Show of the week: Tequila Sisters

Sure to be of major interest to Latino buyers at the Fontainebleau is Tequila Sisters, a Keeping Up With the Kardashians-style docu-soap that follows rich Mexican importer Bill Marin, his wife Lori and their four glamorous daughters (pictured) as the Laguna Beach family tries to reconcile cultural issues and financial problems with the family business.

Distributor Lionsgate International’s managing director, television, Peter Iacono says Tequila Sisters has the edge on the Kardashians thanks to the Latino twist. “The Mexican-American dynamic is something all Latin American buyers and their audiences can relate to,” he says.

Iacono bills the sisters as “the Latina Kardashians” who bring a mix of US and Mexican sensibilities to the screen “with a tequila chaser”, while their father Bill is the “overbearing father to beautiful young girls, each of whom has to deal with his traditional demands and yet embrace the opportunities and thrills of a luxurious, independent life in today’s California”.

Lionsgate, which operates Latin American joint venture businesses Pantelion and Televisa USA, has identified Hispanic reality television as a growth area.

“As many Latino American families settle in the United States, the common theme is the merging of traditional values and cultural traditions with the myriad opportunities in America today,” says Iacono.

Tequila Sisters’ production team of Lionsgate and indie Rogue Atlas includes reality TV specialist Eli Frankel (Top Chef, Project Runway), which will help the series “engage on different levels”, Iacono predicts.

Lionsgate part-owned cable channel TV Guide Network debuted the series on December 10 last year.