Vice, Mediapro Alliance Kicks Off With ‘Border Republic’ TV Series

By Emiliano De Pablos

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Spanish TV giant Mediapro Group and Vice Studios have sealed an alliance to co-develop and co-produce original scripted TV series, kicking-off with project “Border Republic.”

“Republic,” as recounted by Vice, is set on the border between U.S. and Mexico, in Matamoros and Brownsville, two cities that share the same culture, being in different countries.

In the context of the construction of the U.S.-Mexico wall, the series will narrate “the transformation of a character that gives us hope that this community and culture won’t be split in half,” both companies said in a statement.

The series production will take place throughout the natural landscapes of the border, starting in 2019. It will feature the narrative imprint and visual style of Vice’s documentary series.

“This is the first of many scripted projects that we’ll be developing from Vice Studios Latam in the coming years,” said Vice Latam & U.S. Hispanic CEO, Andrés Reymondes.

“We are confident that [Vice’s] enormous trajectory, along with ’s experience in scripted content, will provide unthinkable stories to our viewers,” said Laura Fernández Espeso, director of International Content at the Mediapro Group.

“Vice has renewed the documentary language to such an extent that merely a frame is necessary to recognize their signature,” added Daniel Burman, content director at Mediapro U.S..

In a separate move, Imagina International Sales, Mediapro’s distribution arm, has signed with Hulu Japan exclusive rights to the four seasons of “Vis a vis” (“Locked Up”), a TV drama produced by Mediapro’s Globomedia.

The deal confirms “Locked Up,” the first real breakout for its co-creators, Alex Pina and Esther Martinez Lobato, who went on to create “La Casa de Papel,” as a key milestone TV drama in Imagina’s track record.

“Locked Up” will arrive to Japan in 2019, in both subtitled and dubbed versions.

The first episode will be aired in Japan via leading broadcaster Nippon TV, Hulu Japan parent company, as part of its program “Hulu Episode -1 Theatre” before the  series’ complete first season be available on Hulu Japan.

Set in a Spanish women’s prison thriller, where a young fragile girl discovers a new and tougher version of herself, “Locked Up” marks the first Spanish TV drama to be released on Hulu Japan.

The series first two seasons, produced by Mediapro-Globomedia for Spanish broadcaster Atresmedia, were acquired by Amazon Prime in the U.S., and received a Walter Presents premiere on British Channel 4, becoming the first Spanish TV drama launched on the U.K. free-to-air TV market.

“Vis a Vis” Seasons 3 and 4 are produced by Globomedia for Fox Network Group España. Season 3 has been one of the most watched TV series on Spanish pay TV this year. Fox will launch Season 4 in Spain in 2019.