Wilmer Valderrama is giving up-and-coming Latino writers their big break…
The 44-year-old Venezuelan & Colombian American actor’s Allied Management Group, which he set up with John Pollak, has signed a number of Latino writers to its roster.
The company has signed Luisa Leschin, Raphael Draccon & Carolina Munhóz, The Original Content Society’s Raúl Campos and Felix de Valdivia, and Daniel and Diego Ayala López.
The goal is for Allied to bring these Latino writers to networks, streamers and studios in the U.S English-language market.
Leschin has worked on nearly 500 episodes of television including Netflix’s Gentefied, where she was a co-exec producer on its second season, Max’s Head of the Class, where she was a co-EP and Hulu’s East Los High. She has also worked on series including Everybody Hates Chris and The George Lopez Show.
Draccon and Munhóz are a husband-and-wife writing team who showran The Chosen One and Invisible City for Netflix and have a first-look deal with Warner Bros. Discovery LatAm to work with Max. They have also written comic books for both Marvel and DC
Campos and de Valdivia are brothers, born in Mexico, who run The Original Content Society. They created, wrote, directed and produced the first YouTube Original sitcom in Latin America – Sobrevivi – as well as Spotify’s first original comedy series, El Grupo, and are co-exec producers for the third and fourth seasons of Amazon’s LOL starring Eugenio Derbez. In addition to producing and directing 24 Netflix comedy specials, they have a first look deal with ITV America, where they are developing an international comedy series called Güerita.
Daniel and Diego Ayala López, born in Colombia were behind Amazon series Manes, which was the most-watched series for Amazon Colombia, and Los Billis. They have worked with Colombia’s Caracol and are currently developing a number of projects with U.S. studios and production companies.
“These writers are currently helping to define the future of Latino story telling by creating universal stories that aren’t defined by borders or language, but instead reflect the modern content experience- groundbreaking storytelling that can be consumed by viewers in a global market,” said Pollak and Valderrama. “As the need for fresh stories and unique points of view continue to be the priority for Hollywood, these writers will lead the charge and redefine how premium content is created and Allied Mgmt Group is honored to be working alongside them.”