Javier Veiga Receives NBC Pilot Order for English Remake of His Hit Spanish Series “Pequeñas Coincidencias”

Posted on April 15, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Javier Veiga is getting a second chance to remake his Spanish hit series…

NBC has given another pilot order to the romantic comedy Someone Out There, which will be executive produced by 48-year-old Spanish writer and actor.

The network had originally ordered the project to pilot last year, but plans were halted due to the pandemic.

Someone Out There is a single-camera romantic comedy about two set-in-their-ways adults who are challenged by very unexpected strangers to become the best versions of themselves in order to find love and possibly each other.

Based on the Spanish format Pequeñas Coincidencias, created by Veiga, the English version comes Matt Hubbard and writing team Josh Siegal & Dylan Morgan. Produced by Universal Television, it is executive produced by Veiga and Emiliano Calemzuk, the former president of Fox Television Studios who was also CEO of Shine Group Americas.

The pilot was originally set to star Ryan Hansen and Aimee Carrero, but producers will look to recast.

USA Network Orders Braga’s “Queen Of The South” to Series

Posted on May 13, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Alice Braga is ready to rule the USA Network…

The network has picked up its drama pilot Queen Of The South, starring the 32-year-old Brazilian actress, to series with a 13-episode order for a 2016 premiere.

The pilot was developed and produced by Fox 21 Television Studios (then Fox Television Studios), which will now co-produce with Universal Cable Productions.

Based on best-selling book La Reina Del Sur by Arturo Pérez-Reverte, Queen Of The South tells the story of Teresa Mendoza (Braga).

When her drug-dealing boyfriend is unexpectedly murdered in Mexico, Teresa is forced to go on the run and seek refuge in America, where she teams with an unlikely figure from her past to bring down the leader of the very drug trafficking ring that has her on the run. In the process, she learns the tools of the trade and strategically positions herself to become the leader of the Cartel.

M.A. Fortin and Joshua John Miller wrote the pilot. Charlotte Sieling directed the pilot.

“From script to inception, Queen Of The South had us hooked,” said USA Network president Chris McCumber. “Alice Braga does an outstanding job playing Teresa Mendoza, a determined woman who defies all odds, to not only survive, but to thrive in an unfamiliar world.”

This is not La Reina Del Sur‘s first television adaptation in the U.S. Telemundo aired a popular telenovela, which ran in 2011 to big ratings.

Soria to Appear in Recurring Role on USA Network’s Drama “Complications”

Posted on October 18, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

There are a few complications in Joseph Julian (J.J.) Soria’s future…

The 28-year-old Latino actor, best known for his role as Private First Class Hector Cruz on the Lifetime series Army Wives, has landed a recurring role on the USA Network’s Complications.

From Burn Notice creator Matt Nix and Fox Television Studios, the drama series centers on John Ellison (portrayed by Jason O’Mara), a disillusioned suburban ER doctor who finds his existence transformed when he intervenes in a drive-by shooting, saving a young boy’s life and killing one of his attackers.

Soria will play Alvarez, a Superior Lieutenant of the Nortenos Locos and a man you simply don’t mess with.

His previous television credits include The Shield, CSI: Miami, Dexter, Sons of Anarchy, Bones and The Closer.

USA Network Looking to Adapt Telemundo’s “La Reina del Sur”

Posted on September 24, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Telemundo’s La Reina del Sur is about to get an English-language makeover…

The USA Network has given a pilot order to The Queen of the South, an English-language adaptation of the blockbuster 2011 telenovela starring Kate del Castillo.

Frequent USA collaborator Fox Television Studios (White Collar, Graceland) is set to produce the project. In his television debut, feature producer David T. Friendly (Little Miss Sunshine), who brought the project to the studio, is executive producing.

Based on the best-selling book of the same by Arturo Perez-Reverte, Queen of the South is a serialized crime drama that centers on Teresa Mendoza. When her drug-dealing boyfriend is unexpectedly murdered in Mexico, Teresa is forced to go on the run and seek refuge in America, where she teams with an unlikely figure from her past to bring down the leader of the very drug trafficking ring that has her on the run. In the process, she learns the tools of the trade and strategically positions herself to become the leader of the cartel.

M.A. Fortin and Joshua John Miller (The Final Girls) wrote the script and will also executive produce the series with Pancho Mansfield.

