‘Vida’ Showrunner Tanya Saracho Inks Overall Deal With Starz

Vida showrunner and executive producer Tanya Saracho has signed a three-year overall deal with Starz. Under the pact, Saracho will develop new projects for the network and continue as showrunner and executive producer on the upcoming Latinx drama series Vida, set for premiere May 6 on the premium cabler.

“Tanya Saracho’s unique voice brings a fresh and real perspective to Latinx programming,” said Starz President of Programming Carmi Zlotnik. “We’re thrilled to have an overall deal with this tenacious playwright-turned-TV writer/executive producer who doesn’t pull any punches when bringing these characters – who are not usually seen in mainstream media – to life.”

Vida is a half-hour drama series focusing on two Mexican-American sisters, Emma (Mishel Prada) and Lyn (Melissa Barrera), from the Eastside of Los Angeles who couldn’t be more different or distanced from each other. Circumstances force them to return to their old neighborhood, where they are confronted by the past and surprising truth about their mother’s identity. The Starz-owned series is based on a format by Richard Villegas, Jr. (I [Heart] Babylon, La Música Romántica) and executive produced by Big Beach TV’s Robin Schwartz, Peter Saraf and Marc Turtletaub with Stephanie Langhoff (Togetherness, The Bronze, The Skeleton Twins).

Additionally, Saracho is currently developing the series Brujas with Big Beach exploring the intersection between modern Brujería culture and feminism. Her television credits include writing and co-producing episodes of HBO’s Looking and ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder among others. On the theater side, Saracho was behind the comedic play Fade, about a young Mexican-American writer struggling to learn the ropes at her first TV job.

“I was a playwright who was still learning the ropes when Starz took a chance on me to create and showrun ‘Vida,’” said Saracho. “They nurtured and supported me during every step of the strenuous process and that is a debt that cannot be repaid. They now open their doors and offer me a home – a fertile ground to grow and amplify my voice as I continue my mission of bringing Latinx and Queer characters to the screen and I am steeped in gratitude. Building ‘Vida’ with Chris [Albrecht], Carmi [Zlotnik] and Marta [Fernandez] has been a downright joy and I can’t wait to deepen and strengthen our collaboration.”

Saracho is repped by UTA and Mark Orsini at Bret Adams, Ltd.