As the LA Screenings adapts to industry headwinds, Latin American producers are stepping up with compelling scripted and unscripted content – from relationship-based reality formats to globally resonant dramas – demonstrating their growing creative and commercial influence on the international stage.

As international buyers gather for this year’s LA Screenings, the event reflects a television industry in flux, challenged by shifting strategies, dwindling advertising revenues, and a global rebalancing following the highs of the peak TV era. While the legacy studios are scaling back and the Independent Screenings have moved to a more modest venue, there is no shortage of ambition or innovation on display from Latin American producers, who are seizing the moment to showcase content with genuine international reach.

Among them is Floresta, a Brazilian production company owned by Sony Pictures Television. Adriana ‘Dida’ Silva, VP and general director of the company, describes the LA Screenings as “a very important market for us”. Floresta is premiering its first telefilm, Panic Room, and presenting a robust slate of unscripted formats. These include Tunnel of Love, In Sickness & in Hell, and Ageless Love — shows that Silva says offer “relatable reality formats with universal appeal – friendship, relationships, and humour”.

She adds: “For the past 15 years, Floresta has been creating and producing top-quality, highly successful reality shows, consistently betting on relationship formats that go beyond the traditional.” Tunnel of Love “focuses on the choices friends make for one another in the search for the ideal match”, while In Sickness & in Hell is about “connection under pressure, testing relationships in extreme, real-life conditions”. Ageless Love, meanwhile, “explores how different generations – from grandparents to grandchildren – engage in the search for love”.

Brazil, according to Parrot Analytics, is emerging as a significant market for global streaming platforms. Adriana Pascale, senior manager of Partner Insights at the company, notes: “Within the remaining 40% [of non-English-language content revenue outside the top five markets], Brazil accounts for 4.7% of the total share.” One of the most notable successes was Senna, a six-part Netflix biographical drama about Formula One legend Ayrton Senna. “Senna showed strong international appeal, with global average demand of 16 times more than the average title indicating an outstanding performance,” Pascale says. “This level of demand places the title in a top-performing category that only 3% of all titles monitored by Parrot Analytics ever reach.”

Mexico’s Bandidos, also on Netflix, recorded demand nine times the average, prompting the platform to order a second season, released in January 2025. Colombia’s RCN Television also made a mark with Betty la Fea the Story Continues, a sequel to the telenovela that inspired the US version Ugly Betty. The romantic comedy is resonating both in Latin America and beyond. Pascale reports that in Spain and the US, demand was six times and four times higher than average, respectively. “Italy and Canada also showed solid results,” she adds.

Latin America’s influence was further cemented by the performance of titles like Women in Blue (Apple TV+), Renascer and Garota do Momento (Globo), and Colombian miniseries Secuestro al Vuelo 601 (Netflix). Pascale says the top five international markets for Latin American series in 2024 were the US, Spain, Portugal, France and Italy.

One of the largest content libraries being showcased in LA belongs to Colombia’s TIS Studios, owned by Paramount, which re-entered the content distribution game earlier this year. First unveiled at C21’s Content Americas earlier this year, its slate includes new seasons of series like Cecilia and El Capo, as well as feature films such as Amor es Amor, directed by and starring Rob Schneider, and Autogol, about the 1994 murder of footballer Andrés Escobar.

TIS is also ramping up investment in original unscripted IP. Alejandro Toro, VP of commercial, says: “While it’s harder to retain IP rights when it comes to paper formats, we are investing heavily in original ideas for unscripted, tailoring them to each platform’s audience needs.” He adds that platforms are seeking exclusive local content, rather than relying solely on tried-and-tested international formats.

In Mexico, Endemol Shine Boomdog, part of Banijay Americas, is focusing entirely on unscripted content after the launch of A Fábrica México & US Hispanic for scripted projects. Frank Scheuermann, the company’s chief content officer, says: “We are still working on expanding in many ways one of our super brands, La Casa de los Famosos [Big Brother], as well as pushing heavily on gameshows like Deal or no Deal.” The company produced more than 1,000 hours of content last year and is developing content based on sport and reality trends.

