Mexican Deal for Univision’s Desperate Housewives

June 2, 2008 World Screen

MIAMI, June 2: Disney
Media Networks Distribution Latin America has licensed the U.S. Hispanic
version of Desperate Housewives,
produced for Univision, to TV Azteca in Mexico.

Amas de Casa
Desesperadas was produced in
Buenos Aires by Pol-Ka Productions. Disney Media Networks has made a number of
Latin American format deals on Desperate Housewives and recently scored a deal for local versions of Grey's Anatomy and Brothers & Sisters in Colombia. Amas de Casa Desesperadas will air on TV Azteca's Channel 13 during a
prime-time slot from Monday to Friday, beginning June 9.

"This deal with
Azteca is especially relevant, since it shows that Hispanic audiovisual content
is expanding in multiple directions beyond the target markets they were
produced for, and its geographical boundaries,” said Diego Lerner, the
president of The Walt Disney Company Latin America. “What really matters is the
cultural environment and the factors in common. Geography is not a limitation.”

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Fernando Barbosa, the
senior VP of Disney Media Networks Latin America, added: "We are very
pleased with TV Azteca for showcasing our U.S. Hispanic version of Desperate
Housewives on Azteca 13's prime
time Monday through Friday. It will be really interesting to see how a
production tailored for the U.S. Hispanic
market performs on Azteca's channel 13 in Mexico. We are really excited about
this initiative.”

The show sees the return
of legendary actress Lucia Mendez to the Mexican screen in the role of Alicia
Arizméndi (Mary Alice). The cast also includes Venezuelan actress Scarlet Ortiz
as Susana Martínez (Susan Mayer), popular Mexican motion picture and television
star Ana Serradilla as Gabriela Solís, Colombian actress Lorna Paz as Leonor
Guerrero (Lynette Scavo), Julieta Rosen as Regina Sotomayor (Bree Van de Kamp),
and Venezuelan model and actress Gabriela Vergara as Roxana Guzmán (Edie
Britt). In addition, Diego Ramos stars as Miguel Santini (Mike Delfino), Bernie
Paz as Carlos Solís, Diego Bertie as Antonio Guerrero (Tom Scavo), Riccardo
Dalmacci as Roberto Sotomayor (Rex Van De Kamp), novela star Leonardo Daniel as
Pablo Arizméndi (Paul Young), and Ezequiel
Stremiz as the gardener Pedro Linares (John Rowland).

—By Mansha Daswani