Spain’s Onza Americas, behind ‘Isla Brava’, a hit on TelevisaUnivision streamer ViX, and Mexico’s BH5 Studios, behind a string of Mexican blockbusters, have signed a deal to develop and produce TV series.
The strategic alliance stems from the collaboration of Onza Americas, BH5 Studios and Rodrigo Trujillo in the production of the mystery series “Isla Brava,” which bowed on ViX in May and became the most-watched series during its first few weeks.
The partners are now working on a second season of “Isla Brava” for ViX. The larger strategic deal was reached during the filming, Onza and BH5 Group said Wednesday.
The companies are now co-developing a second series, “an exciting drama that explores the complex world of addiction,” they said in a press statement.
They are also adapting for the Spanish market the script of “Ya veremos,” a 2018 comedy melodrama that turned out to be one of BH5 Studios’ biggest box office hits in Mexico. BH5, one of the country’s top film producers, also produced ‘Do It Like an Hombre’ in 2017, which, like ‘Ya veremos’, is one of the top 5 highest-grossing films in Mexico’s history.
At a time when comedies are bringing Spain’s biggest box office hits, BH5’s credits also include more crowd-pleasing fare such as ‘El Mesero’, ‘A Woman With No Filter’ and ‘Dulce Familia’.
Onza Americas, announced from NATPE in 2021, focuses on Latin American and U.S. Latin American markets. “Isla Brava” is the first TV series. Directed by Pitipol Ybarra, who also helmed ‘Ya veremos’, the film revolves around psychological and domestic violence and its consequences in an upper-class Mexican family.
“Our first experience working with Onza on the ‘Isla Brava’ series for the VIX platform was exceptional. Their professionalism, values and dedication to the audiovisual industry align perfectly with our vision,” said Rodrigo Trujillo, founder of BH5 Studios.
“Consolidating this strategic alliance with professionals like Onza strengthens our ability to create and produce quality television series while expanding our borders into the Spanish market,” Trujillo added.
“It is a great pleasure to reach this agreement with Rodrigo and BH5 Studios. Harvey Grisalez and I worked with Rodrigo on the executive production of “Isla Brava,” and he is undoubtedly one of the leading producers in Mexico. His vision, creativity and dedication to projects are remarkable, as is his knowledge of the Mexican market in general,” said Gonzalo Sagardía, CEO of Onza.
Spain and Mexico are currently the most vibrant TV markets in the Spanish-speaking world. According to Ampere Analysis, in Spain, scripted orders from all types of commissioners, not just streamers, reached 71 in the first half of 2024. Although production has fallen significantly in recent years, Mexico consistently ranks second in scripted series orders , which reached 29 copies in the first half of 2024.
“The internationalization of production initiated by the streamers has increasingly shifted the focus of production outside the US, with Latin America and Europe being key regions for new first-line production,” said Guy Bisson of Ampere Analysis .
“With that content now regularly finding global appeal, Spanish’s huge footprint as a spoken language and the fact that Spain and Mexico are already the largest producers of Spanish scripted content means that increased collaboration between the two countries makes perfect sense,” Bisson added. .