France Televisions buys pop icon Laura Esquivel’s “Love, Divina”

PanARMENIAN.Net - Gallic pubcaster France Televisions has acquired French TV rights to pan-Latin American fiction series “Love, Divina”, toplined by Argentine pop icon Laura Esquivel (“Patito Feo”), Variety reports.

The series will air exclusively in France on France Televisions’ family channel France 4.

The new deal on “Love, Divina,” a teen drama produced by Argentina’s Pol-ka, Mexican giant Televisa, and Paris-based Federation Kids & Family, comes on the heels of the recent acquisition of Italian rights by De Agostini Editore’s TV channel Super!, which secures the presence of the series in two of the most important European TV markets, especially for series along the lines of “Love, Divina.”

“Love, Divina’s”’ narrative mixes humor, music and drama, with Esquivel playing Divina, a kind and conscientious teenager who grew up without a family who takes a group of homeless kids under her wing . Just before social services tear the group apart, they are all taken in by Irene, Divina’s long-lost grandmother.

“’Divina’ and her friends offer our viewers a positive portrait of a modern, supportive and united family. These values, to which France Televisions aspires, contribute to an aspirational story that will resonate with kids and parents alike,” said Tiphaine de Raguenel, France Televisions’ executive director and director of youth programming at France 4.

For David Michel, managing director of Federation Kids & Family, the France Televisions partnership marks “a cornerstone of our pan-European strategy, securing key channels one by one, while filling a needed gap in the market.”

“’Love, Divina’ has a unique creative angle in that it is a drama that works for both tweens-teens and parent audiences, which is a hard genre to find right now,” he added.

Federation Kids & Family manages “Divina’s” European rights; Televisa handles the rest of the world. The series is scheduled to launch in the first quarter of the year on Argentina’s channel El Trece and Televisa’s platform Blim in Mexico and Latin America.

Laura Esquivel came to fame with “Patito Feo,” a Televisa co-production broadcast in more than 40 countries, which became a ratings, licensing and music sensation.