U.S. HISPANIC
Andrés Romero, showrunner with more than 20 years in TV, aims to create a low-cost production hub in Miami
Maribel Ramos-Weiner| 11 de junio de 2021
Andrés Romero de TimeWorks
Andrés Romero, CEO and executive producer of AR Projects is an entrepreneur and showrunner with more than 20 years of experience who has focused on quality production at low cost.
Romero went to Spain when he was very young to venture into the production of TV programs. He began with a show called El Bar, an interview space recorded in a bar with branded content that was broadcast on a local network.
“At that time – 2004- the Caiga Quien Caiga format returned to Spain and I did auditions to participate as a host, but in the end, I was selected as a creative and outdoor producer,” says Romero.
Romero was responsible for the casting of reporters for CQC for Telecinco and among the talent he selected are Juanra Bonet, Christian Gálvez, and Fernando González “Gonzo”, who are now among the main presenters in Spain. “Those who I pitched as reporters are now among the best presenters in Spain,” he said.
In 2006, Romero decided to create an improved version of Caiga quien Caiga, but only with women. This is how Odiosa was born on TVE primetime with 11 episodes. “It revolved around six women who were in a newsroom where there was a mix of fiction and reality formats,” he explains.
In 2007 he was a presenter and reporter for Antena 3’s A3Bandas. Afterward he created his own production company, Abril Producciones, and began working with Antena 3 in low-cost entertainment formats. “I did a first project called Aquí Mando Yo with two cartoon characters that made an analysis about the TV. We did two seasons and an end of the year special”. He then took the Room Raiders format to MTV. “I was the first producer in Spain to adapt an MTV format.” The adaptation was called Invasoresand was broadcast by Antena 3.
Romero explains that in the US, the cost of producing Room Raiders was US$ 150 million per episode and in Spain, they managed to produce it for US$10,000 per daily episode. “80 episodes were broadcasted the first season.” The format lasted for two seasons.
Due to the boom in its digital projects, the ZZJ Group buys Abril Producciones and he becomes CEO of Central Creativa, ZZJ’s production company.
“As the crisis in Spain had already arrived, I began to create very profitable digital content,” he said. Among those programs was ¡No Sin Mis Padres! (12 episodes), made with Turner (now WarnerMedia) that aired Boing in primetime. “The show won the best-branded content show at MIPCOM 2011,” he says.
In 2012, Romero created the first web series Planeta for sale that Antena 3 digital bought. He also worked at VideoMedia.
In 2014 he moved to Miami where he began to do content consulting. He helped to create the digital content department of Diario las Américas in 2015 and provided content advice to Univision between 2017 and 2019. “There I created Secretos and developed the vertical line of content for Univision,” he explains.
Currently, he is giving advice to a new reality show that will be on Netflix Spain and prepping a production line, where all the recordings are made in a month. Under this scheme, he is already working on two projects: Subway (10 episodes) and Invasores(10×25 ‘). “I want to create a low-cost production hub in Miami,” he says.
