Juan Pablo Di Pace to star in the ViX+ Original Series alongside Macarena Achaga.
TelevisaUnivision Inc., the world’s leading Spanish-language content and media company, today announced the start of production of Travesuras de la Niña Mala (Bad Girl) in Paris and London this month. The original production is being developed to land exclusively on ViX+, the new global Spanish-language subscription streaming service set to launch on July 21.
Juan Pablo Di Pace (The Mattachine Family, Fuller House, A.D. The Bible Continues, Dallas, Mamma Mia) will star in the romantic scripted series alongside previously announced Macarena Achaga. Seasoned scriptwriter María López Castaño (Valeria, Diablo Guardián, Gran Hotel, Los Hombres de Paco) wrote the series based on the acclaimed novel of the same name by Nobel Prize winner Mario Vargas Llosa. Renowned director Alejandro Bazzano (“Money Heist, Inés del Alma Mía, No te Puedes Esconder, Los Hombres de Paco, Mar de Plástico, Noche Americana) is directing the ViX+ Original series, in production by W Studios. David Azcano (Money Heist, Sky Rojo, Bose, Isabel) joins the production as the show’s cinematographer.
“It is a privilege to portray Ricardo Somocurcio, perhaps Mario Vargas Llosa’s most idealistic hero when it comes to love. A translator whose undying love for ‘the bad girl’ will transcend time and space,” said Juan Pablo Di Pace.
“It is very exciting to portray him from the age of 25 to 55 – from the 1960s to the 1980s – in Paris, London, Mexico, Madrid and Tokyo and to speak Spanish, English and French. From one country to the next, she will drive him crazy but he’ll always follow. The series is a first in many ways and I am so proud to be working on it with the brilliant ViX+. It’s an absolute dream job.”
“Watching the first scenes of this unique series filmed in Paris is a dream come true,” said Patricio Wills, president of W Studios. “With ViX+ we are producing this incredible series based on Mario Vargas Llosa’s beautiful book. We are not only filming in the original European locations but are accurately able to depict an era that marked a dramatic change in world culture.”
“I am thrilled and thankful to be able to direct a series based on one of my favorite novels by Mario Vargas Llosa, said Alejandro Bazzano. Recreating the convulsive universe of this stormy love story is an exciting challenge and I am confident it will be a great success.”
Travesuras de la Niña Mala tells the epic love story between Arlette, a nonconformist and adventurous woman, and her once teenage love, Ricardo, a man trapped in a predictable routine. Thanks to Arlette, he slowly learns to get out of his comfort zone. These two characters’ lives will intertwine over forty years, through reunions across Lima, Paris, Madrid, Tokyo, London, and more. The bad girl invites us to challenge our life on autopilot, transform ourselves and take responsibility over our lives, seeking happiness while feeling immortal. The story questions what is life without those moments, when we forget that everything has an end.
As part of the recently launched ViX, the world’s largest Spanish-language streaming service, the new SVOD tier, ViX+, is launching on July 21 with more than 10,000 hours of premium content, including over 50 ViX+ Original series and movies, in the first year alone. ViX is available for free on Apple iOS and tvOS, Android mobile and Android TV OS devices, Amazon Fire TV, Roku devices, Samsung Smart TVs and via the web on vix.com.