Floresta, meanwhile, is developing formats in partnership with Sony teams in Latin America and the UK and is working closely with sister company Teleset in Colombia. “We’re very eager to produce more with Latin America because of the proximity, the strong connections, and the tremendous potential of the Latin market,” says Silva.

The telenovela genre also remains a powerful force. Las Hijas de la Señora García, a Mexican remake of a Turkish series, was the number one telenovela in the region in 2024, followed by the Betty la Fea sequel and Vivir de Amor, both from TelevisaUnivision. “Telenovelas dominate the top-performing drama series rankings in 2024,” says Pascale. Toro observes a shift in format length, noting that in Colombia, “we’re seeing more ‘novelised series’ of around 60 to 80 episodes… but they remain true to their melodramatic roots.”

There’s also growing experimentation with digital-first formats, aimed at younger audiences. In a notable collaboration, Caracol Televisión and US-based ReelShort are developing vertical-format microdramas. “This reflects a significant step in the convergence of traditional television and digital-native formats,” says Pascale.

Globo Network’s Globoplay has similarly seen success with digital-first telenovelas. The series Todas as Flores began on Globoplay before airing on Globo’s linear channel and became a viral social media phenomenon. Pascale says it “combined Globo’s traditional storytelling expertise with a more dynamic and modern approach”.

Recently, Argentine sci-fi drama El Eternauta became the most-watched non-English-language title on Netflix, racking up 58.3 million hours of viewing and entering the top 10 in 87 territories. With the success of Senna also in mind, Pascale observes: “This suggests that, beyond genre or format, what audiences are increasingly seeking and engaging with are compelling stories and well-crafted narratives.”

Sebastián Ortega, founder of Underground Producciones, declared earlier this year that Latin America is on the verge of its Squid Game moment. While that may still lie ahead, the strength and ambition of the region’s current output suggests the destination is within reach. As Toro puts it: “The priority today is offering high-quality content in order to stay competitive. As producers, that’s our focus: delivering strong creativity both in scripted and unscripted entertainment.”

As the LA Screenings adapts to industry headwinds, Latin American producers are stepping up with compelling scripted and unscripted content – from relationship-based reality formats to globally resonant dramas – demonstrating their growing creative and commercial influence on the international stage.

As international buyers gather for this year’s LA Screenings, the event reflects a television industry in flux, challenged by shifting strategies, dwindling advertising revenues, and a global rebalancing following the highs of the peak TV era. While the legacy studios are scaling back and the Independent Screenings have moved to a more modest venue, there is no shortage of ambition or innovation on display from Latin American producers, who are seizing the moment to showcase content with genuine international reach.

Among them is Floresta, a Brazilian production company owned by Sony Pictures Television. Adriana ‘Dida’ Silva, VP and general director of the company, describes the LA Screenings as “a very important market for us”. Floresta is premiering its first telefilm, Panic Room, and presenting a robust slate of unscripted formats. These include Tunnel of Love, In Sickness & in Hell, and Ageless Love — shows that Silva says offer “relatable reality formats with universal appeal – friendship, relationships, and humour”.

She adds: “For the past 15 years, Floresta has been creating and producing top-quality, highly successful reality shows, consistently betting on relationship formats that go beyond the traditional.” Tunnel of Love “focuses on the choices friends make for one another in the search for the ideal match”, while In Sickness & in Hell is about “connection under pressure, testing relationships in extreme, real-life conditions”. Ageless Love, meanwhile, “explores how different generations – from grandparents to grandchildren – engage in the search for love”.

Brazil, according to Parrot Analytics, is emerging as a significant market for global streaming platforms. Adriana Pascale, senior manager of Partner Insights at the company, notes: “Within the remaining 40% [of non-English-language content revenue outside the top five markets], Brazil accounts for 4.7% of the total share.” One of the most notable successes was Senna, a six-part Netflix biographical drama about Formula One legend Ayrton Senna. “Senna showed strong international appeal, with global average demand of 16 times more than the average title indicating an outstanding performance,” Pascale says. “This level of demand places the title in a top-performing category that only 3% of all titles monitored by Parrot Analytics ever reach.”

