Another Latino-themed TV pilot is ordered by ABC. Matt Lopez has a pilot order for a Latinx family drama entitled Promised Land, which ABC scooped up, giving it a pilot commitment.

The hour-long pilot is a generational drama about two Latino families looking for wealth and power in wine country, Sonoma Valley in California.

Considering there are 52 Mexican-American-owned California wineries according to wine-centric website https://www.jancisrobinson.com, this seems like a timely topic. The website goes on to add “as pioneering Latinos and their children, many of whom have spent their entire lives working in the California wine industry, establish their own wine project”.

The timing for a TV series that does not revolve around Latino gangs, maids, or narco kingpins, is refreshing. ABC gets it; they had already delved into Latino stories — sans the negative stereotypes. Just last year, they premiered The Baker and The Beauty, which, although not wealthy Latino families, the family were middle-class business owners. However, that soon ended when ABC decided to cancel the series after only one season.  

Once The Baker and the Beauty went off the air, there remained no Latino-themed TV series on any of the broadcast networks. Although Latinos are the largest minority in the U.S., they are still woefully represented.

Lopez is also writing the feature about a Latino family, Father of the Bride, for Warner Bros., with plans for it to become the first of a Latino movie franchise. 

Originally Lopez started in the industry as an attorney for Dreamworks right after graduating from Florida State University with a law degree, and with an end-goal of being a screenwriter.  

He sold his first script to Dreamworks in 2002. However, it was never produced, but it did jump-start his writing career. Some of his films that were produced include Bedtime Stories, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, and Race to Witch Mountain.  On television, Matt Lopez created the NBCUniversal International drama series Gone. 

Promised Land is written and will be executive produced by Lopez and Adam Kilbrenner of Lit Entertainment Group.  ABC Signature is the producing studio.

— Bel Hernandez

Featured Photo: Matt Lopez