Portuguese Caracol Studios and Spanish TV at Producciones are working together to co-produce the crime drama project “Agua Passada” (“The Waters of the Past”), created by Bruno Gascon and based on a bestselling novel by Portuguese writer and screenwriter Joan Tordo.
The project will be proposed on Wednesday, October 1st at the Iberseries & Platino Industry Co-production and Financing Forum in Madrid.
The eight-part thriller focuses on Lisbon detective Pilar Bena Moore, and fights her own trauma while investigating the murders of two teenagers. With the help of Spanish hermit Cicero Guzman, she rejects an order to pursue a psychopath across rain-stained Lisbon.
Portuguese actress Helena Caldera (“Trend of the Tide”) leads the cast. Gascon will direct from a script he co-written with Tordo and Spain’s María Mínguez (“Custodia compartida”).
The project, which is scheduled to film across Valencia, Spain, and Cascay and Lisbon, Portugal in 2026, has secured support from Portugal’s pub caster RTP, PIC Portugal Cash Rebate and Spain’s Valenciano De Carta.
The “Past Waters” project was first introduced in Conecta Fiction 2024 and later selected as Serielizados’ Mind the Gap, driving industry momentum ahead of the Iberseries.
“We’ve been working hard to get the most out of our lives,” said Joana Domingues, producer at Caracol Studios.
“Based on Tordo’s bestselling novel, this grip thriller features a story with a global appeal that combines complex characters with top talent from Portugal and Spain.”
The long-term potential of the series is highlighted by TV CEO Paloma Mora.
Known for Portuguese traits such as “Kaga,” “Sombra,” and the series “Areverbell,” Gascon describes “the water of the past” as not procedural, calling it “a psychological thriller facing criminal investigations and a portrait of resilience and strength and darkness.”
Tordo’s growth credits also include the RTP dramas “O Segredo de Miguel Zuzarte”, “Filhos do Rock”, “País Irmão”, and Netflix’s Portuguese breakout “Tide Turn,” aka “Rabo de Peixe.”
