Selena Gomez to Produce Univision Streaming TV Series – The Hollywood Reporter

Singer and actress Selena Gomez has signed a deal with Univision, extending its brand to Spanish-language television and film production.

Gomez and his production company, July Moon Productions, will produce a real crime drama titled Mi Vecino, El Cartel (The cartel among us) for Univision’s upcoming subscription streaming service. Blackfin, a production company owned by Hasbro’s eOne, will also produce the series, which centers on “the story of a murder that rocked a quiet suburban Texas town and launched a multi-year international investigation.”

The program, which marks Gomez’s first Spanish-language series as a producer, is part of a larger investment in streaming by Univision, which plans to launch an untitled global subscription streaming product next year after. the finalization of its merger with the Mexican television giant Televisa.

“We’re going very far in launching our streaming services,” said Rodrigo Mazon, executive vice president and general manager of SVOD at Univision. “Our goal and our promise is to have the most comprehensive offering of originally produced Spanish content in the world.”

Mazon added, “Because we want and will attract all of the 600 million Spanish speaking people in the world, we will program the widest possible offering in terms of genres and formats. We want to appeal to all ages, nationalities and tastes, and want to be the leader in this space, ”added Mazon.

The deal with Gomez is remarkable not only because it opens the door to a new relationship with the multi-hyphenated (Gomez produced the Netflix series 13 reasons why), but also because it emphasizes the importance of true crime and docuseries genres, which are considered essential pillars of streaming.

“We definitely hope to do more with her,” Mazon said, adding, “Selena Gomez is obviously a superstar – there’s probably no one taller – and she also cares a lot about raising Latinx voices and storytelling. So the game was perfect. It’s a pretty gripping, thrilling and crazy story, so we thought it would be extremely interesting for everyone in the Spanish speaking world and in the world to hear about it.

With the Televisa merger still under review, Univision, led by CEO Wade Davis, has been somewhat vague about its streaming ambitions. However, it has started making deals to ensure the content pump is primed for next year’s launch. In October, for example, the company signed a streaming-centric deal with actor-director Eugenio Derbez and his 3Pas Studios.

“We obviously have established a relationship with Eugenio Derbez, but we are also particularly committed to bringing women’s voices and stories Latin storytellers, because it is also a group that has incredible stories, who has incredible work, and I think Selena Gomez is a perfect Example of someone we wanted to work with it, and now we were able to do it, ”Mazon said, adding that the service will include originals and library fees from Univision, Televisa and third parties.