Paul Telegdy Producing Spanish-Language Sci-Fi Podcast ‘Zone Of Silence’ With Mario Lopez, Eric Winter & Sonoro

Former NBC chief Paul Telegdy is getting into the podcast business.

Telegdy, who left the network in August 2020, has teamed up with Access Hollywood host Mario Lopez and The Rookie star Eric Winter, to develop a sci-fi podcast, Zone of Silence.

It marks one of the first projects to be unveiled by Telegdy since he set up The Whole Spiel with his cousin, Stefan Telegdy. In 2022, he was involved in a Falklands war drama series that was being shopped.

Zone of Silence, which is made in Spanish and English, is being produced by The Whole Spiel and Sonoro.

There are plans to develop it as a scripted television series as well as in other mediums.

The podcast will be centered around Mexico’s often mythicized Zone of Silence, a patch of desert in Durango where no radio signals can be received, which according to urban legend is caused by supernatural forces. When a bus transporting a notorious narco from Mexico to a maximum-security prison in the U.S. goes missing in the Zone of Silence, mass hysteria spreads around the local vicinity. In a town already skeptical of the U.S. government, two federal marshals must work with the locals familiar with the terrain to hunt down the bus and its missing Cargo. 

“At a time when the business models of television and streaming are going through a reset, audio is still experiencing explosive growth in usage and therefore can still take risks with talent and ideas,” said Telegdy. “Mario and Eric have great stories to tell, and we are really delighted to be a part of that with Sonoro, where the team continues to deliver compelling  content through its ever-expanding universe.”

“The Latino community’s growing influence on culture and commerce is becoming abundantly clear to Hollywood, as is the growth opportunity that creating culturally rich and relevant content presents,” added Camila Victoriano, co-founder and Chief Content Officer of Sonoro. “We’re thrilled to be partnering with such marvels in entertainment to bring Zone of Silence to life.”