Spain’s The Mediapro Studio has sealed a production pact with Colombia’s Caracol Television in its continued bid to boost an already substantial presence in the Latin American market.
The first project out the gate is “Las Cheers,” a 60-episode musical comedy series created by Hector Rodriguez (“La Mamá del 10,” “Dónde Carajo Está Umaña”), which turns on a group of cheerleaders from a working-class hood who dream of representing their country at the Olympics.
The series is making its market debut at NATPE. “Caracol Television strengthens its brand every day worldwide, connecting with key allies to produce stories that transcend markets. Working hand in hand with The Mediapro Studio, joining creative forces to present ‘Cheers,’ represents a step forward in our goals,” said Lisette Osorio, VP of international sales, Caracol Television.
Juliana Barrera, director of content at The Mediapro Studio in Colombia concurred: “‘Cheers’ has all the elements required to captivate audiences: Love, music, dance and the chasing of big dreams, universal themes for a wide spectrum of online audiences aligned with the style of quality content we produce in The Mediapro Studio.”
“We are proud that this series will inaugurate our collaboration with Caracol Television from which we hope new projects will soon emerge,” Barrera added.
Cheerleading, known in Colombia as “porrismo,” is the country’s third most popular sport after soccer and basketball. This electric combination of gymnastics and acrobatics first surfaced in the U.S. at sports championships and is now considered an Olympic sport.
Series is set in the Colombian capital of Bogota where a group of young schoolgirls, faced with harsh social conditions and scant hope for the future, get a jolt of their lives when a star athlete returns from the U.S. to form a cheerleading team in the area’s public school. Some of the girls accept the challenge to dream big and work hard to represent their country at the Olympic Games.
The Mediapro Studio has been building its presence in Latin America’s Spanish-speaking market where it began in Argentina in 2016 through a project co-developed with Argentine director Daniel Burman and his production company Oficina Burman. It has also set up production centers in Mexico and Santiago de Chile. The studio has offices in Buenos Aires, Bogotá and Miami.
At NATPE, The Mediapro Studio announced earlier this week that HBO Max had acquired “Las Bravas,” a Mexico-set female soccer tale and first fruit of a production alliance with WarnerMedia.
TMS also confirmed that Viacom CBS Intl. Studios (VIS) is set to co-produce Oficina Burman’s “Cecilia” for Paramount Plus, as well as season two of Rose d’Or winning and International Emmy-nominated “Victoria Small,” produced with VIS, which will now air on Amazon Prime Video; and season two of “Club 57,” the Nickelodeon kids time travel musical, again with VIS.
TMS will also shoot shortly “Iosi, El Espía Arrepentido,” Amazon’s first Argentine original.
Caracol Television, one of Colombia’s most internationally ambitious film and TV production companies, has backed recent Oscar hopefuls from Colombia, such as the Oscar-nominated “Embrace of the Serpent,” and this year’s submission to the Best International Feature category, “El Olvido Que Seremos” (“Memories of my Father”), directed by Academy Award-winner Fernando Trueba (“Belle Epoque”).
It has also backed Cannes Directors’ Fortnight hit “Birds of Passage” and Alejandro Landes’ “Monos,” a Sundance World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award winner.
Its sales and distribution division, Caracol International, operates offices in Miami, Madrid and Bogotá.