Posted in: Current News, Editor's Picks TV News, HBO, Movies, TV | Tagged: cable, Documentary Now, fred armisen, HBO, ifc, international, lorne michaels, mexico, Mexico City, Mexico City: Only Good Things Happen, pilot, portlandia, saturday night live, snl, spanish, Spanish language, streaming, television, tv
HBO Orders Spanish-Language Pilot From Porlandia's Fred Armisen
Saturday Night Live's Fred Armisen (Portlandia, Documentary Now) will be taking HBO viewers on a tour of a very "special" Mexico City, as the actor/writer/comedian is set to write, executive produce and star in the Spanish-language half-hour pilot Mexico City: Only Good Things Happen. Ana Fabrega and Julio Torres will write, co-executive produce, and star alongside Armisen, with Fernando Frias set to direct the pilot.
Mexico City: Only Good Things Happen is described as being set in a dreamy version of present day Mexico City, following a group of friends obsessed with horror films and monster makeup. Casting for the pilot is currently underway, with Mexico being the primary location for the majority of the auditions.
For eleven year (2002-2013), Armisen was a "Not Ready For Prime Time" player on NBC's Saturday Night Live before moving on to IFC's Porlandia. Going into its eighth and final season, the series continues to receive widespread acclaim and has four Emmy Awards wins to date so far. IFC's Documentary Now is also an Armisen co-creation, and he continues to serve as the bandleader for NBC's late-night series Late Night with Seth Meyers. Netflix animated series Big Mouth, Hulu's Difficult People, and Amazon's Comrade Detective are just a few of his most recent acting roles.
Mexico City: Only Good Things Happen is set to be executive produced by Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels and Andrew Singer via Broadway Video, with Alice Mathias set to co-executive produce. Broadway Video will handle production in coordination with Más Mejor.
Regarding 2018 being the final year for Porlandia, Armisen had this to say to The New York Times:
We love the show, but we don't want it to go off the rails. We want to have some control over it. Like "Parks and Recreation" did, or "The Office." They have a beginning and an ending. I don't like watching shows where all of a sudden you're like, what happened? They shot the last season in Las Vegas? I'm just going to say, you never know.