With 577 million Spanish speakers, according to data from the Cervantes Institute in 2018, the international weight of Spanish in the series is understandable. In addition, sharing the same language makes collaboration between Spain and other Latin American countries more and more frequent when developing television projects. Co-production is a common formula, but also the series add efforts and talent with productions that incorporate artistic and technical equipment from other countries. Spanish is the vehicle that allows that connection.
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Géraldine Gonard directs Conecta Fiction, an event that this year will celebrate its fourth edition in Pamplona and that tries to be a place of union of international talent to facilitate joint work and television co-productions. She highlights the "vital and natural" growth of co-productions and joint work between countries. "The series are so global, budgets have risen so much, that alliances are essential for chains to be at the level of international platforms, which have much higher budgets," says Gonard.
Among the alliances that have already been forged in Conecta Fiction is the one that made Agnes of my soul possible . The adaptation of the homonymous novel by Isabel Allende is a co-production of RTVE, Boomerang TV and Chilevisión that has been shot in locations in Spain, Chile and Peru. The series, which follows the story of Inés Suárez in the New World, has both cast and Spanish and Chilean technical team.
A somewhat different case is that of Lost . The series that broadcasts on Tuesday Antena 3 is a Spanish production but combines Spanish and Colombian equipment. Approximately 30% of the series was filmed in Valencia, compared to 70% recorded in Bogotá and surroundings. "Antena 3 wanted to develop a series that had that Latin American point of view, a history of Spaniards but that took place largely in Colombia," says Natxo López, creator of Perdida . He highlights the "internationalization of the series in general and of the Spanish in particular." "Before in Latin America came a lot of Spanish fiction, but sometimes it came later. Now in Spain you start thinking about that market too; not only that you like in Spain, but also outside. Lost is a series designed for that, it will have a tour later and we believe that in Latin America it can have a good fit, "says López.
For Géraldine Gonard, in recent years there has been a change in the consumption of series in Latin America that has driven this greater link: "there were many soap operas there, but the platforms arrived and the audience began to see other content with seasons shorter. The chains then needed to produce shorter series, and narratively they didn't know how to do it. They have spectacular knowledge in many things, but not in the short story. In addition, they financially needed partners, because a soap opera costs much less to produce than a series " .
As a sign of the great moment of Spanish in the series and the breaking of the boundaries of Spanish-speaking productions, this year the first edition of Iberseries, festival of television series in Spanish, will be held in Granada from May 25 to 30. "It is time to value Spanish-speaking talent and the connection and encounter between the two shores. It makes more sense than ever co-productions, mixing talent, for actors to travel to both sides," says Raúl Berdonés, president of the Secuoya Foundation, promoter of Iberseries.
Another proof of the power of Spanish in the audiovisual world is Netflix's decision to move its headquarters for Latin America from Los Angeles to Mexico City. "Consumers across the region have joined Netflix," the company said in a statement. A year ago, the platform has already declared its intention to expand its presence in Mexico with the launch of more than 50 projects. In addition, Netflix established its first production site in Europe in Madrid, in the town of Tres Cantos, which serves as a port of access to the European and Spanish-speaking markets at the same time.
This bet has contributed to increase relations in Netflix productions in Spain and Mexico. An example is the series La casa de las flores , by director Manolo Caro, a success - difficult to quantify, because the platform does not provide audience data - in Spain and Latin America. If in the first season the Spanish actor Paco León already appeared, in the second the cast added the additions of María León, a brief appearance by Eduardo Casanova and Eduardo Rosa. The second season also shot some scenes in Madrid.
In his second series for the platform, Caro moves filming to Spain in a new union between the two countries. Someone has to die, a three-episode miniseries that will premiere in the fall, will shape the conservative society in 1950's Spain. The series is starring Spanish, Mexican and Argentine actors such as Carmen Maura, Cecilia Suárez, Ernesto Alterio, Alejandro Speitzer and the dancer Isaac Hernández.
Releases of the week Check the full calendar
Monday 17
Outlander
Movistar Series
Season 5
18 Tuesday
Strike back
HBO Spain
Season 7
I chanted at war
Filmin
Premiere
Wednesday
20ves
The last show
Aragon TV
Premiere
Spectros
Netflix
Premiere
Friday
Miracle Workers: The Middle Ages
TNT
Season 2
Hunters
Amazon Prime Video
Premiere
Gentefied
Netflix
Premiere
Gate 7
Netflix
Premiere
Saturday 22
23domingo
Homeland
Fox
Season 8
Faith of errorsIn an earlier version, Netflix moved its headquarters in Latin America from São Paulo to Mexico City.