Nellie Andreeva

Cuban-born musician/music producer Emilio Estefan has signed a development deal with 20th Century Fox Television. Under the pact, Estefan will shepherd his first drama series for network television. He already is meeting with writers for the project, a Latino-themed series which he will executive produce. The pitch is expected to be taken out to the networks this fall. “Reaching out to all audiences, including the Latino audience, is a critical priority for this studio as we look for that next big international hit,” 20th TV chairmen Dana Walden and Gary Newman said. “Emilio has a vision for a dramatic series that combines great storytelling with an authenticity in terms of Latino culture that we think every network will want on their schedule.”

During his career, Estefan created the Miami Sound Machine and has shepherded the careers of Marc Anthony, Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Ricky Martin, Jon Secada and his wife Gloria Estefan, among others. After crossing over so many Latin singers into the mainstream, Estefan is ready to do the same with a Latino-themed series. “I think this is the perfect time to do it,” he said, noting that Hispanics are the largest and fastest growing minority in the U.S. Years ago, he shopped a script for Beauty Parlor, a series he said was in the vein of Modern Family, which is produced by 20th TV. Back then, he was told the American TV audiences were not ready for a Latino family. Now he believes they are.

Estefan, winner of 19 Grammy Awards, has produced the Latin Grammy’s on CBS, The Hispanic Heritage Awards on NBC and Nuestra Navidad on Univision.

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