“La Favorita 1922” has pre-sold 20-plus territories in Europe and the Americas, including a pick-up by PBS streaming service Walter Presents for U.S. and Canada, Spain’s Mediterráneo Mediaset España Group announced Monday.
The announcement came just hours before the series’ March 17 commercial bow on Telecinco, Spanish broadcast network’s Mediaset España’s main channel, and days before “La Favorita 1922” hits Series Mania’s Forum over March 24-27 as Mediterráneo’s banner sales title.
In further deals, Mediterráneo, the international distribution arm of Mediaset España, has closed Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay with Flow, Telecom Argentina telco streaming service, while licensing to Belgium (Proximus), Lithuania (Lithuanian National Radio and TV), and Poland, one of the most robust of markets in Europe.
Set in a 1922 Madrid of often stunning Belle Epoque architecture, “La Favorita 1922” follows Seville’s Marquise Elena de Valmonte, who battles to turn an abandoned restaurant into the capital’s finest eatery.
Starring Verónica Sánchez (“The Pier,” “Sky Rojo”), “La Favorita 1922” marks the first production between Mediaset España and Bambú Producciones, behind milestone Spanish series “Grand Hotel” and “Velvet” and Netflix’s first series in Spain, “Cable Girls.”
That shows, in both the meticulous, crafted production standards, a Bambú Producciones hallmark, and the genre cocktail, also typical of Bambú and indeed much Spanish fiction,meanng the narrative never rests.
“Love, intrigue, humor and a touch of thriller come together in a carefully crafted production,” Ramón Campos, head of Bambú Producciones, told Variety last October as “La Favorita 1922” launched at Mipcom.
Episode 1 turns on Elena’s desperate escape from Seville to Madrid and first steps in liberation, but it also features a murder and climaxes with a kidnapping.
Reviews and social media reactions have been upbeat. “La Favorita 1922’ recuperates, over stoves, the essence of “Velvet,’” announced top quality newspaper “El País.”
“It’s superbly produced with incredible sets,” Mediterráneo CEO Ghislain Barrois added. “At one of our first meetings, I asked about production, and they brought me a book that was like the Yellow Pages, like 500 pages thick with every blueprint and every set detail outlined.”
The series sets, including the restaurant, occupied over 2,000 square meters (21,500 sq. feet). It required 500 costumes, many handmade specifically for the production.
“It is a pleasure to add ‘La Favorita 1922’ to Mediterráneo’s sales catalog. This series perfectly complements our current lineup, as we did not previously have a period drama. Moreover, the fact that it is a Bambú production, with its renowned hallmark of quality, excited us from the very beginning,” said Silvia Cotino, deputy director of sales and business development at Mediterráneo. “We are confident that it will become a key title in our catalog, further strengthening our presence in the international market.”
“The great international interest sparked by ‘La Favorita 1922’ is unprecedented and showcases its enormous potential,” added Rocío Cachero, international sales manager at Mediterráneo. “We are confident that this is just the start of a very promising international journey.”
