WarnerMedia streamer HBO Max is continuing to bet on Latin American content and has greenlit Sony Pictures Television’s new family comedy series Gordita Chronicles.
Set in the ’80s, this live-action single-cam Max Original series is about a 12-year-old Dominican girl who must adapt to a new life when her family moves to Miami to pursue the American dream. Newcomer Olivia Goncalves (pictured) is lined up to star in the lead role as Carlota ‘Cucu’ Castelli.
Creator Claudia Forestieri (Good Trouble) based the show on her own experiences growing up in Miami as a Dominican immigrant. She wrote the pilot and will serve as an executive producer on the series.
Actor/producer Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives) is on board to direct the pilot and executive produce Gordita Chronicles through her production company UnbeliEVAble Entertainment. Brigitte Munoz-Liebowitz is showrunning and executive producing for Bons Mots Emporium, and additional EPs include Josh Berman, Jennifer Robinson and Chris King for Sony Pictures Television’s Osprey Productions; and Mariel, Cisely and Zoe Saldana (Avatar) through their Cinestar Pictures label.
This new commission comes as the industry has been calling for better representation of Latinos in kids media, both in front of and behind the camera. It also arrives on the heels of HBO Max’s plan to develop 100 local LatAm productions over the next two years. As part of that initiative, the streamer recently greenlit stop-motion anthology series Frankelda’s Book of Spooks from Mexico’s Cinema Fantasma (Victor and Valentino).