Disney’s Onyx Collective Orders Don Francisco’s Limited U.S. Latino History-Themed Docuseries “Gigante”

Don Francisco is bringing a gigantic Latin immigrant-themed project to life…

Disney’s Onyx Collective has ordered the four-part limited docuseries Gigante from the 81-year-old Chilean television host (real name: Mario Kreutzberger) and Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado filmmakers Alex Fumero and Kareem Tabsch.

Don FranciscoGigante will be streamed exclusively on Hulu in the U.S., Star+ in Latin America, and Disney+ in all other territories at a future date.

Spanning through four distinct eras in U.S. Latino history, Gigante tells the story of how immigrants from different Latin American countries created a tenuous alliance that would come to harness the social capital, economic prowess, and political influence that forever changed the United States. With the unfettered participation of Don Francisco, access to 53 years of Sabado Gigante archives, and interviews with A-list celebrities, Gigante explores how the longest-running variety show in the history of television helped shape a new demographic and became a political force.

“To say we are enthusiastic about this project would be an understatement,” said Jihan Robinson, vice president of Nonfiction, Onyx and Freeform. “Don Francisco and this series played such a huge role in the lives of the Latinx community and have left a lasting impact on this country. We are thrilled it has found a home with Onyx and to continue the Sabado Gigante legacy.”

Emmy Award-winner Don Francisco is the creator and star of Sabado Gigante, the iconic Spanish-language game show that ran for 53 seasons on Univision earning the Guinness World Record for longest-running variety program.

“I’m at a time in my life where it is more interesting looking backward,” shared Don Francisco. “Where I have the full perspective of not only my 60 years as a professional but also where I’m able to fully analyze Don Francisco and Sabado Gigante’s record-breaking run and what it meant to so many people. I’m beyond happy to have the opportunity to tell the story with this amazing team and thankful to Onyx for helping us bring our show to a brand new audience.”

Tabsch serves as executive producer and director alongside Fumero, who serves as executive producer and showrunner under their Trojan Horse banner. The series is a Foton.Pictures production. The concept was conceived by Fumero and Tabsch.

“Hispanics. Latinos. Latinx. Whatever you may call us or whatever we may call ourselves, so few people understand who we are and where we came from — including us,” Tabsch shared. “Gigante is the definitive Latino origin story told through the lens of Sabado Gigante, one of the most beloved programs in the Spanish-speaking world and a staple in all our homes. The series will tell how a Chilean Jewish immigrant in Miami managed to shape the way that millions of other immigrants from dozens of nationalities across the Western Hemisphere identified themselves, bringing us all closer together and forever changing the face of the United States and Latin America in the process.”

“This is an extremely personal project for us and is very much part of our DNA as a company,” adds Carlos Enrique Cuscó, CEO of Foton.Pictures. “Bringing impactful and relevant stories to the foreground with such hugely talented creative partners like Kareem and Alex is the reason we got into this business. To now partner with Onyx Collective and get the opportunity to share our story as Latinos, with the participation of Don Francisco, is a dream come true. We could not be more honored to be producing this ambitious project with Onyx Collective and Trojan Horse.”

Netflix to Premiere the Walter Mercado Documentary “Mucho Mucho Amor” in July

There’s mucho mucho amor for Walter Mercado, it’s that love’s coming your way…

Netflix has released the official trailer for Mucho Mucho Amor, the documentary on the late Puerto Rican astrologer, television personality and gay icon.

Walter Mercado

For decades, Mercado captivated the Latin American world with his with his glamorous style, gender-nonconforming persona and warmhearted cosmic readings, before disappearing

from public eye. He began having cardiac problems in 2012, and said he “had gone and seen death and came back to life again,” and experience that seemed to change him. Hepassed away last November reportedly from kidney failure.

But Mercado is poised to reach a new level of fandom with a lovingly crafted documentary about his life and career, directed by Cristina Costantini and Kareem Tabsch

Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival in January, and will begin streaming on Netflix next week.

The official synopsis reads: “Every day for decades, extravagant Puerto Rican astrologer, psychic, and gender nonconforming legend Walter Mercado charmed the world with his televised horoscopes. Equal parts OprahLiberace, and Mr. Rogers, Walter reached over 120 million viewers at his peak, enthralling the Latin world with sequined capes, opulent jewelry and horoscopes that shared a message of love and hope to his devoted viewers. Then, he mysteriously disappeared. Over a decade later award-winning directors Cristina Costantini and Kareem Tabsch and producer Alex Fumero capture Walter’s final two years, when the pioneering icon grappled with aging and his legacy, and prepared for one last star-studded spectacle.”

“From the moment that I was born, I knew that I was not like everybody,” Mercado says in the trailer for the film about his life. “Everything about me was different.” With a dizzying array of glittering blazers and luminescent capes, at one point Mercado is seen being escorted on a gilded throne through a crowd of clamoring fans. 

The film will also explore his mysterious disappearance from public life, which one subject speculates was motivated by a fear of aging in view.

Mucho Mucho Amor arrives on Netflix on Wednesday, July 8.