Projects from Kate del Castillo & ‘The Irishman’ Producer Gaston Pavlovich Set for Endemol Shine Boomdog’s First Upfront (EXCLUSIVE)

Anna Marie de la Fuente
·3 min read

Mexico City-based fledgling studio Endemol Shine Boomdog is launching its first-ever Upfront presentation in February as it continues to ramp up production and forge key pacts with top talent.

Spearheading its presentation during the week of Feb. 15-19 is a new, contemporary version of the wildly popular classic Spanish game show “El Gran Juego de la Oca” (“The Great Game of the Goose”) and the Gastón Pavlovich-produced drama series, “Antonieta,” based on the life of early 1900s Mexican writer, arts patron and social activist Antonieta Rivas Mercado. Rivas Mercado has been the subject of various works of art, including an opera, a telenovela, a novel and a 1982 film by Spain’s Carlos Saura starring Isabel Adjani.

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Boomdog is also set to present new projects from actress/producer Kate Del Castillo and her Endemol Shine-housed Cholawood, as well as projects with actress-comedian Mara Escalante.

“Over the last year, we have worked extraordinarily hard developing fiction and non-fiction projects with some of the top producers, writers and talent in our industry and during these unprecedented times, we felt the best way for us to showcase all of our great content would be through these Upfront presentations,” said Alejandro Rincon, CEO, Endemol Shine Boomdog.

“This marks the first time in our history that we are hosting Upfront presentations and we’re truly excited to walk our clients, friends through all that we have developed,” he continued.

“ “El Gran Juego de la Oca” is truly one of the most beloved game shows of all time with Spanish-language viewers globally and we’re thrilled to be bringing it back with some exciting new twists,” said Alvaro Godoy, Head of Unscripted Development. Originally created by Jocelyn Hattab, it was a massive ratings hit soon after its 1993 debut in Madrid on Antena 3 while its format was sold worldwide.

“We are excited to present our most advanced projects in a very special way, the result of the creative work with our closest colleagues, such as Fabrica de Cine, with whom we bring Antonieta Rivas Mercado’s remarkable story to life through a new dramatic TV series,” said Boomdog’s Head of Scripted, Leo Zimbron. “And we are very fortunate to have the talented Susana Lopez Rubio joining us as our head writer for the series,” he added. Lopez Rubio’s credits include hit Spanish series “El Tiempo Entre Costuras,” “Presunto Culpable” and “La Templanza.”

Based on the life rights of Rivas Mercado, “Antonieta” is the first project to emerge from the development and production deal that “The Irishman” producer Gaston Pavlovich of Fabrica de Cine inked with Boomdog in late 2019. Fabrica de Cine had been developing the series for more than two years as they unearthed more letters and diaries written by Rivas Mercado, according to Pavlovich.

Zimbron and Godoy will join Rincon and others from the studio to steer buyers through the new slate.

The company’s recent moves come in response to growing demand for premium Spanish-language content and heated up competition from deep-pocketed production companies venturing into the market.

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