MTV Latin America Announces The Cast For Its New Psychological Thriller "ULTIMO ANO"

MIAMI, June 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- MTV Latin America confirmed the cast of its anticipated new local production, ULTIMO ANO. This novella is being produced in Mexico City and will premiere through MTV Latin America on September 3rd, 2012 and subsequently in the United States through Tr3s: MTV Musica y Mas. The novella will star with cast from all Latin America including Kendra Santa Cruz as Celeste (Mexican), Martin Barba as Benjamin (Mexican), Mauricio Henao as Martin (Colombian) and Iliana Gomez as Fernanda (Mexican). The 70-episode novella is MTV's Latin America third production in its genre and the first co-production with Tr3s: MTV, Musica y Mas. It is being produced in Mexico City by Argos Production using the latest technology in high definition.

"We are proud of the international success that MTV's Latin America novellas have had throughout the region, the United States and Europe. With this new production, MTV is committed to keep innovating; this novella has a different youth direction, it has a touch of psychological thriller and it's being produced entirely in Mexico," commented Fernando Gaston, SVP of Production and Programming, MTV Latin America.

Written by Josefina Fernandez (Chilean), whose scriptwriters include Claudia Bono (Ninas Mal and Popland), Francisca Bernardi and Hugo Morales, ULTIMO ANO is a youthful psychological thriller, which tells the story of a group of students belonging to the high class:  Martin, an apparently ideal teenager, arrives at an elite school as part of a student exchange program. He lives with Benjamin, a popular kid with whom he built a good friendship but both of them fall in love with the same girl, Celeste. Mistrust develops when a conniving Martin steals his friends, his popularity and his entire life. Faced with disbelief from family and friends, Benjamin begins to wage a solitary battle to unmask the real Martin.

The cast also includes Julia Urbini (Mexican-Argentinian), Dolores Gomez (Mexican), Paola Galina (Mexican), Michel Duval (Mexican), Norman Delgadillo (Mexican), Leopoldo Marin (Mexican), Martin Navarrete (Mexican), Maria Jose Suarez (Mexican) y Juan De Dios (Mexican), amongst others.

ULTIMO ANO marks MTV's first partnership with the NGO, Population Media Center (PMC), to integrate in its scripts and creative pieces, issues that may raise social awareness amongst the audience. Through the use of entertainment-education programming, characters will be developed to evolve into role models for the audience, encouraging the adoption of healthier behaviors to benefit individuals and their societies

Viacom International Media Networks The Americas, a unit of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), owns and operates the company's portfolio of entertainment brands, which include MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon and their respective properties in Spanish speaking Latin America as well as Viacom Networks Brazil. Additionally, the portfolio includes Tr3s: MTV, Musica y Mas in the US, which targets a broad US Hispanic audience, and MTV Networks International's programming partnerships in Canada with Corus Entertainment for Nickelodeon and CTV Globe Media for MTV, Comedy Central and Vh1. The company's emerging multiplatform businesses include MTVNHD and Red Viacom in Latin America as well as VH1HD in Brazil. MTV Networks Latin America, US Hispanic and Canada also serve the growing number of digitally connected consumers via its websites: mtvla.com, mundonick.com, comedycentral.la, comedycentral.com.br, vh1la.com, vh1brasil.com.br, tr3s.com,  mtv.ca and nickcanada.com as well as through its broadband and community sites:  mtvrevolution.com, mundonick.com/nickturbo, mtvmusica.com, neopets.com and mtvdemo.com.

SOURCE MTV Latin America