‘Like Water for Chocolate’ Producer Endemol Shine Boomdog Joins Brazil’s A Fábrica to Launch A Fábrica Mexico & U.S. Hispanic (EXCLUSIVE)

Endemol Shine Boomdog, the producer of Max Limited Series “Like Water for Chocolate,” has joined forces with Brazil’s A Fábrica to launch A Fábrica Mexico & U.S. Hispanic. Both are part of Banijay Americas.

The new label will focus on producing scripted content for the Mexican, Latin American and U.S. Hispanic markets, and is set to launch operations later this year.

Said Ben Samek, CEO of Banijay Americas: “This partnership expands our presence in the scripted content market and underscores our commitment to delivering engaging programming to a massive and ever-growing audience across Latin America and beyond.”

“We have seen a clear desire for high quality scripted content in the Spanish-language marketplace and that series such as ‘Like Water for Chocolate’ can quickly become overnight successes for major streamers and networks,” noted Endemol Shine Boomdog Group CEO Alejandro Rincon.

“The team at A Fábrica has shown for years now that they can successfully develop and produce hit scripted programming in Portuguese and we are excited to join forces with them to launch A Fábrica Mexico & U.S. Hispanic, a new label that will supercharge our scripted efforts in the region,” he added.

Led by CEO Luiz Noronha, A Fábrica has produced a number of Brazil’s top scripted series and films for both theatrical release and streaming platforms. Founded in January 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, its credits include the feature “My Life on Mars, “Vai Que Cola,” the most-watched comedy on pay TV in the country, now on its 13th season, and “Desperate Lies,” which was the most popular non-English language series on Netflix worldwide for six weeks last year.

“The opportunity to get to know and work in the Spanish-language market is invaluable for any producer, and the challenge fills us with a lot of energy,” said Noronha, adding: “We are working on a powerful line-up that ranges from sitcoms to soap operas, bringing together the experience of tremendous talent from both Brazil and Mexico.”

Endemol Shine Boomdog Group, a collection of Mexico City-based production companies led by Rincon, produces many of the highly rated Spanish-language series in both the U.S. and Mexico through its companies Endemol Shine Boomdog, Banijay Mexico & U.S. Hispanic, post production house Wide Angle and now A Fábrica Mexico & U.S. Hispanic.

Endemol Shine Boomdog’s scripted team, along with its current series and projects in development, will become part of A Fábrica Mexico & U.S. Hispanic. Jerry Rodriguez, who has led Endemol Shine Boomdog’s scripted team, will continue to lead operations for the new studio, reporting to Noronha.

Banijay Americas Latin America comprises Endemol Shine Brazil (based in São Paulo), A Fábrica, as well as Mexico City-based Endemol Shine Boomdog, Banijay Mexico & U.S. Hispanic and Wide Angle.

Last year, Banijay Estúdios Brazil officially launched its 750,000 square-foot production facility just outside São Paulo, operated by Endemol Shine Brazil. Laurens Drillich, president of Endemol Shine Latino, oversees all Banijay Americas operations across Latin America and the U.S. Hispanic market.