Starz Greenlights Half-Hour Drama ‘Vida’

Starz series Vida has been greenlit to series. Tanya Saracho will be showrunner and Alonso Ruizpalacios will direct the premiere.

Initially titled Pour Vida, Vidais a half-hour drama focusing on two Mexican-American sisters from the Eastside of Los Angeles. The two couldn't be more different from each other, and circumstances force them to return to their old neighborhood, where they are confronted by the past and shocking truth about their mother’s identity.

“Tanya explores identity, culture, gender and sexuality through the lens of a Latinix family and their community. It’s a deeply personal and relatable series about coming back home and finally growing up,” said Starz President and CEO Chris Albrecht. “Vida reflects the intersecting worlds of Latin and American descendants of all genders and sexualities and speaks to the heart of Starz’s programming commitment to present compelling stories for traditionally underserved audiences. We are very proud to work with Tanya and help bring her vision to life.”

Related: Starz, Jerry Bruckheimer to Develop ‘Black Samurai’ Series

The cast includes Veronica Osorio and Melissa Barrera.

Big Beach TV will produce the series with Marc Turtletaub, Peter Saraf and Robin Schwartz executive producing. Lionsgate will retain all domestic and international multiplatform rights.

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.