“Vida” Creator Tanya Saracho Bringing “Mala Hierba” to the Big Screen in Feature Directorial Debut
“Vida’s” creator is back and taking inspiration from her theater days. Deadline reports that Tanya Saracho is bringing “Mala Hierba,” her 2014 Off-Broadway play, to the big screen. She’s teaming up with Anonymous Content on the project, which will mark her feature directorial debut.
Set in a Texas border town, “Mala Hierba” “unravels the coiffured life of [Liliana,] a Lone Star state trophy wife who begins to see the cracks in her life of wealth and privilege as her first and perhaps true love reappears. The possibility of a renewed life together for the two women forces [Liliana] to make a searing decision about what she wants and who she is.”
Saracho is best known for creating “Vida,” a critically acclaimed Starz drama about two Mexican-American sisters who move back into their childhood home in LA following the death of their mother. Saracho directed four episodes during its three-season run.
Speaking to Indiewire about depictions of Latinx characters, Saracho said, “Either the dominant culture is telling our stories and they tell two-dimensional stories about us or, we feel, sometimes, the need to squeaky-clean us or make us heroes. But I feel like when you complicate, it’s more realistic. From go, I knew these girls [in ‘Vida’] were not going to be squeaky clean or perfect or even good. But real. The power to put that on television.” She added, “We are the thing we are portraying.”
“How to Get Away with Murder” and “Looking” are among Saracho’s other TV writing credits.
