Antenna 3, Spain’s top free-to-air channel owned by private broadcaster Atres Media, which produced “Money Heist,” “Veneno,” “Locked Up,” “Velvet,” “Alba,” and “Ángela,” has released the first look images of its new prime-time blockbuster series “Agatha et Lola.”
The series is produced by Porto Cabo, supported by Atres Media and Banijay Entertainment. Porto Cabo is a drama powerhouse in Spain’s northwest region of Galicia, producing Movistar Plus+’s hits “Hierro” and “Lapa,” Atres Media’s “Honor” and “Weiss & Morales,” co-produced by Spanish and German public broadcasters RTVE and ZDF.
“Agatha and Lola”, starring Eva Martin (“The Vow”, “The Pier”) and Mireia Oriol (“Alma”, “Nevenka”), is also a heavyweight IP, as it is the Spanish version of French Television’s RTBF series “Astrid and Raphael”, which aired up to season 4.
The French show also inspired the British makeover, Patience. Season 2 became the most-watched show on Channel 4 in the UK and was sold by Beta Films to over 100 territories, including PBS Masterpiece for the US.
Written by Porto Cabo’s go-to writer Carlota Dans (Weiss & Morales, Honor, Dry Water), along with head of development Nina Hernandez and Porto Cabo founder Alfonso Blanco, Agata and Lola begins with a well-dressed middle-aged man walking into a bank, withdrawing 9,000 euros ($10,500), then immediately throwing it in the trash and pouring it out. Spread gasoline on yourself and light a match.
Chief Inspector Lola Castro asks Agatha, a young autistic police archivist in charge of crime records, to bring documents for similar deaths. However, Agatha remembers another absurd suicide and brings a second box with details of a third incident. Agatha also suggests a partial explanation for the suicide, and a friendship deepens between the confused Laura and Agatha, a carefully ordered but brilliant criminologist.
“Agatha and Laura” also serves as a beginner’s guide to people on this spectrum. For example, the fear of being touched or the confusion caused by multiple sound sources (Agatha commutes by bicycle and toils in the archives wearing headphones).
What’s new about this feel-good crime procedural is “the way autism is portrayed. In ‘Agatha,’ we wanted to create a character who was diagnosed later in life, and it’s very relevant to the female condition, which is often overlooked, and we thought it would be relevant to explore that,” Hernandez told Variety.
“The Spanish version leans towards the feel-good atmosphere derived from the relationship between Agata and Lola, and is characterized by the uplifting mood that is central to the series. It is also set in Vigo, and has an abundance of exteriors that emphasize the city, the surrounding sea and nature, another character in the series,” she added.
This can be seen in the first look stills. Similar to Lapa, Laura and Agatha capture nature outside the cape, with Vigo Bay and green hills in the background, adding a sense of relief from the darker elements of crime. The second still image depicts Laura and Agatha walking in another part of the bay.
“When creating this series, we aimed to establish a clear identity. We focused on several key elements: the visual aspect, the elevation of natural locations through striking cinematography, and a consistent aesthetic that bridges the art and styling departments. In terms of characters, we aimed to move away from clichés, especially in the depiction of Agatha’s condition,” co-director María Togores told Variety.
“We took a naturalistic approach, avoiding dramatic excess and prioritizing the emotions of the characters over the plot,” added co-director Oriol Ferrer.
“Conflicts emerge organically from relationships, not from the details of police cases,” Ferrer points out. “The goal is to create a series that is empathetic, intimate and relatable – one in which viewers can recognize themselves in the everyday lives of the characters.”
