Selena Gomez is giving the iconic film “Sixteen Candles” a spin. The 1984 John Hughes film is getting a TV adaptation that will air on Peacock, with Gomez and company giving it a Latinx twist.
Per Variety, the half-hour comedy series is titled “15 Candles” and it “will follow four young Latinas in high school, navigating feelings of invisibility while exploring what it means to leave childhood behind as quinceañera season approaches.” “Sixteen Candles” is all about young women coming into their adulthood, represented by Molly Ringwald’s wallflower character and her 16th birthday. It makes perfect sense for the new take to focus on quinceañeras, the most emblematic birthday for young Latinas.
Selena Gomez will serve as the series’ executive producer alongside Tanya Saracho and Gabriela Revilla Lugo, who will also write the series.
While Gomez is mostly known for her acting and musical careers, she’s a seasoned producer. Currently, she’s starring and is an executive producer on the series “Only Murders in the Building,” where she was awarded The Comedy TV Star of 2021 at the People’s Choice Awards. In the past, Gomez was a producer for a couple of Netflix projects, including the documentary “Living Undocumented” and “13 Reasons Why,” the incredibly successful drama series.
Aside from representing a variety of Latinx voices onscreen, Gomez is passionate about mental health issues, often speaking up about her personal journey with the topic. In an interview with InStyle she discussed how she keeps herself healthy and how she creates boundaries that make her feel safer and better. “I’m a big believer in therapy, and I always feel so confident when I’m taking care of myself. If I’m not in the best headspace and my friends invite me out, I won’t go. I’ve lost my sense of FOMO, which I’m proud of,” she said.
Tanya Saracho and Gabriela Revilla Lugo are amongst the most recognized Latinas in the industry. Saracho was the creator and writer of the successful series “Vida” while Revilla Lugo was a producer for films like “Palm Springs” and “Whiplash.”