HBO Max has greenlighted the series Gordita Chronicles, a family comedy from Sony Pictures Television executive produced by Zoe Saldana and Eva Longoria and starring Diana Maria Riva (Dead to Me), Juan Javier Cardenas (The Walking Dead) and newcomer Olivia Goncalves.
The half-hour series from Sony Pictures Television is centered around 12-year-old Cucu (Goncalves), a strong-willed Dominican girl with a heart of gold who struggles to fit into a hedonistic 1980s Miami, where her family immigrated in pursuit of the American Dream.
The streaming platform’s series order comes one year after Longoria (Desperate Wives) directed the pilot written by Claudia Forestieri, who will also serve as executive producer. The pilot’s main cast will also star in the actual new series, which includes Savannah Nicole Ruiz (Gentefied), Noah Rico (High School Musical: The Musical) and newcomer Cosette Hauer. Longoria and Saldana will exec produce for their respective production companies, UnbeliEVAble Entertainment and Cinestar Pictures.
Also exec producing are Brigitte Munoz-Liebowitz for Bons Mots Emporium and Josh Berman (Drop Dead Diva, CSI), Jennifer Robinson and Chris King of Osprey Productions.
Zaladana’s sisters, Mariel and Cisely Saldana are joining the Avatar star as exec producers for Cinestar, the family production company founded four years ago. “Because we’re all different, we want the everyday woman to be portrayed, like the type of things we want to see out there, actually portrayed,” said Mariel Saldana in a video after the launching of their enterprise. “We all come in all different shapes, sizes. We’re not all tied into one mold.”
The series is based on screenwriter Forestieri’s life as a young girl.
“We are thrilled to partner with Zoe, Eva, Josh and Sony Pictures Television to bring to life this beautiful coming-of-age story inspired by Claudia’s personal journey,” says Jennifer O’Connell, executive vice president of non-fiction and live-action family programming for HBO Max. For her part, Sarah Aubrey, head of original content for the streamer states the company is “proud to work with the powerhouse Latinx talent in front of and behind the camera for this series.” Aubrey adds they believe the story of Gordita Chronicles will resonate with all families.
“From the minute we heard Claudia’s childhood story, we knew it was not only incredibly funny, but emotionally poignant and an important story to tell,” comments Jason Clodfelter, co-president of Sony Pictures Television Studios. He says that Cucu’s family reminds him of the sitcoms he grew up watching. “But none of those ever captured a Dominican family’s experience of coming to America,” adds Clodfelter. “This show changes all of that, and we are thrilled and grateful to dive back in and make a wonderful series for our friends at HBO Max.”
Featured Photo: Diana Maria Riva (Cedit: Courtesy HBO Max/Jean Baptiste Lacroix/Getty Images). Olivia Goncalves (Credit: Courtesy of HBO Max). Juan Javier Cardenas (Courtesy HBO Max/Getty Images)