Telemundo: We are the powerhouse of reality shows in Spanish

Telemundo’s reality show Los 50 is the first version of The Fifty format to be made outside of France. Los 50, which debuted on Tuesday the 18th at 7pm with a special three-hour episode, is produced in Mexico for Telemundo by EndemolShine Boomdog which also produces La Casa de los Famosos.

“We are the powerhouse of reality shows in Spanish. It has been a titanic effort to keep the reality show running 365 days a year from 7 to 9pm. Before Los 50 joined Telemundo’s family, we had La Casa de los Famosos, Top Chef, Exatlón USA,” said Ronald Day, President of Entertainment and Content Strategy at NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises.

Los 50 is recorded in a spectacular hacienda in Mexico. “With this reality show we are using all resources available, we have spared nothing: neither in technology nor in celebrities. It sounds great to say 50 but bringing together all those 50 celebrities in one place was a fun challenge. When we saw the edited chapter as it came out on Tuesday, it was incredible. Celebrities from La Casa de los Famosos, Top Chef, even Exatlón and as a surprise star, the actress who plays the daughter of La Reina del Sur. There will be actors from El Señor de los Cielos and others of our series, in addition to top influencers of the moment who will play an important role” Day said.

Day added that for the first time on Spanish-language TV in the US, viewers will be able to earn up to US$50,000 supporting some of Los 50 as fans.

He highlighted that the reality teams, led by Cisco Suárez, and the casting team had the task of assembling the show’s cast of 50 talents.

“We have a wonderful group led by Cisco Suárez and a well-trained casting team; we are already doing castings for January and March 2024. It is an ongoing process. We take care to have a balance of men and women, nationalities, ages, athletes, actors, relevant people, and couples. We try to be inclusive.”

He mentioned that have been working for a while now with EndemolShine Boomdog who are the producers of La Casa de los Famosos. “It’s like a team, we feel super happy with them, we speak the same language and we are not skimping on anything to make this show a success. The bet plus the challenges is great, every time a new challenge comes out they bring in huge cranes.”

Day mentioned that the farm has six rooms with cameras everywhere, robotic and underwater cameras. The show has a combination of reality and games.

“With reality shows, we are reaching an additional audience, younger and with more co-viewing, which was something that was not happening on Spanish-language TV,” he pointed out.

He said that the great challenge of the show is to have 50 celebrities in one place. “It was a great job with a lot of dedication. We are very happy because Telemundo continues to innovate and surprise the viewer. One thing that continues to amaze me is that we still are innovating, now that there is more competition for content and ours has resonance,” he concluded.