MTV Picks Up Latin-Flavored Comedy Pilot

http://www.deadline.com/2010/10/mtv-picks-up-latin-flavored-comedy-pilot/

MTV has handed out a pilot presentation order to Patito Feo, a half-hour comedy based on the hugely successful Argentinean format. The adaptation was written by Easy A scribe Bert V. Royal. Feature helmer Andy Fickman (You Again) is in negotiations to direct the project, executive produced by former Reveille and NBC executive Teri Weinberg.

Patito Feo (in English, Ugly Duckling) centers on a Mexican teenage girl who moves to Florida with her mother and grandmother only to discover that the reality of high school in America is nothing like she expected when she crosses paths with the Queen Bee and accidentally sets off a war at school.

Patito Feo, which has a strong music component, has become an international phenom since the original Argentine teen drama hit the air in 2007. It ran for 300 episodes, spawned a No.1 soundtrack, a sold-out concert tour and a massive merchandising line. It has been sold in over 32 territories, with half dozen local adaptations in the works. The Mexican version, Dare to Dream, ran for 262 episodes on Univision, drawing big ratings.

This marks the first pilot order for Weinberg as an independent producer through her Yellow Brick Road Prods. She is executive producing Patito Feo with Beatrice Acevedo and Doug Greiff of Hip Entertainment Group, a production company for mainstream Latin-oriented programming in the U.S. In addition to Petito Feo, MTV earlier this year partnered with Weinberg's former boss Ben Silverman and Ugly Betty star America Ferrera to develop another Latin-themed project, Pedro & Maria, a bilingual English-Spanish interactive telenovela. Weinberg served as an executive producer on Betty and is also a co-executive producer on The Office.