The Mediapro Studio, Movistar Plus Drill Down on Upcoming Series ‘Paraíso’

By Pablo Sandoval

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Movistar Plus has joined The Mediapro Studio to produce “Paraíso” (Paradise), an original series destined for Movistar Plus’ digital platform.

The companies previously joined forces on “Nasdrovia,” another upcoming Movistar Plus’ original. Laura Fernández Espeso, corporate, told Variety: “Working together was easy because when the content is clear and the platform is on board, everything moves smoothly.”

Fran Araujo, head of content for Movistar Plus, added, “I believe in the talent The Mediapro Studio is working with, and Movistar’s key objective is to create impactful productions working with strong creators.”

“Paraíso” targets a young audience and features an equally young cast. The story is set in the ‘90s down on the Spanish coast, thus appealing to older audiences as well through nostalgia for their own youth.

Director Fernando González Molina, producer and scriptwriter Ruth Garcia and David Oliva head the project.

Its story revolves around a group of teenagers investigating three missing girls in 1992, one of whom is the sister of one of the searchers. Working parallel to the official police investigation, the group will follow their own instinct to uncover things authorities may have missed.

Shooting is being carried out on location rather than on soundstages to enhance the series’ realism and. More than 95 coastal locations along Spanish region of Valencia will feature in the series.

“Paraíso” uses fantasy to target new, younger audiences.

“It will be an initiatory journey where a true friendship is born between four teenagers, three of them nerds and the forth their former bully,” explained Garcia.

Spanish rules regarding conditions for younger actors on set make it hard to use them for important roles in productions. Projects which do feature underage actors must adhere to specific hours and conditions for filming when minors are heavily involved.

“They could have told us to set it in the present, make it a bit less fantastic, make the characters grown-ups and use adults for the cast; that would have made the production cheaper. But The Mediapro Studio and Movistar were all in from the beginning and helped to scale up production,” González Molina mentioned as the production arm of Mediapro, one of the largest media conglomerates in Spain. Since then, they have provided the international market with more than 37 original productions and worked with Movistar Plus, Atresmedia and RTVE, Telefe in Argentina, Turner in Mexico, Hulu in Japan, as well as international giants Netflix, Amazon and Viacom.

“Because we create, produce and distribute, a Studio was the description that fitted us best, so we created The Mediapro Studio to encompasses everything we do around the world,” explained Fernández Espeso.

“International markets are hugely important to us. Mediapro works as a worldwide company, and our goal on production and distribution is international,” she added.

Movistar Plus’ original productions have stuck to values established from the beginning of their operations. The content wing for Spanish telco Telefonica, Movistar Plus has delivered on its promise to its more than 11 million clients, broadcasting about twelve original productions a year to more than 4 million homes.

“We work hard to satisfy our clients and to deliver exclusive content just for them into their homes. Relevant and high-quality content,” said Araujo.