5 KEYS TO THE SUCCESS OF SPANISH TV SERIES WORLDWIDE

The release of the fifth season of ‘Money Heist’ has been a new hit on the impact of the Spanish series internationally. The series created by Alex Pina continues breaking records, climbing positions in the streaming rankings and consolidating its brand as a globally recognizable icon and as an unstoppable fan phenomenon.

But this case is not the first, no exception, nor will it be the last. The world's leading producers and distributors of television content have found a gold mine to be exploited in Spanish fiction. These series have become not only a way to consolidate their brand among the local Spanish public but as a product with a lot of capacity to be an international success.

The audiovisual industry is a very volatile sector and has undergone a process of root transformation in recent years. All these external conditions do not only affect the exhibition and distribution of content but have a direct impact from the production to the most artistic and creative part. Next, we try to unravel some of the keys to understanding the success of Spanish productions.

1. STREAMING

The success of the Spanish series internationally did not begin with the fervour of 'Money Heist'. It is already a reality since the days of linear television thanks to international hits such as 'Los Serrano', 'Gran Hotel', 'The Mysteries of Laura', 'The Time in Between', 'Pulseras Rojas' or 'Los Protegidos' among many others. These series not only travelled successfully throughout Europe and the United States, but even some of them came to have their remakes, thus generating a trend and establishing the brand of the Spanish series beyond the borders of its country.

We can say that 'Money Heist' has collected, in part, the fruits sown by its predecessors. However, the case of the series created by Alex Pina has several conditions that have made it a phenomenon without precedent in Spanish fiction. This would not have been possible without the support and culture created by streaming platforms. After a discreet run on linear television, 'Money Heist' jumped to Netflix. A springboard that allowed the series to reach a massive audience spread across 190 countries and cause real fervour thanks to an explosive, frenetic-paced story that left no one indifferent.

The journey of the Spanish series is not new, but the rise of streaming has provided a platform for this trip to have reached another dimension. The series reaches a greater number of countries, faster and with fewer restrictions. If you’re on Netflix, you’re all over the world. In addition, they enable the emergence of an unprecedented fan phenomenon, a sense of effervescence and a monopoly of conversation in which it seems that everyone is talking about the series of the moment. Red suits and Dali’s masks are already an icon of almost universally recognizable popular culture.

2. LANGUAGE

The Spanish series has an advantage difficult to match for the rest of international productions: Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world (only behind Chinese). The 400 million Hispanic-speaking people worldwide are distributed in the 20 countries where Spanish is the official language and the more than 40 million people who speak Spanish as their native language in the United States.

Although the use of subtitles and the distribution of dubbed content is increasingly widespread thanks to accessibility on streaming platforms, the language barrier is a very important factor. Many people seek the comfort of their mother tongue when consuming audiovisual content and that gives the Spanish series an advantage when travelling internationally. The latest studies carried out by Parrot Analytics endorsed this, as Mexico and the United States positioned as the main territories receiving Spanish series.

In a recent article, Business Insider aimed to answer to the strategy differences between Amazon and Netflix when it comes to producing genre series. It points out at Netflix’ longer experience in the broadcasting -platform distribution and looks for international non-english language projects that will broaden their base of viewers. Whereas Amazon prefers to focus on high-end concept series:

“While Netflix is pursuing greater localization across the board, Amazon is relying on high-end, high-concept sci-fi’s exportability to drive subscriber interest in its key global markets,” said Alice Thorpe, an analyst with Ampere Analysis.

3. GLOCALIZATION

The term glocalization, applied to the cultural realm, has been defined as “the mixture that occurs between local and particular elements with the globalized”. We refer to a product made up of a series of concepts that respond to very personal identity and that are identifiable to a particular culture or geography. However, these products are endowed with a universal component, a story and a message that are familiar and recognizable anywhere in the world.

If we try to apply the idea of the glocal to the Spanish series, we find that in recent years it has been a growing trend and that it has been reflected in the different aspects of production. As we discussed in one of the previous sections, the series in the age of streaming are designed to be seen all over the world and by the widest possible variety of audiences.

This evolution has become evident in the visual aspect. The series looks better, the budget for the production is higher and the aesthetics are much more refined and with universal features. It should also be mentioned the stories and characters are designed with very local conceptual bases and characteristics of Spain, but which present completely universal dilemmas and conflicts and are adaptable to very different cultures.

4. VARIETY OF GENRES AND TARGETS

In the current context of the audiovisual industry, productions are the result of in-depth studies and analyses of the different ingredients that make up the recipe for the success of a series. The production companies seek to reduce risks and maximize the chances of success and for this, two determining factors are taken into account: genre and the target audience.

Large Internet companies seek through Big Data algorithms to know better and better the needs and interests of their consumers and the audiovisual world is no exception to this trend. The most important series of recent years have been born in response to a very specific demand for content. One of the most prominent examples is the success of Netflix’s first Spanish: ‘Cable Girls’. The streaming platform sought to settle in the country and used the production of this series, a period drama starring women, to directly capture the attention of the general public.

Another key to the success of the new Spanish series is that they have not settled in the repetition of stereotypes and successful formulas of the past. While thriller, romantic comedy and historical drama position themselves as the predominant genres and consolidate a quality standard, Spanish creators and producers increasingly venture to explore new formulas of success through genres, sitcom, suspense or criminal.

Another example is the Spanish series Vis a Vis, often described as the Spanish Orange is the New Black. During the pandemic it the show was adapted to Audible and FOX Spain with Atresmedia produced the spin-off of the series: Vis a Vis: Oasis, only available in FOX TV.

We could also mention the international success, Veneno, produced by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi for Atresplayer during 2020 and that has attained International success thanks to HBO Max. We’re thrilled to hear there will be a second season!

5. VALUES OF PRODUCTION

Production values in the Spanish series have reached another dimension since in 2017 Movistar presented its bet on original content through an unprecedented investment in Spanish fiction of 70 million euros. ‘La peste’, a historical drama set in Seville in 1597, an original production with a budget of 10 million euros. Since then, there are many series and platforms that have joined this trend in an exercise of economic muscle and talent in all facets of the creation and production process. From ‘El Ministerio del Tiempo’ (TVE) to ‘La Catedral del Mar’ (Antena 3, TV3, Netflix) or ‘Hernán’ (Amazon Prime Video), Spanish fiction is fearlessly exploring the paths of historical drama with increasingly ambitious settings, productions that look from you to the most powerful and that reap recognition and visions around the world.

One of them is the more recent series El Inocente, a Netflix original with a traviability 2.8 times more than the average. Parrot Analytics points to the specialty of this series: It is an interesting example of how drawing on international source material can help boost a show’s global appeal. The show is in Spanish, set in Spain, but is based on a novel by Harlan Coben, an American author. [you may find he full article here]

The audiovisual industry is a sector in continuous transformation and the series have proven to be a format with the capacity to adapt and offer a response to the demands of new media and new audiences. New series for new times. We cannot guarantee what the future holds for the sector, but Spanish fiction seems prepared to deal with whatever context.

We haven’t been able to study all the other series and it is likely we missed some. Here’s an article on what you may expect to see in 2022.

For the third consecutive year, we announce the opening of our Screenwriting TV Pilot Contest in Spanish language. The Contest will be open until the 24th of March, and is divided in two categories: Spain and Latin America. There is a total of 5.000€ to distribute and different opportunities to present your scripts to producers: to the Spaniard selected projects Corte y Confección de Películas, Diagonal TV, Veranda TV and Cattleya Producciones will review and give them feedback. Cattleya Producciones, CMO Producciones, Caponeto and The Lift will review the Latin American selected projects.