Making its U.S. market debut, Spain’s Secouya Studios has unveiled a weighty 2023 slate underscoring its ambitions to consolidate as one of the biggest film-TV producers in the Spanish-speaking world.
Ranging from fiction series, docuseries, feature documentaries and entertainment formats, 2023 projects take in, among unannounced drama series, “Crudo,” the first skein out of the gate from a framework deal between Secuoya Studios and Colombia’s Caracol Television unveiled just before September’s Iberseries.
Also new is “Hola, Mundo,” an eight-episode co-production with Weekend Studio, part owned by Mediwan; and “Efímero,” billed as a romantic drama.
Among fresh docuseries, Carlos Sainz, Spain’s two-time World Rally Champion, narrates “Race In,” an exclusive story about motorsport’s challenges in a contemporary world, such as sustainability, gender equality and social responsibility. “Proximity: Flying Centimeters from Death· turns on a near-death experience suffered by base jumper Alex Villar;‘Vuelo JK5022: Spanair’s tragedy” weigh in as an exhaustive three-episode investigation into air safety in Spain and around the world, highlighting a tragic accident which took place in Madrid.
“Isaac y Nora: Journey to the Heart of Latin Music” chronicles the extraordinary success of two French siblings, 14 and 10, whose renditions of Latin America classics have made them a global phenomenon.
Upcoming movie projects take in “El Director,” the sixth film co-produced by “You Keep the Kids” director Dani de la Orden and producer Eduardo Campoy who heads up Álamo Producciones Audiovisuales, an independent film studio which partners in movie production with Secuoya Studios.
Also in the movie pipeline is “Solos,” adapting Paloma Bravo’s novel, and “La Bandera,” Hugo Martín Cuervo’s adaptation for Álamo of Guillem Clua’s comedy drama, a Premio Nacional de Literatura Dramática winner in 2020.
Secuoya Studios moved waves by tapping former HBO exec James Costos as its president, based out of L.A., tapping former RTVE production exec David Martinez as head of fiction a month later and in 2021, announcing a “Zorro” reboot with John Gertz.
Co-produced with Amazon, the series will wrap production Feb. 13, said Raul Berdones, Grupo Secuoya chair.
New 2023 projects join already established titles such as “Montecristo,” starring William Levy, which TelevisaUnivision SVOD service ViX+ has just announced as a ViX+ title and co-production with Secuoya Studios, ViX+ taking Mexico, the rest of Latin America and the U.S. Hispanic market.
Total production investment for 2023 will come in at over $200 million, Berdones told PvNew.
In what looks like the major event of the first day at Miami’s Content Americas, Secuoya Studios slate will be presented Tuesday evening by Berdones and top Secuoya execs.
Attendees are expected to take in Levy and industry heads of many of Secuoya’s production partners or top Latin American players such as TelevisaUnivision, Telemundo, Amazon, ViX+, Apple, HBO, Caracol and RCN.
“Two years ago, we said what we were going to do. Today, we’re showing what we’ve done, are doing and upcoming projects for the future,” said Berdones.
“We want to be a reference in the Spanish-speaking world. Our aim is that when people in Hollywood think of taking an IP to this world, that they think of Secuoya Studios as their production partner,” said Berdones. He added that Secuoya also had the “lungs” to develop its own IPs, control the product so as to part retain IP if it co-produces.
