Fox Television Studios in Argentine Deal

LOS ANGELES, July 1: Fox
Television Studios (FtvS) is in production on its first 13-episode series for
Argentina, with Todos contra Juan
(Everyone Against Juan) slated
for launch this month on Telefe.

FtvS’s first Argentine
series is based on a half-hour pilot from the local outfit Rosstoc, which is
co-producing the 13-part show. Todos contra Juan is billed as a dark comedy following an actor
whose efforts to recapture his short-lived fame are continually thwarted by
everything from unsuccessful relationships to embarrassing social encounters.
It is penned by Argentine writer Gabriel Nesci, with a cast that includes
Gaston Pauls in the lead role.

Deals are pending with
broadcasters in Italy, Spain and Germany for local versions of the series, and
an English-language edition is in development, to be shopped to U.S. networks
later this year.

FtvS has also scored a
multi-year development deal with Rosstoc, which has several other projects in
the works, including Feo (Ugly), based on a best-selling book. “We see our
relationship with Rosstoc as a strategic partnership opening up a new realm of
high-quality, original programming, both scripted and unscripted,” said
Emiliano Calemzuk, the president of FtvS. “We believe strongly that Rosstoc’s
projects have cross-over potential, not only for the U.S., but all over the
world.”

The studio, capitalizing
on the international experience of Calemzuk—who previously led FOX
Channels Italy and FOX Latin American Channels—has also scored development
deals with the Argentine production companies Malapop and Quark.

With Malapop, FtvS is
developing Perra, a drama about
a poor, abused girl from a rural community who runs away to seek fortune in the
big city and ends up running the town. It is written and created by Gustavo
Marra, the creator and executive producer of Resistiré.

Quark projects include the
show Tramas (Plots), based on the true story of a bank robbery in
Mexico. FtvS is in the process of selling that series to networks in Argentina,
Mexico and Colombia. Quark is owned by Jorge Nisco, an Argentine television and
film director whose next project is the Latin American version of High
School Musical.

FtvS also scored a
development deal with Chile’s Efe3, co-owned by actor Cristian de la Fuente (In
Plain Sight, Dancing with the
Stars) and executive producer
Rodrigo Flores.

—By Mansha Daswani