Nick at Nite to Air English-Language Telenovela

MIAMI: Nickelodeon is working with Televisa on an original one-hour U.S. adaptation of the hit Mexican telenovela Reach for a Star (Alcanzar una Estrella) for Nick at Nite.

The 80-episode daily series will be the first telenovela ever adapted for the U.S. audience. The single-camera show follows a teenage girl who becomes a star and wins the love of her teen idol. Sony Pictures Television will assist in the production. The adaptation will air later this year on Nickelodeon’s family-focused nighttime block, Nick at Nite.

“We have experienced first-hand the popularity of the daily scripted format with our kid audience through the success of House of Anubis and our teen audience with DeGrassi: The Next Generation, and our Nick Latin American channel has already had great success in producing telenovela’s with Televisa,” commented Cyma Zarghami, the president of Viacom’s Nickelodeon Group. “This partnership brings together Televisa’s unmatched leadership in the telenovela genre with our expertise in making content, and we’re looking forward to introducing this first true English-language telenovela to Nick at Nite’s family audience.”

“As part of the steps towards building a strong presence in the Anglo TV market, Televisa is excited to co-produce with Nickelodeon one of the many successful scripts from our library in a daily series format,” said Jose Bastón, the president of television and content from Televisa. “We are convinced that the daily series will be well received by Nick’s family audiences, and will capture their attention daily as it has happened in different markets in the world where Televisa has exported its production capabilities. The Televisa and Nick alliance will certainly result in a successful formula, and we envision Reach for a Star as the first of many joint projects.”

“For more than a decade Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) and Televisa have been strategically building upon their regional partnership that today encompasses, distribution, consumer products and co-productions,” added Pierluigi Gazzolo, the chief operating officer at VIMN. “Reach for a Star marks a dynamic new phase in our partnership and VIMN is incredibly excited to once again be expanding our content portfolio with Televisa.”