Endemol Shine Studios is developing classic Mexican novel “Like Water for Chocolate” (“Como Agua Para Chocolate”) into a TV series, the company announced Thursday.
“It fills me with joy to know that ‘Like Water for Chocolate’ will be brought to television screens throughout the world by a studio that bets on quality in producing content for each of its projects,” the novel’s author Laura Esquivel said in a statement. “Of all the companies that offered to create the series, Endemol Shine Studios stood out in sharing a vision of ‘Like Water for Chocolate’ closest to my own: leading from the heart.”
The TV series will be in English, though the company plans to adapt it into other languages as well.
The story follows a young woman, Tita, who yearns to marry her lover but has been tasked with being the unmarried daughter who takes care of her mother until she dies. Tita’s emotions are expressed through her cooking, with magical realism being an important element of the narrative.
In 1992, the book was adapted into a film that became one of the most successful Mexican releases of all time, and was submitted as the country’s official Foreign Language entry at the Oscars.
Endemol Shine Studios series include “Kingdom” for AT&T’s Audience Network and Showtime’s upcoming “I’m Dying Up Here.” Endemol Shine Group is also behind some of the top global scripted series including “Black Mirror,” “Broadchurch,” “The Fall,” “Peaky Blinders” and “Bron.”