SONY PICTURES TELEVISION ENLISTS GUILLERMO ARRIAGA FOR “YO NO SOY MENDOZA”

Sony Pictures Television announced Guillermo Arriaga as the creative lead on the development of “Yo No Soy Mendoza,” the latest project from celebrated Colombian writer Fernando Gaitán (creator of global hit “Yo Soy Betty, La Fea”). Arriaga takes over from Gaitán the dramedy series which will feature eight hour-long episodes. The project’s development agreement was announced shortly before Gaitán’s unexpected passing.

“We are so excited to have Guillermo onboard to guide the highly regarded creative duo of writers German Maggiori and Marcos Osorio Vidal, as well as Adrian Zurita, as a creative consultant on this project. Arriaga’s body of work is truly some of the greatest talent of our generation and his unique narrative universe is perfect to guide two of the most gifted writers in the region to honor Gaitan’s vision for the series,”  said Ana Bond, SVP and MD of International Production in Latin America and US Hispanic for SPT.

"Fernando Gaitán - my Colombian brother, called me before he passed away. He wanted to ask if I could advise him on a series he was developing for Sony. I accepted immediately. Not only because I loved him but because I admired him. He was a writer with an enormous talent. So, in honor of my promise to Fernando, I remain as an advisor in the series he designed and created,"  Guillermo Arriaga added.

Arriaga is known for his complex and emotionally provocative storytelling of human lives under intense pressure, as seen in his work as screenwriter with three–time Oscar–winner Alejandro González Iñárritu. He has received numerous honors for his insightful, thought–provoking work on “Babel,” among them an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay, as well as nominations from the Writers Guild of America, BAFTA and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.