Mexico’s Bandidos, also on Netflix, recorded demand nine times the average, prompting the platform to order a second season, released in January 2025. Colombia’s RCN Television also made a mark with Betty la Fea the Story Continues, a sequel to the telenovela that inspired the US version Ugly Betty. The romantic comedy is resonating both in Latin America and beyond. Pascale reports that in Spain and the US, demand was six times and four times higher than average, respectively. “Italy and Canada also showed solid results,” she adds.

Latin America’s influence was further cemented by the performance of titles like Women in Blue (Apple TV+), Renascer and Garota do Momento (Globo), and Colombian miniseries Secuestro al Vuelo 601 (Netflix). Pascale says the top five international markets for Latin American series in 2024 were the US, Spain, Portugal, France and Italy.

One of the largest content libraries being showcased in LA belongs to Colombia’s TIS Studios, owned by Paramount, which re-entered the content distribution game earlier this year. First unveiled at C21’s Content Americas earlier this year, its slate includes new seasons of series like Cecilia and El Capo, as well as feature films such as Amor es Amor, directed by and starring Rob Schneider, and Autogol, about the 1994 murder of footballer Andrés Escobar.

TIS is also ramping up investment in original unscripted IP. Alejandro Toro, VP of commercial, says: “While it’s harder to retain IP rights when it comes to paper formats, we are investing heavily in original ideas for unscripted, tailoring them to each platform’s audience needs.” He adds that platforms are seeking exclusive local content, rather than relying solely on tried-and-tested international formats.

In Mexico, Endemol Shine Boomdog, part of Banijay Americas, is focusing entirely on unscripted content after the launch of A Fábrica México & US Hispanic for scripted projects. Frank Scheuermann, the company’s chief content officer, says: “We are still working on expanding in many ways one of our super brands, La Casa de los Famosos [Big Brother], as well as pushing heavily on gameshows like Deal or no Deal.” The company produced more than 1,000 hours of content last year and is developing content based on sport and reality trends.

Floresta, meanwhile, is developing formats in partnership with Sony teams in Latin America and the UK and is working closely with sister company Teleset in Colombia. “We’re very eager to produce more with Latin America because of the proximity, the strong connections, and the tremendous potential of the Latin market,” says Silva.

The telenovela genre also remains a powerful force. Las Hijas de la Señora García, a Mexican remake of a Turkish series, was the number one telenovela in the region in 2024, followed by the Betty la Fea sequel and Vivir de Amor, both from TelevisaUnivision. “Telenovelas dominate the top-performing drama series rankings in 2024,” says Pascale. Toro observes a shift in format length, noting that in Colombia, “we’re seeing more ‘novelised series’ of around 60 to 80 episodes… but they remain true to their melodramatic roots.”

There’s also growing experimentation with digital-first formats, aimed at younger audiences. In a notable collaboration, Caracol Televisión and US-based ReelShort are developing vertical-format microdramas. “This reflects a significant step in the convergence of traditional television and digital-native formats,” says Pascale.

Globo Network’s Globoplay has similarly seen success with digital-first telenovelas. The series Todas as Flores began on Globoplay before airing on Globo’s linear channel and became a viral social media phenomenon. Pascale says it “combined Globo’s traditional storytelling expertise with a more dynamic and modern approach”.

Recently, Argentine sci-fi drama El Eternauta became the most-watched non-English-language title on Netflix, racking up 58.3 million hours of viewing and entering the top 10 in 87 territories. With the success of Senna also in mind, Pascale observes: “This suggests that, beyond genre or format, what audiences are increasingly seeking and engaging with are compelling stories and well-crafted narratives.”

Sebastián Ortega, founder of Underground Producciones, declared earlier this year that Latin America is on the verge of its Squid Game moment. While that may still lie ahead, the strength and ambition of the region’s current output suggests the destination is within reach. As Toro puts it: “The priority today is offering high-quality content in order to stay competitive. As producers, that’s our focus: delivering strong creativity both in scripted and unscripted entertainment.”