Sony, Nick link for telenovela

Duo team on Mariela Romero's 'Isa TKM'

By ANNA MARIE DE LA FUENTE

Nickelodeon Latin America has teamed with Sony Pictures Television Intl. to co-produce its first telenovela, "Isa TKM" ("Isa, I Luv U").

Aimed at tweens, novela will be produced in Spanish in Venezuela and dubbed into Portuguese for Nick Brazil.

Telenovela will be the first produced by a Latin American kid-targeted feevee. Most have been produced and broadcast in the region by free-to-air webs.

Written by Venezuelan playwright Mariela Romero, telenovela centers around Isabella, a teenager on the cusp of experiencing her first love, her first kiss and discovering who her real parents are.

Production begins in August; a pan-regional debut is set for winter.

Nick Latin America has been ramping up original productions following the success of its first live-action skein, "Skimo," now on its fourth season.

In June, Nick Latin America will launch a local version of Nickelodeon Brazil's youth mag show "Nickers" in Argentina and Mexico.