Unique: participant is bringing forgotten revolutionariesBased on journalist Adolfo Guzmán-López’s LAist Studio podcast Imperfect Paradise: The Forgotten Revolutionary, to the small screen. The company is developing both a scripted and documentary limited series based on the podcast with creator Juan Davis. Rodney Lucas will direct the unscripted series, and Davis NinetyThree Media will produce.

The podcast follows host and reporter Guzman-Lopez as he investigates the death of college student and radio host Oscar Gomez. One of the most prominent voices of California’s Chicano student rights movement, Gomez was found mysteriously dead on a Santa Barbara beach in 1994. As Guzmán-López looks forward to what happened, he revisits his past and connects with the Chicano movement.

“We look forward to partnering with Participant on the production and development of both series based on Adolfo Guzman-Lopez’s LAist’s incredible true-crime investigative podcast,” Davis said. “Following the fading of time and eras, an investigation into the death of one of the most promising Chicano leaders of the 90s becomes an examination of one’s own political and ethnic identity and a meditation on the role of journalism and activism in contemporary society . This is an incredibly poignant story and with the partnership of the participants we will be able to increase its relevance and impact.

Imperfect Paradise: The Forgotten Revolutionary Regional Edward R. Won the Murrow Award. It was also nominated for an IDA Documentary Award, named a finalist by the Online Journalism Awards, and received recognition from several other organizations that honor excellence in journalism and audio storytelling.

“Adolfo’s podcast is an interesting look at the heroism of Oscar Gomez’s activism and the tragedy of his death,” said participant Miura Kite, Executive Vice President of Global Television. and Courtney Sexton, executive vice president, documentary film and television, said in a joint statement. “At Participant we support untold stories that correct false narratives, and we are excited to work with Juan, Adolfo and Last Studio to tell the important story of the Oscars.”

In the second season of imperfect heaven, Adolfo brings listeners a thoughtful, introspective, and deeply informative story about the Chicano movement in the 1990s and his personal relationship with Oscar Gomez,” said Shana Naomi Krochmal, vice president of podcasting for Least Studios. “This is an important story for understanding California’s Chicano movement as well as the development of ‘objective reporting’ that many journalists, especially those from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds, often tell complex stories fraught with personal and political identity. Are asked to bring. Oscar’s activism made a lasting impact on many people and we’re grateful to Participant for helping bring his story to new audiences on screen.

The unscripted project will be produced by NinetyThree Media. Executive producers for Participant are Jeff Skoll and Courtney Sexton; and Davis for NinetyThree Media.

The participants will executive produce the narrative series, with Guzman-Lopez serving as consulting producer and Shana Naomi Krochmal serving as co-producer. Executive producers for Participant are Jeff Skoll and Miura Kite; and Davis for NinetyThree Media.

Founder and CEO of NinetyThree Media, Davis was a director and producer before becoming chief content officer at KCET, the largest independent premium content studio for public television in Los Angeles. Under his leadership, the studio won more than 30 Emmys, James Beard Awards, and National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Awards. Davis was an inaugural member of the Participant Impact Advisory Council, which provides insight and recommendations related to social impact strategy for Participant film and episodic titles.

Participant’s growing episodic slate includes Be Sweet: Pray and Obey, which ranked #2 on Netflix for several weeks; and upcoming inner chinatown (Hulu), based on the National Book Award winner by Charles Yu and executive produced by Taika Waititi, who directed the pilot.

imperfect heaven is a weekly podcast from LAist Studios that features California stories about messy realities with universal significance. It is available on all podcast platforms and airs every Sunday at 7pm PT on LAist 89.3. forgotten revolutionaries The team included Guzman-Lopez, executive producer Antonia Cerijido, lead producer Natalie Chudnowski, producer James Chow, and editor Audrey Quinn.