Carlos Portugal is developing the one-hour mystery drama “Miss NG” at HBO Max, Variety has learned exclusively.
The series is set in the small town of Nuevo Guerrero, where nothing is more important than the annual Miss Nuevo Guerrero beauty pageant. But when last year’s winner goes missing, her former best friend, her arch-rival and her half-sister all enter the upcoming pageant. In doing so, they risk going missing themselves and exposing the town’s dark secrets.
Portugal will write and executive produce the potential series. Charles D. King and Marta Fernandez of Macro Television Studios will also executive produce. UCP and Macro Television Studios will co-produce.
Portugal previously co-created the Hulu series “East Los High,” on which he also served as a director and executive producer. The show as one of Hulu’s first original series and ran for four seasons. His other credits include “Meet the Browns,” “House of Payne,” and the 2006 feature film “East Side Story”
He is repped by APA and Lichter Grossman.
Macro Television Studios’ recent shows include “Gentefied” and “Raising Dion,” both at Netflix. UCP, part of Universal Studio Group, currently produces shows like “The Umbrella Academy,” “The Sinner,” “Homecoming,” and “Brave New World.” Other recently announced projects for UCP include the Hulu drama “The Girl From Plainville” starring Elle Fanning as Michelle Carter, the girl at the center of the texting suicide case. UCP’s “Dr. Death” — based on the story of Dr. Christopher Duntsch and starring Jamie Dornan, Alec Baldwin and Christian Slater — has been ordered to series at Peacock.