CBS Orders Game Show ‘Loteria Loca’, With Jaime Camil Hosting

Jaime Camil of Loteria Loca
(Image credit: CBS)

CBS has ordered the Jaime Camil game show Loteria Loca. The series is based on the Latin board game of chance known as Loteria. 

Camil will be host and executive producer. From Mexico, he’s an actor and singer. His TV credits include Jane the Virgin, where he portrayed Rogelio. 

“As soon as the Unscripted team and I heard the pitch from Jaime and the producers, we were immediately sold on Loteria Loca,” said Amy Reisenbach, president of CBS Entertainment. “This is a fresh new take on the game show format and a fun, lively addition to our lineup. Jaime Camil’s incredible charisma and passion for this project make him the perfect host to engage viewers and bring this show to life.”

In each episode, two players go head-to-head and take turns picking cards to get four-in-a-row, which is Lotería. Each time a card appears on their bingo-style card, they bank money. Landing on one of the “Loca Cards” gives players the opportunity to bank even more cash by competing in interactive challenges. The player who gets the most “Loterías” on their board the fastest moves on to the final round for a chance to win the cash prize.

“I grew up playing Lotería with my family and friends back in México. I could say, without a shadow of a doubt, that every single Mexican family owned (and still owns) a Lotería game,” said Camil. “Even though this board game, which is similar to bingo, is still played and owned by millions of people around the globe, it’s something that resonates even more with every single Latinx person, because it helps connect with our heritage and emotional memories. There are restaurants, clothes, accessories, etc, all with Lotería designs; I mean, it’s just massive!”

Loteria Loca was created by Jeff Apploff, Aaron Solomon and Alejandro Trevino. The series is produced by Warner Bros. Unscripted Television in association with Warner Horizon and Apploff Entertainment. Apploff, Camil, Mike Darnell, Dan Sacks, Bridgette Theriault and Solomon are executive producers, and Apploff is showrunner. Trevino is co-executive producer. 

“As a Mexican American, it means the world to be producing, alongside game show-producing legend Jeff Apploff, and hosting a show that will entertain and connect so powerfully with everyone in the U.S., but especially because it will resonate tremendously with an underserved audience,” added Camil. 

Apploff’s credits include Mental Samurai and Beat Shazam. 

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.