Ferrera to make interactive telenovela with P&G
(AP) -- "Ugly Betty" will soon be over for its star, America Ferrera, but she's got a new project in the works from behind the scenes.
Ferrera will serve as executive producer of "Pedro & Maria," a multicultural, interactive telenovela in development for MTV television and various Web platforms. The project was announced Monday by MTV and Electus, the multimedia studio created by the prolific producer and former NBC executive Ben Silverman.
"Pedro & Maria" is billed as a bilingual, modern-day version of "Romeo & Juliet" that will give its audience the ability to vote on the direction the characters and story lines take.
No casting decisions or premiere date were announced for the project.
Proctor & Gamble Co., which makes everything from shaving cream to batteries, will co-produce the project, making commercials with "Pedro & Maria" touches inside them.
"Right now, the plan is much more for them to utilize elements of the show in their own marketing, and for them to use customized vignettes outside of the show," Silverman said.
It's the type of project that marries advertisers with content that Silverman had long championed at NBC.
"It's really the triangulation of all of the hard work that my career has been built up for," he said.
Electus is part of IAC/InterActiveCorp. MTV is a division of Viacom Inc.
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