RTVE: from historical epics to modern noir
RTVE is presenting a content catalog at the January markets that spans historical fiction, contemporary social issues, and criminal investigation formats. The Spanish broadcaster’s lineup for the June markets includes ambitious prime-time dramas and several documentary series designed to explore complex global and national themes.
The offering features powerful period dramas, including Ena (6 x 55′), RTVE‘s award-winning series that chronicles the life of a young English woman who becomes Queen of Spain, renouncing her past to face a foreign land, an assassination attempt on her wedding day, and the upheaval of two world wars, a civil war, and the Spanish flu. Also featured is Las Abogadas (6 x 50′), a series based on the true story of four labor lawyers—Lola González, Cristina Almeida, Paca Sauquillo, and Manuela Carmena—from the final stages of Francoism to the 1977 Atocha lawyers’ massacre. A third title, Asuntos Internos (6 x 60′), is a suspense drama set in 1970s Madrid, following Clara, one of Spain’s first female police officers, as she goes undercover to uncover a corruption network linked to heroin trafficking.
The slate also introduces high-stakes thrillers with contemporary resonance. La Frontera (5 x 60′) is a period thriller set in 1987, where a Civil Guard captain, upon discovering an imminent ETA attack in Paris, defies the Spanish government to act alongside a French police officer. The tension escalates as his partner is secretly affiliated with ETA but is forced to help him thwart the attack, leading to a race against time involving betrayals and loyalty dilemmas. The contemporary «Southern Noir,» Weiss & Morales (4 x 85′), is set in the Canary Islands and follows the professional friction between Nina Weiss, a German BKA agent, and Raúl Morales, a Spanish Civil Guard sergeant, as they investigate crimes in a community where German expats and Canary Islanders coexist.
One of the highlights of this season at European markets is RTVE’s commitment to social drama and documentary storytelling. The intimate series Dieciocho (6 x 30′) breaks prejudices surrounding immigration by following the relationship between Cèlia, completing court-ordered community service, and Moha, an unaccompanied migrant minor working for legal status, as they navigate their dreams and discover first love. Sin Gluten (8 x 55′) focuses on Ricardo, a Michelin-starred chef whose struggle with alcohol leads to his firing. He finds redemption as a teacher at his former culinary school, where his students, including at-risk youth, help him reconnect with his passion for cooking.
Also included is Hope Estamos A Tiempo (6 x 60′), which guides viewers through solutions inspired by the global “Project Drawdown” plan to reduce carbon emissions and regenerate the planet, using an emissions simulator to quantify each impact strategy. Historical documentaries include Las Heroínas del Puente de los Cuervos (1 x 56′), focusing on Spanish women exiled during the Civil War who became spies for the French Resistance before being imprisoned in the Ravensbrück concentration camp. Another intriguing documentary thriller, ADN Colón. Su Verdadero Origen (1 x 90′), follows the two-decade DNA investigation seeking to confirm Christopher Columbus’s true origin. Finally, Megamix Brutal (3 x 44′) is a documentary series that uses the history of the Max Music record label and its founders’ rivalry to reflect Spanish society through three decades of dance music. The documentary SAC (7 x 40′) details the methods of the National Police Corps’ Behavioral Analysis Section for solving complex cases through criminal mind analysis. The list is completed by ALTER EGO (3 x 35′), a documentary exploring global advancements in Artificial Intelligence, designing two fictional worlds using cutting-edge AI tools.
