The Sin filtro franchise, which just premiered a new season on ViX in March, focusing on Chiquis, leads a catalog of major productions that the company is showcasing at LA Screenings, in addition to initiatives in fiction, vertical series, live events, and more.
Produced by Luis Cabrera, from Los Angeles
At a time of accelerated transformation for the Latin audiovisual industry, JK Media is positioning itself as one of the production companies that has best understood where the market is headed. From the rise of celebrity docuseries to the emergence of vertical content and live events, the company founded by Sebastián Jiménez is committed to formats that connect with pan-regional audiences and global platforms.
With Sin filtro (Unfiltered), through its alliance with TelevisaUnivision and its ViX platform, it found an ideal space to develop intimate stories of high-profile Latin stars. The format, which debuted with singer Chiquis, aims to showcase the more human and authentic side of artists whose public lives are often dominated by rumors, media exposure, and constant headlines.
In the following interview with ttvnews from a new edition of LA Screenings, Sebastián Jiménez and producer Flavio Morales share details about the creation of Sin filtro and its upcoming episodes, which will expand the concept to include stars from the entertainment and sports industries, as well as their new initiatives, including their first vertical dramas and a renewed focus on live events.
To begin, let’s talk about how Sin Filtro came about, what the idea for the format was, and how it has evolved into a streaming show.
SJ: Well, I think Sin filtro is the evolution of what were originally celebrity reality shows, which then became docuseries and now docu-follows. In this case, we used that name precisely because we’re showing a celebrity who perhaps hasn’t shown themselves unfiltered at some point; physically, personally, and in terms of their career.
We had the first season with Chiquis, a total success. And she’s someone whose life, although constantly in the public eye, hasn’t told the whole story behind all those scandals in her own way.
It’s a format with a partner that gives us creative freedom, like ViX. We analyze artists who are significant to the Mexican, US, Hispanic, and Latin American worlds. And we find artists who are at the right level and who have a story to tell. Not only that they’re successful in music, but also that they have elements of their personal lives that people have always been curious about.
How important is it that they transcend Mexico?
SJ: We haven’t worked with regional Mexican artists because it’s a very localized genre. Next week, we’re going to announce the next episode of Sin filtro, which features a pop artist who’s known worldwide, from Argentina to Canada.
The two artists we’re working with for Sin filtro are Mexican, they’re from the pop world, and they’ve had very significant careers in both music and the entertainment industry. People always want to know about them. And right now, they’re relevant because of their music, because of the experiences they’re having on tour, and because of the personal aspects of their lives that the press is reporting, which may not be entirely accurate. So, they’re coming to Sin filtro, and people will get to know them more deeply as artists. But they’re artists with a global reputation.
What are you most pleased about in your partnership with ViX?
SJ: In the case of the first one we did, with Chiquis, she’s a very strong artist here in the US Hispanic community. And it was very quick to identify her appeal. Obviously, because of her followers on social media, but also because she’s on gossip shows and television programs every day. So you’d turn on the TV channels here and they’d show clips of things she hadn’t talked about. It was a topic people already knew about, but they were things she hadn’t revealed. That’s what it’s about.
As I mentioned, the artist who’s coming up now is on TV and in the press every day. So there’s always that buzz. For the last three months, he’s been having a very successful year in terms of his career and personal reach. And that’s how we measure it: seeing how relevant he is to the audience, both on social media and on current affairs programs on channels in Mexico, the United States, Colombia, and Argentina.
How is the format evolving? Do you see it moving on to other pan-regional artists again, but from other places? Argentina, Colombia, other artists?
FM: What we’ve focused on a lot is strategy. Often you take someone who’s currently popular and you have to do something with them. But we also have conversations with about 10 or 15 names, and maybe we won’t start working with them for another two years. The important thing is to start building trust.
And that’s something Sebastián has taken the time to cultivate throughout his career, for example, with everything that happened to Larry Hernández. Sebastián was his first call if he had any legal problems. So, it’s about building that trust with the artist, the manager, the people… We’re already working on that. In fact, with one of the talents we’re talking about, the discussions have been going on for five years.
And there are other talents who have come to us through that same trust from people who know other artists. People who have worked with Gloria Trevi say, “She speaks of the experience in a very positive way.” So we’re pursuing those as well.