La Reina Del Sur is not a typical telenovela, with critics noting that is feels closer to Breaking Bad than One Life To Live, and Telemundo giving it a major Emmy campaign. It was Telemundo’s most expensive telenovela ever with a budget of $10 million and became the highest-rated program in the Spanish-language network’s 19-year history, averaging nearly 4.2 million total viewers and more than 2.8 million viewers adults 18-49. Its May 30, 2011 series finale was the No. 1 broadcast program of the night, of any language.

Queen of the South joins USA’s other pilots Stanistan, Mr. Robot and Colony.

Rodriguez Cast in Cinemax‘s Drama Pilot “Blanco,” Starring Shiloh Fernandez

Posted on February 5, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Everything’s comin’ up Blanco-hot for Elizabeth Rodriguez…

The Latina actress, best known for her role as Carmen Morales on All My Children, has joined the cast of Cinemax‘s drama pilot Blanco, starring Shiloh Fernandez.

Directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo from a script by Mark Rosner, the pilot from Fox Television Studios and Lakeshore Entertainment centers on Ruben (Fernandez), an uptown gangster — nicknamed Blanco for being a light-skinned Dominican — who uses his status as a confidential informant to turn the tables on law enforcement and build his criminal empire.

Rodriguez, currently appearing on the Netflix Original Series Orange Is The New Black, will play New York Police Department detective Stephanie Gomez.

Along with Rodriguez and Fernandez, the cast includes Amaury Nolasco, Franka Potente, Sebastian Arcelus, Audrey Esparza, Erik LaRay Harvey, and Alex Hernandez.

Montana’s “Graceland” Series Renewed for a Second Season

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Manny Montana will be spending another year at Graceland…

Two days before Graceland‘s first-season finale, the USA Network has given the drama, starring the Latino actor as Joe ‘Johnny’ Tuturro, a 13-episode second-season renewal.

Graceland got off to a decent start in June with 3.3 million total viewers and 1 million adults 18-49 against Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

With high double-digit Live+7 bumps, Graceland has averaged 4 million total viewers (+74%) and 1.8 million adults 18-49 (+90%) in its most current ratings, ranking as the No. 1 new cable scripted series of the summer in 18-49.

“[Show creator] Jeff Eastin has once again delivered for USA Network,” said USA President Chris McCumber. “We’re proud to be the home of one of the summer’s top new cable dramas and anticipate Graceland will be a long-term player for the network.”

In Graceland, from Fox Television Studios, rookie FBI Agent Mike Warren (Aaron Tveit) is unexpectedly shipped off to a Southern California beachfront property-turned-safehouse for undercover agents, dubbed “Graceland,” and assigned to investigate his would-be mentor — the enigmatic and legendary FBI Agent Paul Briggs (Daniel Sunjata).

Telemundo’s La Reina del Sur to be Adapted for English Television

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Telemundo’s La Reina del Sur may be getting an English-language makeover…

Fox Television Studios is developing an adaptation of last year’s blockbuster telenovela.

Based on Arturo Perez-Reverte’s bestselling book of the same La Reina del Sur, the telenovela centers on Teresa Mendoza (Kate del Castillo), an innocent young girl from a small Mexican village, whose desire to avenge a personal tragedy leads her to become the most powerful woman in the dangerous world of drug trafficking in Europe.

La Reina Del Sur was Telemundo’s most expensive telenovela ever with a budget of $10 million and became the highest-rated program in the network’s 19-year history, averaging nearly 4.2 million viewers, and more than 2.8 million viewers in the prized Adults 18-49 demographic. In addition, the telenovela’s series finale on May 30, 2011 was the No.1 broadcast program of the night, of any language. Telemundo even launched its first-ever Primetime Emmys campaign for La Reina Del Sur.

La Reina Del Sur isn’t considered a typical telenovela, with critics noting that is feels more like Breaking Bad than One Life to Live. With that in mind, Fox’s English-language adaptation will be developed as a one-hour largely serialized crime drama, said Fox Television Studios president David Madden. He describes it as being “darker, more violent than ABC’s Missing or Revenge.”

Fox Television Studios, primarily a cable player with series like Burn Notice and The Killing, plans to aim La Reina Del Sur at cable networks. “I could see it run on Showtime or FX, but I can also see an ABC version of the show,” said Madden.

The La Reina Del Sur deal “came out of Fox Television Studios’ efforts to find more material out of Spanish-speaking countries and produce more content for Spanish-speaking audiences,” said Madden. It’s part of a larger strategy of targeting Latino audiences by News Corp., which recently announced that it will be launching a Spanish-language broadcast TV network.

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