New Spanish Fictions Maintain the Industry's Momentum
Reina Roja Dopamine Focus
Although major platforms are slowing their global investment in original content, their commitment to Spain remains firm
Last year, several Spanish productions reached top positions on the charts of major streaming platforms. Expectations remain very high for the 2023 releases. Spanish industry maintains momentum.
The titles arriving in 2023 span a wide variety of genres, including thrillers (Mano de hierro, from Netflix), comedies (El otro lado, from Movistar Plus), dramas (Vestidas de azul, from AtresPlayer Premium) and horror (Romancero, from Prime Video). There are also literary adaptations (TVE's Los pacientes del Doctor García), biographical TV shows (AtresPlayer Premium's Camilo Superstar) and even animation for adults (HBO Max's Pobre Diablo).
Despite the fact that the major platforms have slowed their global investment in original content due to falling revenues, their commitment to Spain remains firm. Free-to-air television operators maintain their commitment to national fiction, and there is also a growing presence of co-productions – including Prime Video's premieres Zorro and Reina Roja – a model that allows for more ambitious projects.
The following is a selection of eagerly anticipated Spanish fiction (in alphabetical order) that will be released this year:
Balenciaga
The first Disney Plus original fiction show in Spain, it tells the life story of the influential and world famous designer Cristóbal Balenciaga, played by Alberto San Juan. Scripted and directed by award-winning filmmakers Aitor Arregi, Jon Garaño, and Jose Mari Goenaga, this six-episode drama is produced by Xabi Berzosa for Moriarti and Irusoin.
Berlin
Spin-off of La casa de papel (Money Heist), Spain’s great global TV success on Netflix. Its creators, Esther Martínez Lobato and Álex Pina (Vancouver Media) focus this time on the hedonistic and cunning character of Berlin, played by actor Pedro Alonso. Filming began in October in Paris.
Camilo Superstar
AtresPlayer Premium original mini-series produced by Atresmedia TV in collaboration with Buendía Estudios. It portrays the moment in the life of singer Camilo Sesto when he took the risk of bringing the international musical Jesus Christ Superstar to Spain in the 1970s. Years after his death, Sesto – played here by Alejandro Jato – continues to be enormously popular in both Spain and Latin America.
El hijo zurdo
Original Movistar Plus production in collaboration with Atípica Films, created by Rafael Cobos (La Peste). Based on the novel of the same name by Rosario Izquierdo, this is an emotional thriller starring María León, winner of a Goya Award and the Silver Shell at San Sebastián. The series was filmed entirely in Seville and is distributed internationally by Movistar Plus International.
El silencio
Psychological thriller created for Netflix by Aitor Gabilondo (Patria) through his production company Alea Media, owned by Mediaset. Starring Aron Piper (Élite).
La Mesías
Movistar Plus original series in collaboration with Suma Content, written, directed, and produced by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, creators of Veneno and producers of Cardo, two of the most acclaimed Spanish TV shows in recent years. Movistar Plus International handles international sales of this family thriller about a man traumatized by his mother's messianic fanaticism.
Pobre Diablo
First animated series commissioned by HBO Max in Spain, produced by Buendía Estudios. Created by Miguel Esteban, Joaquín Reyes, and Ernesto Sevilla, the animation work has been done by the Granada-based studio Rokyn Animation. It will be released on February 17.
Reina Roja
Co-production of the Mexican studio Dopamine and Barcelona-based company Focus, which adapts the first installment of the successful trilogy by Juan Gómez-Jurado. Starring Vicky Luengo (Antidisturbios) and Hovik Keuchkerian (Money Heist) and directed by Koldo Serra (Sin huellas), the series will premiere exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories around the world.
Vestidas de azul
AtresPlayer Premium original series produced by Atresmedia TV in collaboration with Suma Content, it is a continuation of Veneno, considered by critics to be the best series of 2020, in addition to being acquired by HBO Max for the United States and Latin America. Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, founders of Suma Content, are the show's producers.
Zorro
Prime Video will offer the TV remake of this iconic IP, produced by Secuoya Studios, Zorro Productions, KC Global Media, and NoStatusQuo Studio. Miguel Bernardeau, known for his role in the worldwide hit Élite, is the lead actor. Mediawan Rights distributes the series in the international market.
Related
Related news
03 January 2025
03 January 2025
The summer months, as well as November and December, saved a year whose first half did not record good figures. However, Spanish cinema and local distributors ended up being the year's big winners, increasing their revenues compared to 2023.
03 January 2025
23 December 2024
23 December 2024
For over two decades at the helm of Latido Films, Antonio Saura has sold key titles of Spanish cinema worldwide. Moreover, his unique experience in the sector is also backed by his credits as a producer for Zampa Audiovisual and Zebra Producciones, as well as his role as deputy chairman of the European Film Academy from 2008 to 2019, and his two-year tenure as director of the Media Business School, one of the most prominent international business training institutions. Saura’s historical perspective is undoubtedly exceptional in terms of the history of Spanish cinema and its global reach.
Some recent, brilliant Spanish titles in Latido line-up include Isaki Lacuesta’s “Saturn Return”, Carlos Marques-Marcet’s “They Will Be Dust”, Antón Álvarez’s “The Flamenco Guitar of Yerai Cortés” or David Pérez Sañudo’s “The Last Romantics”.
23 December 2024
14 October 2024
14 October 2024
The fourth edition of Iberseries & Platino Industria solidified its role as a global reference for market networking, co-production, financing, analysis, and development in audiovisual content driven by Latin American talent and industry. The Co-production and Financing Forum stands at the core of this mission, serving as a key setting to identify artistic, collaborative, and industrial trends within the audiovisual sectors that connect Ibero-American regions across the Atlantic..
14 October 2024
06 August 2024
06 August 2024
Founded the year after the end of World War II, this festival, held in the beautiful Swiss canton of Ticino, has become both an exquisite showcase for auteur cinema and an industrial platform for projects with the most diverse geographical origins and artistic profiles.
06 August 2024
13 October 2023
13 October 2023
Spanish fiction continues to be a benchmark in the main international markets and festivals, while the industry maintains a dynamic pace of production in terms of new projects.
13 October 2023
26 September 2023
26 September 2023
A pioneering producer in fiction series co-production, Portocabo has been determined to seek out international partnerships to promote more ambitious projects. Alfonso Blanco, the company's founder, explains the advantages of his approach.
26 September 2023
17 September 2023
17 September 2023
Spanish Screenings XXL, the ambitious international market platform, is heading into an intense fall with two of its events—Spanish Screenings Financing & Tech and Spanish Screenings on Tour—taking place close to each other in the calendar, as part of the San Sebastian Film Festival and the MIA market in Rome, respectively, in its aim to globally promote our industry.
17 September 2023
01 September 2023
01 September 2023
The international prominence of Spanish animation cinema is reaching unprecedented heights, not only due to recent spectacular international sales results or global box office performance, but also because of growing interest among programmers at major festivals.
01 September 2023
.jpg)
