We said it with the premiere of Dreams of freedom or the farewell of Amar es para siempre: the true vein of Spanish fiction is in the daily series designed to be watched in the afternoon. They get audiences that primetime series would like, they are a job creation factory with their production volume, they have engagement and for the channels they are a loyalty tool that goes beyond share.
With this revaluation of the format, it was a matter of time before some streaming platform decided to explore it and the one who will take the first step will be Disney. As reported by the streaming service at the French Series Mania festival, they will premiere Regreso a Las Sabinas from the hand of Diagonal, the production company behind Loving in Troubled Times, Loving is Forever or the recent Dreams of Freedom, key pieces of television traditional.
This is not a project in development but in full production. According to El País, 70 episodes of Return to Las Sabinas have already been produced, which could be available in the Marvel or Star Wars platform catalog starting in the fall. The broadcast plan will be similar to that of the afternoon series on Antena 3 or Rtve: 40-minute episodes that will be broadcast from Monday to Friday. Of course, with one difference: they will not be launched in the afternoon but will be available on the platform first thing in the morning.
Eulàlia Carrillo, known for her work in La Riera or Sueños de Libertad, signs the series that will be directed by another Diagonal regular such as Jordi Frades (Isabel). The protagonists? Andrés Velencoso, the model who has worked in series such as Velvet Coleccion, Élite and Nacho, and Celia Freijeiro, who was in Perfect Life and was just seen in Red Queen. Nancho Novo and Natalia Sánchez, who are currently in Dreams of Freedom, or Olivia Molina are expected to appear in supporting roles.
In recent months, it has been seen that streaming is evolving towards the traditional. Netflix, SkyShowtime, Prime Video and Disney have begun to amortize their content with advertising-supported subscription modalities. From Prime Video they bought a live format with OT 2023, which was broadcast both via YouTube and from their content catalog with the live galas presented by Chenoa.
Netflix is entering sporting events, with Rafa Nadal's duel against Carlos Alcaraz, and has Sálvame collaborators such as María Patiño and Lydia Lozano on its payroll. And HBO Max, which will soon be called Max, has a new edition of Pekín Exprés pending premiere with Miguel Ángel Muñoz as presenter, after the adventure format's passage through Cuatro, Antena 3 and laSexta.
