Pantaya, Endemol Shine Boomdog and Cholawood team up for new series

Pantaya, Endemol Shine Boomdog and Cholawood Productions are teaming up for the event series “A Beautiful Lie,” which will be executive produced by and star Kate del Castillo. The six-part series co-production, based on the 2015 adaptation from Banijay-owned Endemol Shine Australia, is a modern retelling of Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina,” one of the greatest love stories of all time. Acclaimed Spanish writers Almudena Ocaña and Aurora García Tortosa are also attached to the show. 

“A Beautiful Lie” stars del Castillo as a gold medal-winning Olympic diver and Mexican national hero. Her character, Anna Montes de Oca, falls in love with a young musician and goes on a journey of self-discovery — one that society unfortunately does not embrace.

Del Castillo’s production label Cholawood Productions, which has an overall production deal with Mexico City-based Endemol Shine Boomdog, will co-produce the series. Carmen Cervantes and Jessica Maldonado, who formed Cholawood with del Castillo, will serve as executive producers alongside the award-winning actress. Production of “A Beautiful Lie” is set to begin early next year in Mexico.

"This is a passion project for me. Reinterpreting a classic such as Leo Tolstoy's ‘Anna Karenina’ is a huge responsibility, and we plan to do it justice. We're re-telling a story with strong female characters where infidelity is a major element. We will also address various mental health issues, including postpartum depression, and the sometimes-disastrous impact social media can have on people's lives, especially public figures. It's a modern twist from a female perspective. I'm excited to play the lead and executive produce with my team at Cholawood, alongside Endemol Shine Boomdog and Pantaya, with whom I have been wanting to work with since their impressive launch,"  del Castillo said.

“Between the teams at Boomdog, Kate and her team at Cholawood, along with the incredible writing duo of Almudena Ocaña and Aurora Tortosa, we are very excited with the auspices of this project. Adapting ‘A Beautiful Lie’ for Mexico, itself a brilliant modernization of Anna Karenina, has proven a formidable challenge, and we are proud of the premium and elegant series we will be producing together,”  added Mario Almeida, Head of Content for Pantaya.

Jerry Rodriguez, Head of Scripted at Endemol Shine Boomdog, declared: “We are excited to work with Kate, both as an actress and also as an executive producer, and with her team at Cholawood. We are confident that this will become a brand-defining series, showcasing some of the best onscreen and behind-the-camera talent in the industry”.