The U.S. Hispanic population represents $1.3 trillion in spending power, which is projected to grow to $1.9 trillion by 2022.

Univision, long dependent on Mexican media giant Televisa to provide its programming, has been playing catch up with NBCUniversal-owned Telemundo, which has been producing its own shows for years. To streamline the production of content across Televisa and Univision, Isaac Lee was named chief content officer of both companies in January 2017.

Among Univision-Televisa’s joint initiatives to ramp up and diversify programming on both networks is what is billed as the first global Spanish-language TV pilot season, which resulted in more than 100 submissions from all over the world.

According to Patricio Wills,...

Netflix is teaming with Narcos producer Dynamo on its first Colombian original series, set to debut worldwide on the internet entertainment service in 2019. Oscar-nominated Ciro Guerra (Embrace of the Serpent, Birds of Passage) will executive produce. Production is slated to begin summer 2018. Written by Carlos Contreras (El Chapo, I Dream In Another Language), the as-yet untitled series will follow a young detective and her partner deep into the Amazon, on the border of…...

“El Chapo” Season 2 kicks off with a prison break that leads to unexpected allies, as seen in the trailer for the Univision drama series. The show that stars Marco de la O as the Mexican drug lord begins its second season with his first escape from incarceration. The new batch of episodes, premiering Sept. 17, will show how Chapo became the leader of the powerful criminal organization Sinaloa Cartel, with corrupt government officials aiding his rise. “The war against Narco trafficking is going to be a total success,” Chapo says ominously in the trailer. Also Read: Mexican Drug Lord El Chapo.

We’re getting the first look at Season 2 of El Chapo, that includes a sneak peek at Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzmán's escape from prison and plan for revenge, ahead of its September return on Univision. Season two of El Chapo, a co-production between Univision's Story House Entertainment and Netflix, continues to explore the life story of one of the world's most notorious criminals – from his rise to power and his ultimate downfall. The series stars Marco de la O as Sinaloa…...

The most memorable images of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán paint him as an almost cartoonish figure: a stout, mustachioed man disappearing down a hole underneath the shower in his jail cell like a mole; a dirt-smeared fugitive being manhandled by military police as he's marched into prison. But the cartel kingpin who had dominated the drug trafficking industry for the past two-and-a-half decades was a cunning, ruthless criminal, one who held positions in most wanted lists from the Chicago Crime Commission to Interpol. His submarines, airplanes and vast network of...

Exclusive: Mexican director made waves in Sundance with I Dream In Another Language.

Mexican filmmaker Ernesto Contreras has signed with Valor Entertainment and The Paradigm Agency.

Contreras earned wider international renown with his fourth feature I Dream In Another Language (Sueño en Otro Idioma), which premiered in Sundance back in January.

The drama – about a linguist who uncovers a unique story when he meets the last speakers of a dying language in a remote Mexican village – received backing some years ago from the ‎Sundance Institute’s Mahindra Global Filmmaking Award.

It went on to win this year’s World Cinema Dramatic audience award in Park City and Film Rise acquired North American rights from international sales agent Mundial, the Latino subsidiary of Im Global.

Contreras recently directed half of the new series El Chapo for Univision Communication’s Story House Entertainment and Netflix, based on the life of Mexican cartel head Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman. The show premiered...

El Chapo may be short — after all, his nickname means “Shorty” — but his influence has been huge. One TV show will attempt to show just how vast his drug empire and reputation extended.

Univision’s “El Chapo,” which premieres on April 23, will cover three decades of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán’s life. Starring Marco de la O as the notorious drug lord himself, the series starts in 1985 when he was a lowly member of the Guadalajara Cartel, before following his rise to power, multiple jailbreaks and finally his downfall.

Read More: El Chapo TV Series in the Works From ’Narcos’ Co-Creator

“El Chapo” is a co-production between Story House Entertainment and Netflix and only recently began production once it cast Marco de la O, known from the world of telenovelas.

“We are thrilled to have Marco take on the role of ‘El Chapo’ as we begin to unfold the real...