EL REY NETWORK AND MARK BURNETT’S ONE THREE MEDIA ANNOUNCE PRODUCTION START ON ‘LUCHA UNDERGROUND’
Hour-Long Weekly Series, Shooting in Los Angeles, To Feature Five ‘Luchadores’ From Popular Lucha Libre AAA Franchise
Premiering Wednesday, October 8th at 8:00 PM ET/PT, High-Octane Series Anchors New Night of Original Unscripted Programming; Network Also Unveils Series Key Art
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Austin, TX– August 27, 2014 – El Rey Network puts its spin on lucha with “Lucha Underground”, an original action-packed series from Emmy Award®-winning producer Mark Burnett’s One Three Media. Production will begin on September 6th in front of a live audience in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles. The character-driven, freestyle wrestling series is set to debut Wednesday, October 8th at 8:00 pm ET/PT.
On August 17th in Mexico City in conjunction with the TripleMania XXII produced by Lucha Libre AAA El Rey Network revealed the names of five Luchadores joining “Lucha Underground” directly from Lucha Libre AAA. They are: Blue Demon, Jr, son of the legendary original Blue Demon and is the first Mexican and the second masked wrestler to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship; Sexy Star, who has held the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship and FILL Women's Wrestling Championship; Fenix, the inaugural AAA Fusión Champion (March 2013) has also wrestled in Japan for Pro Wrestling Noah and Pro Wrestling Wave; Drago is a dead dragon, a character brought back to life as an immortal being, to protect La Parka in the last fight against his enemies; and Pentagon Jr. who has spread terror and fear in his adversaries without exception since his introduction in the 2012 War of the Titans. Additional Luchadores will be announced shortly.
“Not since ‘The Contender’ premiered has a new series combined this level of drama and athletic competition." said executive producer Mark Burnett. "Our Luchadores are fantastic, the action will be intense – and this season is just the beginning.”
Scott Sassa, El Rey Network’s Vice Chair, said: “The ‘Lucha Underground’ franchise is perfect for El Rey Network. It features good versus evil, intense action, humor, drama, great characters and most important great stories from two of the best storytellers in the business- Mark Burnett and Robert Rodriguez. It’s the perfect time and they are the perfect team to bring lucha to America.”
Currently, Lucha Libre’s colorful world of freestyle wrestling is a huge draw in its home country of Mexico with over 85% of television audiences tuning into the high-flying antics of this popular franchise. Each week “Lucha Underground” will bring drama, excitement and action to U.S. audiences as the masked heroes and villains battle it out in the ring for wrestling supremacy.
“Lucha Underground” is produced by One Three Media in association with FactoryMade Ventures for El Rey Network. Executive producers are Mark Burnett, Eric Van Wagenen (also showrunner) and Brian Edwards of One Three Media; Dorian Roldán from Lucha Libre AAA; Alejandro Garcia and Antonio Cué Sánchez-Navarro; El Rey Network co-founder Robert Rodriguez; and FactoryMade Ventures and El Rey Network co-founders John Fogelman and Cristina Patwa. The series will be distributed internationally by One Three Media.
About El Rey Network
El Rey Network is a new 24-hour English language network founded by maverick filmmaker Robert Rodriguez. Curated by Rodriguez and his artistic collective, the network unites the most culturally diverse generation in history through fearless, badass and original content that awakens the renegade in everyone. The network's action-packed content is anchored by original signature dramas, feature films, grindhouse genre, cult classic action, and horror/sci-fi. El Rey Network LLC (www.elreynetwork.com) is jointly owned by Robert Rodriguez and FactoryMade Ventures with a minority stake held by Univision Networks & Studios, Inc.
About One Three Media
ONE THREE MEDIA is a joint venture between Mark Burnett and Hearst Corporation which produces television, advertising and web content. Five-time Emmy® Award winner Mark Burnett has produced over 2,200 hours of television programming that regularly air in over 70 countries worldwide. Burnett and ONE THREE MEDIA's recent series include Survivor (CBS), The Voice (NBC), The Celebrity Apprentice (NBC), Shark Tank (ABC), The Bible (HISTORY), and Trust Me I'm A Game Show Host (TBS). Awards show franchises includes the MTV Movie Awards from 2007 to 2011, and the People's Choice Awards (CBS) since 2010.
About Lucha Libre AAA
Lucha Libre AAA is a media and entertainment company founded in 1992 by Antonio Pena Herrada and manages the IP of the "AAA" brand and another 250 characters in its league. The company produces Lucha Libre events globally including venues such as Palacio de los Deportes, Arena Monterrey, HP Pavilion, Madison Square Garden, Los Angeles Sports Arena and Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. In addition to working with sponsors such as Corona, Hershey's, Comex and Unilever, the league has released an animated movie and videogame in the Mexican market. Lucha Libre AAA develops 5 hours of content per week that is aired on three television channels in Mexico: Galavision and Televisa Deportes Network.
About FactoryMade Ventures
FactoryMade is an incubator for entertainment businesses and was founded by John Fogelman and Cristina Patwa. The company builds IP-based franchises and production and distribution platforms by leveraging its strong ties to the Hollywood creative community and partnering with global brands and investors. Its ventures include El Rey Network and Tres Pistoleros Studios with Robert Rodriguez and a joint venture with the leading Mexican wrestling league Lucha Libre AAA. In addition to working with corporate partners such as Telefonica and JCP, they previously spearheaded the creation of Hasbro's film business (Transformers, G.I. Joe, Battleship) and television business (Hasbro TV Studios, the Hub Network with Discovery Communications), and developed retail's first integrated digital gaming and commerce platform with HSN (HSN Arcade).
For media inquiries, please contact:
Stephanie Baumoel/Jennifer McIntosh
FerenComm for El Rey Network
212-983-9898
stephanieb@ferencomm.com/jennym@ferencomm.com
