Netflix Takes Another Step to Reach Latino Audiences

24 Apr, 2014 By: Angelique Flores

Oralé Netflix. You did it again.

Yesterday Netflix announced its first Spanish-language original series in Mexico.

The untitled 13-episode series from Alazraki Entertainment is a comedy from director Gaz Alazraki. It reunites the team behind Nosotros los Nobles, one of the most successful Mexican box office hits of all time, and is set to premiere in 2015.

The show centers on a family feud among heirs of a soccer club after the owner’s death. Shooting entirely in Mexico, the show features a cast from all over Latin America, including Nobles star Luis Gerardo Mendez (“XY,” “La Clínica” and “Capadocia”).

This is not Netflix’s first step into original content for the Latino market.

If you recall my Aug. 21, 2013 blog post, Netflix announced then it was creating “A Toca” in Brazil. This show, while original for Netflix, was adapted from producer and writer Felipe Neto’s YouTube channel Parafernalha. And I presume this show, which is just for Brazilian audiences, is in Portuguese not Spanish.

More recently (about three weeks ago) Netflix ordered 10 episodes of “Narcos,” a drama based on Pablo Escobar's Medellin Cartel. The series will shoot in Colombia, with Brazilian director José Padilha at the helm and Brazilian actor Wagner Moura to star.

According to reports, this newest show unnamed show is aimed at U.S. Latinos in addition to the Latin American market.

In making yesterday’s announcement, I appreciate Netflix’s Ted Sarandos emphasizing how important the Mexican and Latin American markets are to the company.

“We’re confident our members in a market as important to us as Mexico and Latin America will love this family comedy,” he said.

And for that I have to agree with director Alazraki when he said “there's nobody cooler and more innovative in this day and age than Netflix."

Netflix Takes Another Step to Reach Latino Audiences

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About the Author: Angelique Flores