J Balvin to Lead Docuseries on Mental Wellness for Tplus, Telemundo’s New Content Brand on Peacock

Mónica Marie Zorrilla
·4 min read
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When J Balvin isn’t coming up with clever rhymes or dominating stages across the globe, the Colombian reggaeton sensation is taking care of his mental health. The award-winning worldwide Latino music icon will share revelations about his journey toward mental wellness in a six-part docuseries, produced by Exile Content Studio and NBC News Studios for Tplus, Telemundo’s new content brand on Peacock.

Last week, Telemundo officially launched Tplus, which aims to serve the full spectrum of today’s U.S. Hispanics, which have been traditionally underserved and underrepresented by mainstream media outlets, streamers and cablers. The addition of the Medellín-born artist’s candid documentary show, titled “Gente Sana” (which translates to “Healthy People”), will give viewers an exclusive and intimate look at his own life, as well as the lives of his closest friends, many of whom are also industry bigwigs. Throughout the series, J Balvin will lead the way through the backstories that shaped their lives, the challenges they’ve overcome and how they continue to protect their happiness and find peace during these bizarre, unprecedented times.

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Along with J Balvin’s contribution to the Tplus programming slate, Telemundo is planning a wide array of Spanish and English-language entertainment, news and sports content and a significant expansion of Spanish-language titles on Peacock, including multiple seasons of some of Telemundo’s biggest franchises and live coverage on Peacock of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

Some of these programming highlights include:

  • “Mysteries & Scandals” (working title): An anthology docuseries that will conduct in-depth investigations into newsy stories in Latino pop culture, produced in partnership with Stephen Land’s A3 banner (“American Murder Mystery,” “Fatal Attraction”).

  • “Young at Heart” (working title): A dating show from Red Arrow’s Kinetic Content, the team behind “Love is Blind,” “Married at First Sight” and “Wife Swap,” that swaps the spouses of three middle-aged Latino couples with much younger partners for a month. The social and psychological experiment will explore the current trend of “age gap” couples, as the original couples question whether or not to stay together or to embark on a new life, alone or with their new partner.

  • “Pulsaciones”: Alex, widely considered Spain’s greatest surgeon, undergoes a heart transplant of his own, which leads to an odd power: the ability to see his donor’s memories. Alex decides to investigate the cause of his donor’s death, leading to an extraordinary, soul-altering adventure.

  • “La Formula”: An intriguing spin on the “Big” and “13 Going on 30” trope, this series follows a scientist who discovers the elixir of youth. Her reunion with her high school sweetheart leads her to make the fateful decision to test the formula on herself, which makes her 30 years younger and is inspired to live life switching between her older and younger selves — leading to a love triangle between herself and her former boyfriend.

  • “Promesas de Campaña”: A presidential candidate suffers a medical emergency, leading to his team to hunt down the perfect body double candidate. Enter a humble taxi driver, who finds himself thrust into a foreign world of political intrigue.

  • “Cruzando Limites”: Tosca Navarro, a psychiatrist with a difficult past as a teenager with a personality disorder and a diagnosis of schizophrenia, becomes the head of a unit developing cutting-edge treatments for adolescents with mental health disorders.

  • “Armas de Mujer”: A dramedy starring Kate del Castillo (“La Reina del Sur”) and Roselyn Sánchez (“Devious Maids,” “Grand Hotel”) from the creative team behind “La Reina del Sur”. Per the logline, the show follows four women accustomed to a life of abundance who suffer their worst nightmare after their husbands are arrested for being linked to the same criminal organization. Other stars include Sylvia Sáenz (“Betty en NY,” “100 Días para Enamorarnos”) and Jeimy Osorio (“La Suerte de Loli,” “Celia”).

Anchored on the type of content that has performed best for Telemundo and NBCUniversal among U.S. Hispanics, this initial programming slate and additional titles in development from Tplus aim to address a critical gap in the entertainment marketplace. A study commissioned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises with Parrot Analytics found that undervaluing Latinx content costs $7.8 billion annually, and that the supply gap for Latino content is projected to further expand as demand keeps outpacing current supply. Furthermore, according to a recent Horowitz study, Latinos are highly tapped into streamers, with 8 out of 10 households subscribing to at least one SVOD service. Additionally, on average, Latino consumers are 14 years younger than the non-Hispanic white population.

Since its initial launch, Telemundo has delivered over 3,000 hours of original content for Peacock.

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