The television characters of 2021

A medium that lives in constant revolution, each year has a large number of characters to look at.

In 2021, the new forms of communication (Ibai Llanos on Twitch is the most significant example), have coexisted with the most traditional (Vicente Vallés or Karlos Arguiñano) without forgetting women who have made their own story (Nevenka Fernández, Dolores Vázquez or Monica Lewinsky) or those who are in front of and behind the cameras in hits like

.

Nevenka Fernández, in an image from the Netflix documentary series.

Nevenka Fernández, Dolores Vázquez and Monica Lewinsky

This year three women have been able to reappropriate their vital story.

They have done it, precisely, through television, decades after the media hung the poster of the guilty in a modern version of the witch hunts.

Their testimonies arrive, with greater or lesser success, through new platforms, such as Netflix (

), HBO Max (

) and Atresplayer Premium (

).

More information

Monica Lewinsky confesses that she suffered serious mental health problems during the scandal over her relationship with Bill Clinton

Ibai Llanos, Spanish streamer, presenter and narrator in 2018.Joan Sánchez

Ibai Llanos

Ibai Llanos does not compete against traditional television.

In fact, he admires and is inspired by it to attract the masses to a new window like Twitch.

He does so when he organizes and discusses quirky sports competitions, such as YouTube star boxing evenings or a World Balloon Championships.

Also when, with humility and cunning, he invites Ramón García, who is the Christmas tradition made cape, to share the chimes with him from the Puerta del Sol. It was Ibai who spoke in person with Messi when he made the jump from Barcelona to Paris- Saint Germain.

And who has in his hands to reinvent small screen entertainment.

Ana Rujas, in 'Cardo'.

Ana Rujas placeholder image

The 32-year-old actress has uncovered

, her first series as a creator (along with Claudia Costafreda) and protagonist, as an emerging star whose future work must be followed closely.

With this story about the existential crisis of a young woman about to enter her thirties who faces traumas through drugs and sex, Rujas has received the applause of specialized critics and the support of the public, so much so that Atresplayer Premium already has renewed the series for a second season.

Pablo Díaz, winner of the 'Pasapalabra' boat in July 2021. Santi Burgos

Pablo Diaz

After more than a year appearing every afternoon in the living room of thousands of homes with his constant smile, the 24-year-old violinist from Tenerife managed to complete the final test of

, the Rosco.

In a program that aired in prime time and to which the network gave all possible publicity, the contestant, who began studying at age 18 to prepare for the program, managed to win the 1,828,000 euros on July 1 after having become the contestant with the most accumulated programs in the history of the format in Spain.

Vicente Vallés Choclán. Victor Sainz

Vicente Valles

The journalist is one of the most visible faces of the success that has led Antena 3 to lead the audience in November.

Presenter of the second edition of the network's newscasts since 2016 together with Esther Vaquero, his space has already accumulated 23 months of leadership with average audiences of 2.5 million viewers and 19.5 of screen share.

Úrsula Corberó, in an image of 'La casa de papel'.

Ursula Corberó

The paper house

has led him to global fame, an interview on the American night program Jimmy Fallon included in December, the month in which the series came to an end.

His rise has been glued to that of Tokyo, his character in the gang of robbers with Dalí masks.

The actress started 2018 with a million followers on Instagram.

Currently, it has more than 24 million.

One more sample of its enormous popularity.

The screenwriter Esther Martínez Lobato (c), the director Jesús Colmenar (i) and the producer Alex Pina (d) on November 30 during the presentation of 'La casa de papel'.

Javier Lizón (EFE)

Esther Martinez Lobato

Talking about

is

talking about

Vancouver, the production company that turned its first project into a global success that has changed Spanish television.

Behind Vancouver and its successes (

or

) is this woman born in Soria 45 years ago and who struggles to change roles and give female characters the entity they deserve.

Karlos Arguiñano poses in the vineyard of his K5 winery, in Aia (Gipuzkoa), in April 2021. Javier Hernández (EL PAÍS)

Karlos Arguiñano

The Basque chef could in fact have been a television personality of the year any of the 32 that he has been working in the medium.

But in 2021, the National Television Award recognized a career that still has no signs of ending.

The jury thus highlighted the “creative personality” of the chef, who has now become a

television

, and “the sustained continuity of a complete career in the field of television, with special relevance in the consolidation and consolidation of a genre that brings together television, gastronomy and culture ”.

Juanjo Cardenal, the voice of 'Saber y Ganar', in July 2021.CRISTÓBAL CASTRO

Juanjo Cardenal

For almost 25 years, he was the voice of

.

The announcer and journalist retired in the summer at the age of 71 and forced the faithful of the very veteran public television contest to face a change that, in a format that has remained almost unchanged from its origins, seemed like an earthquake.

The journalist Elisenda Roca took over in August as the person in charge of formulating the questions to the participants.

Verónica Forqué, actress and director, in an interview at her home in Madrid in 2003, Bernardo Pérez

Veronica Forqué

Winner of four Goya awards, Verónica Forqué, found dead at her home on December 13, also had an intense career on television.

Although his last appearance was as a contestant on

, his journey is almost as extensive as that of cinema or theater.

The success of

(1995) or her appearance as mayor in

are two of her most memorable roles.

He had several projects underway with Netflix (

available on the platform from December 24) and HBO Max (

).

The latter will now be left unfinished.

Roberto Enríquez, known as 'Bob Pop', in Valencia in July 2021.Mònica Torres

Bob pop

2021 has served for the public to discover the man behind the brilliant mind that became popular on social networks and later became a star collaborator (and deputy director)

of Buenafuente's

.

His autobiographical series

(TNT), along with the brilliant and generous promotional interviews he has provided for months, have unleashed a wave of empathy and pride.

Also from positive reviews.

Fran Lebowitz, in an image from 'Suppose New York is a city'. NETFLIX

Fran lebowitz

The American writer and comedian is somewhat less unknown among the Spanish public than in 2020 thanks to the documentary series

.

The conversations between friends that the filmmaker Martin Scorsese has had with the peculiar Lebowitz, and that he has conveniently shot and chopped up for Netflix, have two great incentives.

They are intelligence and humor.

She also displays them in a caustic way at the attentive listening of him, often broken by her own laughter.

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