Paramount+ Greenlights Toxicomania

Toxicomania, a film adaptation of the Sonoro podcast by Luis Gerardo Méndez, has been ordered by Paramount+.

The podcast and movie tell the true story of Dr. Leopoldo Salazar Viniegra, a psychiatrist who led a short-lived revolution to legalize drug use in Mexico in the 1940s. Gerardo Méndez will reprise his role as Viniegra.

The adaptation, currently being developed by VIS, is the first selected project under a first-look deal with Gerardo Méndez’s production company Cine Vaquero, which he owns alongside Mexican producer Gerardo Gatica.

Toxicomania’s film will be directed by Sebastián Hofmann (Timeshare) and written by David Gaitán (A Cop Movie). Gatica and Gerardo Méndez will serve as executive producers.

The podcast, produced by Sonoro, which develops audio-first content in English, Spanish and Spanglish, debuted in 2021. Within 48 hours, it became the most successful Spanish-language fiction podcast.