All four networks now have “Latino-centric” pilots in development
If you look across the new and continuing TV series on ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC–in the cast, on the crew, in arcs or as guest stars–you can see one happy fact: there are many Latinos in front and behind the camera, in more than thirty shows; more than ever before. At the same time, you can see something that’s equally unhappy: there’s not a single program anywhere in sight that has a Latino as Latino in the starring role, or that focuses on Latino family or culture. Not a one.
But that may be about to change. We’ve already talked about a few shows already in the works, but now NBC has made it unanimous: all four networks now have at least one program with a Latino character in the lead role, centering on Latino culture in one form or another.
The latest arrival: NBC has just announced that director/choreographer Kenny Ortega (High School Musical, the remake of Dirty Dancing) and writer Ligiah Villalobos (Under The Same Moon, Go Diego Go) are working with them to develop an as-yet-untitled project about a Latino family that runs a Latin dance studio in Miami. (The producer of the project, Steve Stark, was also producer of NBC’s The Event, which featured a Cuban-American President, and is producer of USA Network’s Fairly Legal with Sarah Shahi).
Meanwhile, Silvio Horta, creator of Ugly Betty–the last successful “Latin-centric” series on network TV–is working with exec producer Jennifer Lopez and FOX on a dramedy about an entirely different Latino family in Miami. (Could the popularity of Miami have as much to do with the cheap and plentiful production facilities in Florida, as it has to do with a new fascination with Cubans? Good question.)
ABC entered the fray even earlier, when Will and Jada Pinkett-Smith announced that the network was picking up their Untitled Romeo Project, following a young Dominican-American living in Manhattan. The press release tells us “Romeo struggles to relate to his father while creating his own identity, a ‘new vision of the American Dream.’ The main character will be played by Romeo Santos, a popular Latin singer and Bronx native.” (ABC also won a three-way competition with NBC and CBS for a new series starring JoAnna Garcia, though this looks to be non-Latino in content.)
And CBS started the trend by reviving the nearly dead Rob Schneider sitcom, by re-casting a number of key roles and ordering six episodes for mid-season replacement. Schneider is the ‘name’ at the center of the show but it is otherwise extremely Latino: it’s about the Schneider character marrying into an active Latino family, headed by Cheech Marin and his TV wife Diana Maria Riva, along with grandmother Lupe Ontiveros and a healthy number of other Latino actors.
There’s no telling how many of these (other than Schneider’s project) will actually make it to the air in any form, but this does seem to be the first time in recorded history that all four broadcast nets have considered Latino culture and family as fodder for comedy and drama series. Whether this is the beginning of a continuing trend remains to be seen, but certainly the networks need to respond to continuing pressure from advertisers to reach the Latino/Hispanic market more directly…and we may all benefit from the response.
We’ll let you know the fate of these four, and we’ll keep an eye out for any additions.