And are they all music stars, or are you also reaching out to celebrities from other genres?
SJ: All kinds. We’re looking at opportunities with athletes, actors. You never know. Maybe an influencer, in addition to what they do on their social media, wants to do something like this with a bit more discipline and a more cinematic style.
That’s the thing with Sebastián and JK Media. The same people have been with him for over 15 years. The people he and I worked with 17 years ago are all still there. They’re trusted people, they’re family. So, all of that is reflected on screen.
Besides Sin filtro, how has JK Media been evolving?
SJ: Well, like the entire industry, we’re still evolving. We just finished filming our first two vertical series, scripted content. They’re vertical series, 60 episodes of one and a half minutes each. They’re romantic thrillers, filmed entirely here in Los Angeles. They were produced with a platform that will be announcing it soon.
Everyone’s talking about vertical dramas, and we saw that opportunity. We’d been discussing it since last year, and to really understand it, we brought in a novelist and a reel-shorts writer to create a team of someone who knows the Latin world, who understands the melodrama of telenovelas -which are, after all, short novels- and someone who has experience working on short novels. That combined expertise has shaped us, creating a spectacular formula in terms of writing, characters, arcs, and the backstory of each character. And we’ve learned so much.
It’s something we’re learning, but the main thing, what we’re seeing, is that verticals are going to grow tremendously in the next four or five years, and we want to bet on that.
What attracted you most to the genre?
FM: It’s another way of telling a story. I just finished working on Como agua para chocolate for HBO. And I think Sebastián is the same; we love telling stories, whether they’re 90 seconds long or two hours. So, the idea of being in development and studying the best way to get into filmmaking is appealing.
Right now, we’re working on the script for a film that will be produced next year, which will be announced soon. We were working on that, and we know it takes years. The idea is that we can come in with a script that can be written in a few weeks, cast the actors, get the production going, start everything, and be in post-production 45 days later.
And with the recognition of talent and the market we have. We know this market, the U.S. Hispanic, Mexican, and Latin American market. So, we know that Hollywood productions hold interest for this region. We’re living in a very multicultural and international moment. With experience, with people who already know how to do things and are based in Los Angeles, why not give it a try?
And we took our time, because the opportunity came to us very quickly, and we took our time choosing what kind of story to tell, using the expertise of someone who already knows about it. We looked for those trends, understanding that the market is female and older, over 40 to 45 years old. That’s where the development changed.
We love what we do and the world of entertainment, but we have a passion for this market because we live here.
SJ: We’re seeing other opportunities in the industry, and since last year, we’ve been doing live events. We started with Empire MMA for Telemundo Deportes, and Empire 15, an MMA league, premieres on June 3rd. This next broadcast will be live from Bogotá, Colombia.
But in February, we did our first live stream of a Gloria Trevi concert here in Downtown. 50,000 people, a spectacular sell-out. And we decided to go pay-per-view.
It’s the only concert Gloria will be doing this year in the United States. So, we saw an opportunity that many fans would miss out on seeing her. Our goal, and what we have signed for the rest of the year, is to do four more pay-per-views with very big artists. Not necessarily Mexican, but artists who are currently on tour, selling out their shows. And we’re going to put that on a global platform to make pay-per-views and grow that market.
Music is very global, but artists can’t do a global tour. They only need to focus on the United States, Mexico, and Europe. And next year they’ll do another region.
Who did you partner with for this project?
SJ: They’re different partners from different sectors. The platform where Gloria’s Pay-Per-View was held was Vips. Vips is a global platform dedicated exclusively to Pay-Per-View concerts.
But the other partners are the artists, which is the most important. The relationships that Flavio and I have with artists have given us the opportunity to offer them this platform to gain more global exposure.
And obviously, the third element is the touring companies that are promoting the artists, ensuring that the concerts are completely sold out. So we can add the Pay-Per-View without affecting their ticket sales, right? So there are three or four partner elements that all have to be on the same page.
At Empire MMA, we have four more events this year. All of them in Colombia, between Bogotá and Medellín. That airs on Telemundo Deportes and YouTube globally. And those are 3-hour MMA events, featuring fighters from Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Mexico. USA Hispanic is a multinational league.
