Television

‘Elite’ Producer Zeta Studios Boards Series Mania Project ‘Picadero’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Madrid-based Zeta Studios, producer of Netflix phenomenon “Elite,” is set to co-produce “Picadero,” a neo-noir six-part detective series already set up at Colombia’s Fidelio Films, one of the highest-flying companies in Latin America, and fast-emerging Barcelona-based Amor y Lujo, whose co-founder Almudena Monzú created “Picadero.”

Isabel Coixet, one of Spain’s greatest modern filmmakers is attached to direct episodes of the series. Her movies take in “My Life Without Me,” with Sarah Polley, “The Secret Life of Words,” starring Polley and Tim Robbins, and “The Bookshop,” toplining Emily Mortimer.

Monzu and Amor y Lujo co-founder and producer Andrea H. Catalá will pitch the series at next week’s Series Mania Forum on Aug. 30.

Drawing inspiration from Spanish film director Iciar Bollaín’s “Mataharis” and great detective classics, “Picadero” turns on Llanos who sets up in Barcelona to escape a dark family past and makes a living as a private investigator documenting the secrets and scandals of the city’s bourgeoisie: Adultery, divorce cases, rebellious offspring.

But Llanos’ acid test comes when she investigates an aristocratic  Barcelona family, victim of a wrongly resolved family crime in the past.

Several facets set the series apart. Llanos is a young woman. She soon discovers Barcelona’s Queer underground. She has an unusual assistant, her own father, confined to a mental institution from diagnosed schizophrenia.

And Llanos is a libertine. She discovers the world through the means most often used against women to oppress them. sexuality, says Catalá. She begins her investigation into the Count’s family, for example, by literally embedding herself in the family, bedding his nephew.

Playful, ironic and carnal, a dark series featuring a tough woman, its makers say, “Picadero” is written by Monzu and Fidelio partner Mauricio Leiva Cock, one of the most successful and prolific of Latin America’s scribe-helmers, head writer on Amazon Studios’ “Falco,” story editor-writer on Netflix’s Wild District,” co-creator of its “Green Frontier,” creator of Movistar Play’s “Capital Roar” and a writers’ room member on “Tijuana.”

“Picadero” is produced by Catalá and Fidelio’s Juan Diego Villegas, producer of Jhonny Hendrix’s Venice Days winner “Candelaria” and feature “The Night of the Beast,” directed by Leiva-Cock, and “Capital Roar.”

“Isabel is the best director for the series for multiple reasons, the most evident her experience and undoubted international recognition, apart from her discriminating sense of humor and deep understanding of Barcelona,” said Monzú.

She added: “She’ll allow the audience to deep dive into the story from its get-go. Nobody can render better an intimate portrait of the private detective for hire Llanos Salinas.”

“Since we got to know the project for the first time, we could see its potential and were captivated by its singular gaze. We are delighted to board ‘Picadero’ and help it see the light of day,” said Antonio Asensio, Zeta Studios CEO.

Amor y Lujo and Fidelio Films struck a multi-title co-development alliance in 2020.

Bowing its fourth season over June 18-20, “Elite” ranked as the the most binged digital series platform in the world, according to TV Time. It renewed in February for a fifth season.

Further Zeta Studios titles include “King of the Airwaves,” a Movistar Plus Original Series which bowed on the Telefonica pay TV/SVOD unit in May; the Walt Disney Pictures-released “Super López,” backed by Mediaset España powerhouse Telecinco Cinema and one of the biggest Spanish movie releases of 2018, grossing $14.3 million in Spain; and true-life-based espionage thriller “Smokes & Mirrors,” from Alberto Rodríguez (“Marshland”), which won lead actor Eduard Fernández a best actor award at the 2016 San Sebastián Film Festival.

Articles You May Like

Audacy CEO David Field Steps Down
‘Blknws: Terms & Conditions’ Will Premiere at Sundance After ‘Apprentice’ Producer Acquires Film From Participant (EXCLUSIVE)
Oh Me, Oh My, ‘Oh, Hi!’: Filmmaker Sophie Brooks on Her Journey to Sundance
Apple CEO Tim Cook Is a Severed Lumon Employee in ‘Severance’ Season 2 Promo
DJ Unk, ‘Walk It Out’ and ‘2 Step’ Rapper, Dies at 43

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *