The Academy Award winning producer of iconic series such as Breaking Bad, and movies such as Rain Man, teams up with ViX+ to produce his first Spanish language series.
ViX+, the Spanish-Language streaming service from TelevisaUnivision, announced today an exclusive partnership with legendary producer Mark Johnson, from Gran Via Productions, and with Exile Content, for a new ViX+ Original limited series, which will be produced under the banner of Televisa Alternative Originals (TAO). Development has started for AMÉN (working title), which will explore the irresistible attraction of unlimited power and the dangers of embracing evil, as told by the real story of a Catholic priest who seduced the Mexican wealthy society, an international community of faith, and even the highest spheres of the Vatican.
AMÉN tells the story of Father Marcial Maciel, the Mexican priest who was formally accused in 1998 of corruption, graft, and sexual abuse of minors, by several members of his congregation and students of the Catholic religious order he founded, Legionaries of Christ. Relying on investigative reporting and hundreds of interviews, including the riveting book “Vows of Silence: The Abuse of Power in the Papacy of John Paul II” written by Jason Berry and Gerald Renner, the series reveals the tense and thrilling investigation of one of the Twentieth Century’s most powerful and manipulative personalities, and the secret war between his victims and his protectors that threatened to bring down one of the world’s oldest institutions.
Prime Time Emmy and Academy Award-winner Johnson is the celebrated producer of film classics such as Rain Man, which won four Oscars, including Best Picture, a category it also won in the Golden Globes, Good Morning Vietnam, Bugsy, Donnie Brasco, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and many others, as well as some of the most iconic TV series, including Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and the Interview with the Vampire TV series. This will be the first Spanish-language series for Mark Johnson, showcasing ViX+’s commitment to delivering top-quality series and bringing in renowned talent with unparalleled content.
“The opportunity to tell this Byzantine story chronicling the uncovering of one of the most deceptive and pernicious figures in 20th Century Mexican culture, and to tell it in Spanish, the language of my youth, is irresistible,” said Mark Johnson. “I thank TelevisaUnivision and Exile Content for inviting me in.”
Recent Exile Content projects (part of Candle Media) include the series Todo Va A Estar Bien, co-produced with Diego Luna, docu-series Un Sueño Real, and Los Borbones: una familia real in partnership with journalist Ana Pastor. Exile also co-produced the San Sebastián award-winning film and Oscar contender Los Reyes del Mundo.
“At ViX we value storytelling, but as an authentically Hispanic company, we specifically seek out stories that are Latin at their core—stories that we know will resonate with our communities, but also the rest of the world. We believe it is our responsibility to give a voice to projects that matter to Latin American audiences. In the case of AMEN, we are telling a story that originates in Mexico, that grew to global importance, ultimately threatening one of the most powerful institutions – the Catholic church – as well as some of the highest echelons of society,” said Rodrigo Mazón, Executive Vice President, General Manager, ViX+. “AMEN is without a doubt one of the most ambitious projects in our industry, and we’re extremely excited to work with Mark Johnson and the team at Exile to bring it to life.”
