Audible has struck a deal with Sonoro, the audio company creating programming for Latinx and Hispanic audiences, to create a slate of original shows in both Spanish and English.
The first project from the partnership will star Melissa Fumero (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) and Alan Cumming (The Good Wife) in the English-language version. Described as a comedy thriller, PREVIA: A Tech Heist, involves a futuristic VR headset that allows Alzheimer’s and dementia patients to access their forgotten memories — that is until its inventor realizes the device, in the wrong hands, can be used to create false memories.
The second show in the slate, Shaky, will be a dark comedy from writer Katherine Craft (Apple TV+’s Best Foot Forward) about a 30-something hedonistic drummer who moves back in with her Christian mother and younger sister in the Dallas suburbs after being diagnosed with Young Onset Parkinson’s Disease.
And the third, La Despedida, will be a romantic comedy about a marriage on the rocks. The show will take on elements of the telenovela genre and feature the music catalog of bachata and reggaeton star Romeo Santos.
The first three shows from the partnership are expected to begin launching this fall.
“We’re excited to come together with Audible to continue telling world-class stories by Latinx creators,” Sonoro co-founder Camila Victoriano said. “Together, we’ll continue to push the boundaries of audio-first storytelling across a myriad of genres — from thrillers to romantic comedies and beyond.”
Audibe’s pact with Sonoro continues the audio company’s expansion into bilingual programming for English and Spanish speakers. In March, the Amazon-owned company struck a multiyear production deal with 3Pas Studios to create scripted and unscripted audio content in English and Spanish. And last year, Audible released its first bilingual audio docuseries in English and Spanish with Fresh Produce Media.
“It has been our longstanding commitment to uplift diverse voices, a vision shared by Sonoro,” Pat Shah, Audible’s head of content acquisition, strategy and partnerships, said. “Their impressive and highly-lauded work made them a natural fit for us, and we anticipate Audible listeners will be invigorated by what’s to come.”
The Sonoro–Audible shows will be audio first, though the two parties are expected to shop the projects around for additional adaptations, including in TV and family entertainment, according to Oren Rosenbaum, the head of audio for UTA, which brokered the deal between Sonoro and Audible.
“I am thrilled to see the collaboration between Sonoro and Audible bring together such an incredible line-up of original projects,” Rosenbaum said. “With the dynamic heist story of PREVIA, the emotionally powerful La Despedida and the gripping tale of Shaky, this initial slate of content truly showcases the depth and range of audio storytelling.”
