Nickelodeon to Remake 'Reach for a Star' Telenovela
The popular Mexican series centers around a teenage girl who reaches stardom and wins the love of her teen idol.
"Reach for a Star" (Nickelodeon TV show) to be based on "Alcanzar Una Estrella"
January 24, 2012
MIAMI, FL — Nickelodeon, in partnership with Televisa, has ordered 80 episodes of a groundbreaking, original one-hour U.S. adaptation of the popular Mexican telenovela, "Reach for a Star" ("Alcanzar una Estrella)" for Nick at Nite, it was announced today by Cyma Zarghami, President of Viacom's Nickelodeon Group; and Jose Baston President of Television and Content from Televisa. The first telenovela ever adapted for the U.S. audience, "Reach for a Star" is a single-camera, daily series following a teenage girl whose life changes completely when she becomes a star and wins the love of her teen idol. "Reach for a Star" will be produced in association with Sony Pictures Television and is set to premiere later this year on Nickelodeon's nighttime block for families: Nick at Nite. Production begins in March in Los Angeles, Calif.
"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," Ms. Zarghami said. "This partnership brings together Televisa's un-matched 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 coproduce with Nickelodeon one of the many successful scripts from our library in a daily series format," said Baston. 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," said Pierluigi Gazzolo, Chief Operating Officer, 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."
"Reach for a Star" follows Nickelodeon's success with its live-action serialized series, "House of Anubis" and "Degrassi." Nickelodeon has also experienced tremendous success with the format in Europe and Latin America." " The "Reach for a Star" series is an adaptation of the hit Mexican telenovela, "Alcanzar una Estrella," first broadcast on Canal de las Estrellas and Univision in 1990. The success of the series led to a film and sequel telenovela starring Latin American pop sensations, Ricky Martin and Sasha Sokol.
"Reach for a Star" follows a smart, shy and independent high school senior, Loren, who has ambitions of being a songwriter and secretly sends her song lyrics to her celebrity crush, rock superstar Eddie Wild. Loren's wildest dreams come true when she not only wins a songwriting competition sponsored by Eddie, but strikes up a friendship with her idol. Eddie sees beyond Loren's potential as a songwriter and gives her a first break as a singer, and when the truth about his less-than-faithful girlfriend Chloe is revealed, Eddie and Loren's friendship blossoms.
The series will be co-executive produced by six-time Emmy Award-winner Jill Farren Phelps ("General Hospital," "One Life to Live") and Hisham Abed ("The Hills" and "The City"). Josh Griffith ("Young and the Restless," "As the World Turns") will serve as head writer.
Nick at Nite is Nickelodeon's nighttime programming block that features popular hit family comedies including the Emmy Award-winning series "Friends," "My Wife & Kids," "George Lopez" and "The Nanny. "
"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," Ms. Zarghami said. "This partnership brings together Televisa's un-matched 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 coproduce with Nickelodeon one of the many successful scripts from our library in a daily series format," said Baston. 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," said Pierluigi Gazzolo, Chief Operating Officer, 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."
"Reach for a Star" follows Nickelodeon's success with its live-action serialized series, "House of Anubis" and "Degrassi." Nickelodeon has also experienced tremendous success with the format in Europe and Latin America." " The "Reach for a Star" series is an adaptation of the hit Mexican telenovela, "Alcanzar una Estrella," first broadcast on Canal de las Estrellas and Univision in 1990. The success of the series led to a film and sequel telenovela starring Latin American pop sensations, Ricky Martin and Sasha Sokol.
"Reach for a Star" follows a smart, shy and independent high school senior, Loren, who has ambitions of being a songwriter and secretly sends her song lyrics to her celebrity crush, rock superstar Eddie Wild. Loren's wildest dreams come true when she not only wins a songwriting competition sponsored by Eddie, but strikes up a friendship with her idol. Eddie sees beyond Loren's potential as a songwriter and gives her a first break as a singer, and when the truth about his less-than-faithful girlfriend Chloe is revealed, Eddie and Loren's friendship blossoms.
The series will be co-executive produced by six-time Emmy Award-winner Jill Farren Phelps ("General Hospital," "One Life to Live") and Hisham Abed ("The Hills" and "The City"). Josh Griffith ("Young and the Restless," "As the World Turns") will serve as head writer.
Nick at Nite is Nickelodeon's nighttime programming block that features popular hit family comedies including the Emmy Award-winning series "Friends," "My Wife & Kids," "George Lopez" and "The Nanny. "