Deeny Kaplan and Liz Clarke spoke with ttv about the company’s ongoing integration with another service provider, whose identity has yet to be disclosed, the evolving demand for localization, and the role of telenovelas and anime in its international business.
*with reporting by Carolina Mussio and Ana Paula Carreira from Cannes, France.
The Kitchen arrived at Mipcom 2026 celebrating its 25th anniversary and moving forward with an integration process involving another audiovisual services company, whose identity has not yet been officially disclosed. Speaking with ttv at Caffè Roma, Deeny Kaplan, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, and Liz Clarke, Director of Global Sales, shared details about the operation and discussed the evolution of the international localization market.
“At the moment, we’re still working side by side. We have projects where both companies collaborate, but we’re still separate. We’re sort of like sister companies,” Clarke explained.
The collaboration already involves sharing projects between the two teams, depending on the needs of studios and clients. “We have the same basic instincts on how a company should be run. It’s really important that our clients know we’re there whenever they need us,” Kaplan said.
Headquartered in Miami, with a commercial presence in London and Madrid, The Kitchen has developed an international structure that allows it to serve clients across different markets and time zones.
“Being based in London is an advantage because when our working day ends, Los Angeles is just getting started, and Miami sits in the middle. So we almost operate 24/7,” Clarke explained.
The executives also discussed changing demand for dubbing and adaptation services, driven by the growth of international genres and evolving viewing habits.
Kaplan noted that The Kitchen has been receiving new anime projects, a genre requiring specialized teams and particular attention to voice performances. “It’s important to have staff who are experts in the services you offer. We have directors who specialize in anime, and we’ve been getting a lot of new anime work lately,” she explained.
She also emphasized the importance of voice consistency in scripted productions, particularly when actors or characters appear across different titles or seasons.
Clarke, meanwhile, pointed to the transformation of audiovisual formats and the growth of short-form content. “It’s extraordinary to see how 30-minute episodes are being chopped up into one- or two-minute segments. It’s interesting to see how viewing experiences are changing for the next generation,” she said.
The Telenovela Business
Latin America remains central to The Kitchen’s history, having been founded in 2001 with ties to Venezuela’s Cisneros Television Group. “We’ve always had a love for all things Latin America. Telenovelas have been with us throughout the 25 years we’ve been in business,” Kaplan recalled.
The company typically works on several telenovelas simultaneously, adapting them into multiple languages and providing steady work for translators, adapters, voice actors and dubbing directors.
“When you’re working on a telenovela, you may have six months of work ahead of you, whereas a movie can be completed in three days,” she explained.
Kaplan believes the genre remains strong, with similar storytelling models emerging from different regions. “I don’t think telenovelas are going away. We’re seeing similar productions coming from Turkey, Scandinavian countries and even Korea. They have different cultural flavors, but they share common storytelling elements,” she said.
At Mipcom, The Kitchen is also promoting MIP CLIPS, its promotional tool that allows producers and distributors to showcase excerpts of their content dubbed into multiple languages.
“When someone is walking around the Palais and hears a production in their own language, they stop to check it out. It has become a very effective sales tool during Mipcom,” Kaplan said.
