Venezuelan Writer, Producer and Director Carlos Cerutti: “It Is Possible to Create Valuable, 100% Original IP”

Carlos N. Cerutti is a writer, producer and director born in Caracas and currently a creative producer at independent production company Blue Hummingbird Corp. (Miami, U.S.), led by Martín Halac.

This year, Cerutti co-created (with Halac) TelevisaUnivision’s talent show ¿Quién Es Mejor?, an original format from Blue Hummingbird Corp. produced by Miguel Ángel Fox for Las Estrellas’ and ViX’s Sunday primetime lineup in Mexico. In August, the show premiered on Univision in the U.S. on Sundays at 8 p.m. Cerutti also participated in the development and writing of Adrián Uribe’s new series Carnada for ViX, and previously headed Content for the documentary series Mi Mundo, also for the platform.

Carlos Cerutti, comedian and actor Adrián Uribe, and Martín Halac of Blue Hummingbird Corp.

Cerutti told PRODU that his current goal is to grow as a producer and creative and to have more projects in the U.S., building on the past two years during which he has created content based on original ideas and new IP, including the show ¿Quién Es Mejor? and the series Carnada.

“I want to emphasize that it is possible to create valuable new IP,” he said.

¿QUIÉN ES MEJOR?

Cerutti, in addition to being the co-creator of ¿Quién Es Mejor?, served as the associate executive producer of the Sunday primetime talent format. He said he played a key role in structuring the show’s mechanics and taking it from the initial idea to the screen.

He explained that ¿Quién Es Mejor? is a talent show with plenty of humor and some of the looser tone of Latin broadcast television. The show consists of seven episodes, with 12 different contestants competing in each of the first six episodes for a spot in the finale, which is episode seven.

“I think we are experiencing what it means to launch a new format that no one has ever seen before. It is a 100% original format that Martín and I created. It was developed together with the TelevisaUnivision team based on what they needed for the screen and to try to break away somewhat from the traditional talent-show genre, to figure out how we could make it more entertaining and special each night,” he explained.

One of the main differences with this format is that the show’s experts and judges do not come in to teach the contestants how to improve their acts.

“They come to evaluate what the contestants present as the thing they are best at. They react to what they are seeing and give their opinions completely unfiltered: whether they think it is ridiculous or the most impressive thing in the world. And each episode is self-contained. Each episode features two contestants, and in that same episode we find out whether or not they make it to the finale,” he explained.

He clarified that Blue Hummingbird and Halac are 50% owners of the format, while Televisa holds the sales and distribution rights.

He explained that the intention behind the format’s short length is to make it “extremely flexible” for wherever it needs to fit into the programming schedule throughout the year.

Production team and talent of ¿Quién es Mejor?

“Because each episode ends, and then, if they need 13, more people go to the finale. It is a moldable show; they can scale it down or make it smaller if necessary and have it readily available. It is a show designed to entertain. The expectation is that people will have fun, laugh and enjoy themselves for two hours,” he said.

He highlighted the achievement of a small independent company like Blue Hummingbird Corp., which created the show, securing a format in a timeslot generally dominated by formats from major companies.

“For us, as an independent company, to have an original format in that timeslot is a major victory. It lays the foundation for the idea that original formats can be created and work on the screen,” he said.

Another aspect Cerutti wanted to highlight about ¿Quién Es Mejor? is the amount of content the show generates for social media.

“Each episode gives you 15 clips of acts and interactions. We have had many viral videos on social media featuring moments from the episodes. It is a show that gets a second life on social media because it is designed to have television moments all the time and is produced in a studio with a shiny floor, which is what people want to see on Sunday nights,” he said.

Martín Halac, Creator and Executive Producer, alongside Carlos Nahuel Cerutti, Creative Producer

He added that what they are trying to prove is that a streamlined and simple production can be just as significant and can also be sold in many different markets.

“Finding something that can occupy different screens and make it viable,” he said.

To make the show attractive to both markets — Mexico and the U.S. — they selected figures who are well known in Mexico as well as in the U.S., and contestants from various countries, not only Mexico but also Peru, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Colombia.

“There is a great mix of talent that makes it a format that can live on both screens,” he said.

CARNADA

Cerutti also discussed ViX’s action-comedy series Carnada, produced by Carlos Bardasano and starring Adrián Uribe. Cerutti was a member of the series’ creative team. The series has already been filmed and will premiere at a later date.

Martín co-created that series with my father, Carlos Alberto Cerutti, and then Martín and I, together with a team of writers that included, for example, Elena Aguilera, who is a very good writer from Mexico, finished developing the 16 episodes that have already been filmed,” he said.

He noted that Carnada was filmed in Mexico at roughly the same time that ¿Quién Es Mejor? was being produced.

“We had both things happening at the same time. And now Martín and I are thinking about next year. We also have several original fiction projects that we are developing and sending to different places. In addition, we have a film that we co-wrote with Elena Aguilera, the same writer from Carnada, which was a collaboration,” he said.

Another project they are considering with Halac is an English-language parody show.

“We are looking with Martín at whether we can create an English-language sketch show that has some of our Latin flavor, but in English, and bridge that gap of not only doing things in Spanish, but also creating things in English that make sense in this market,” he concluded.