Viacom International Studios (VIS) comedy series “Ana” has found its U.S. berth at premium Spanish-language streaming service, Pantaya, the fledgling OTT joint venture between Lionsgate and Hemisphere Media Group.
The 10-episode series starring Ana de la Reguera (“Narcos,” “Goliath”) will debut exclusively in the U.S. and Puerto Rico by early next year. De La Reguera also created, wrote and produced the semi-autobiographical series which revolves around her fictionalized character as a Latina actress in Hollywood who bears the burden of her ex beauty queen mother’s unfulfilled dreams.
Location shooting in Vera Cruz and other parts of Mexico as well as Los Angeles wrapped in August.
“This acquisition completes the first cycle of content distribution for VIS in the Americas,” said Guillermo Borensztein, VP of content sales and co-productions at VIS. “Following our deals with Amazon and Comedy Central Latin America for the series, we are happy to reach the U.S. Hispanic market by way of this agreement,” he continued.
“Working with great partners like Pantaya not only expands our reach but also reinforces our position as industry leaders in development, production and distribution of premium content,” he noted.
“We are very excited to bring ‘Ana’ to the U.S. and Puerto Rico audiences exclusively through Pantaya; we are big fans of Ana de la Reguera, her unique creative voice and her incredible work,” said Mario Almeida, Pantaya’s VP of programming, development and acquisitions who negotiated the deal for the platform.
“Ana” joins the growing slate of the two-year old Pantaya, which has been investing in more original programming as it seeks to further expand its U.S. subscriber base. Pantaya’s foray into original programming kicked off with swinger couples comedy series “El Juego de las Llaves,” co-produced with Amazon Prime and Corazon Films, to be followed on Oct.18 with “De Viaje Con Los Derbez,” a reality show featuring wildly popular star Eugenio Derbez, his adult children, their spouses and children as they travel together in Morocco and deal with family issues.