Univision’s fall season includes new celebrity dancing, ‘Survivor’-type shows

Univision starting dancing, ‘Survivor’-type shows

NEW YORK — The Spanish-speaking Univision TV network will debut its own versions of celebrity dancing and “Survivor”-type competitions in the fall season.

The nation’s fifth most popular network said Thursday it will begin more than 20 new series next season on Univision and its related TeleFutura broadcast and Galavision cable networks.

“Mira Quien Baila,” which means “Look Who’s Dancing,” will be a “Dancing With the Stars” competition that pairs celebrity contestants and dancers. “Desafio: La Gran Batalla” (The Challenge: The Big Battle) pits a group of contestants stranded on a tropical island with bare necessities.

In a presentation to advertisers, Univision executives argued that marketers couldn’t ignore the growth in the Spanish-speaking market.

Network executives said it was the biggest one-year investment in new programming in Univision history.

Univision is readying five new telenovelas for the next season. The telenovelas air as miniseries five nights a week in prime time for several weeks until finished. One upcoming series, “Eva Luna,” is about a woman who falls in love with a man, then is led to believe he murdered her father.

“Soy tu Duena” (You Belong to Me) features Lucero and Fernando Colunga in a story about a woman who vows to never love again after she’s abandoned at the altar. One man is obsessed with changing that.

Two weekly series are in the works, including “Cuna de Lobos” (Cradle of Wolves) about a family fighting over an inheritance.

“This is a story about a family so dysfunctional it makes the Carringtons and the Ewings look like the Waltons,” said Cesar Conde, Univision network president, comparing the scheming families on popular U.S. soap operas “Dynasty” and “Dallas” to the wholesome, close-knit family on “The Waltons.”

TeleFutura plans four new telenovelas, including the 2009 International Emmy award-winning “India,” a love story set in that country and Brazil.