A New Menudo Series is Coming to Amazon Prime

Television series based on Latinx musical artists are having a moment. The stories of Luis Miguel, Jenni Rivera, Selena, and Jose Jose have all made their way on streaming channels, and boy band Menudo is next.

In 2017, producers announced the filming of a TV series based on the inception of Menudo, one of the most popular Latino boy bands from 1977. Two years later, Amazon Prime has secured the rights to air the series. The name of the series is titled “Súbete a mi Moto,” which references one of Menudo’s most popular songs. The series will feature 15, hour-long, episodes. Amazon has yet to release a trailer or airdate.

Luis Villanueva, president and CEO of SOMOS Distribution said, according to World Screen: “The licensing of Súbete a mi Moto by Amazon Prime Video meets the expectations we had with the project. The story demonstrates its attractiveness and proves the trust that the market has in our distribution know-how and capacity as well as in the quality of the productions where SOMOS Productions and its partners participate. We are sure that this negotiation augurs a very beneficial relationship between SOMOS Distribution and Prime Video.”

According to Billboard, the first season of the series will focus on the history of Menudo along with “origins of the band and its meteoric rise to global fame.” While the Puerto Rican band first began in 1977 to great success in Latin America ⁠— it wasn’t until Ricky Martin and Robi (now known as Draco) Sosa joined as new band members in the mid-’80s. The band went on to have several more incarnations including new lineups until 2009.

Menudo had incredible success, with a legacy that stands alongside other pop boy bands including the Beatles and New Kids on The Block. They had fans all over the world, and the series will dive into all of that.

However, it remains unclear if the show will touch on any scandals that plagued the band. There have been allegations of drug use and sexual abuse, including during Ricky Martin’s years in the group. Some band members have disclosed claims that they were sexually abused while they were in the band.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHRjWauwpvE

Martin shared in his autobiography that being in Menudo robbed him of his childhood. In a 2011 interview with the Guardian, Martin said, “A child is a child, no matter what. But I became a rock’n’roll star slash sex symbol at a very young age. I was thinking: what do I have to do to get the attention of the girls? It was my job to move my hips because then they scream, and that meant I was successful, like the rest of the guys. Was I ready for that? I don’t know. But that’s what I was supposed to go through, according to my karma.”

He also opened up about what his life was like traveling with a band that was adored by millions. All that attention made him have an obsession with being accepted at 13-years-old.

“You needed to say yes, because if you said yes, the girls liked you, the girls screamed, and the media would talk about you. I was traveling all over the world, and I had girls following me, private jets, private suites. You would look out of the window, and you would have thousands of people,” Martin said in the interview.

We will certainly be watching this. Will you?