Eva Longoria To Direct & EP ‘The Gordita Chronicles’ HBO Max Comedy Pilot From Producers Josh Berman & Zoe Saldana

EXCLUSIVE: Eva Longoria is set to direct and executive produce The Gordita Chronicles pilot at HBO Max. The single-camera family comedy hails from Josh Berman’s Osprey Productions, Zoe Saldana’s Cinestar Pictures, and Sony Pictures TV, where Berman’s Osprey Prods is under a deal.

Written by Claudia Forestier, In The Gordita Chronicles, a willful, chubby, 12-year-old Dominican struggles to fit into hedonistic 1980s Miami as her family pursues the American dream.

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Brigitte Munoz Liebowitz serves as executive producer and showrunner. Berman, Chris King and Jennifer Robinson executive produce for Osprey Productions. Longoria executive produces via her UnbeliEVAble Entertainment. Zoe Saldana, Mariel Saldana and Cisely Saldana executive produce for Cinestar Pictures. Forestieri is co-executive producer. Sony Pictures TV is the studio.

Longoria is gearing up to make her film directorial debut with Searchlight’s Flamin’ Hot, an inspiring biopic about the janitor turned executive who created the flaming hot cheetos snack. She will also direct the workplace comedy 24/7 and star alongside Kerry Washington for Universal and direct the action comedy Spa Day for Sony. For Longoria, the three feature directing jobs and The Gordita Chronicles come amid advances for female directors, who landed historic three nominations at the Golden Globes. But, as DGA’s recent TV Inclusion report revealed, Latinos and women of color are still “severely underrepresented.”

The former Desperate Housewives star made her TV directing debut on Devious Maids in 2014. Her television producing/directing credits also include ESPN 30 for 30 documentary Versus, and episodes of Black-ish, The Mick and Telenovela. Longoria made her pilot directing debut with the CW’s Glorious. She is repped by WME, Brillstein Entertainment Partners and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.

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