Movistar Plus+ Launches Spanish Crime Drama 'El Castillo'

Movistar Plus+ launched El Castillo, known in English as The Castle, on 8 October.

The six-part crime drama is an Original series, meaning it was made exclusively for the platform. It tells the story of the rise of the pimping mafia in Spain, according to Movistar Plus+, and streams only on its service in Spain. Movistar Plus+

The show is the first series created by Isabel Peña. She partnered with Eduardo Villanueva, with both credited as creators and writers. Peña is the longtime co-writer of filmmaker Rodrigo Sorogoyen, and Villanueva co-wrote the series Riot Police with Peña and Sorogoyen. Variety

The story is set between 1999 and 2004/05. It braids three storylines across that five-year span. It draws in part on Mabel Lozano's novel El Proxenata, narrated in the first person by a prostitution kingpin.

Omar Ayuso plays police inspector Gerardo Liesa. Laia Marull plays Carmen Osés. Valentina Vidal plays Claudia, a Colombian single mother, and Raúl Arévalo also stars.

Elena Martín directed the series, handling episodes 1, 2, 5 and 6. Sandra Romero directed episodes 3 and 4. The series contains only two sex scenes, both filmed from Claudia's point of view.

The Castle had its world premiere in late September at the San Sebastián Film Festival. The festival listed the 309-minute Spanish production in its Official Selection, screened out of competition. Spanish newspaper El Mundo called it "The Spanish series of the year."

What makes this stand out for viewers is the scale of the rollout. Movistar Plus+ is handling international distribution, meaning it sells the show outside Spain. Variety named El Castillo to its Mipcom buzz titles roundup, a list of shows tipped to draw buyer interest at the annual TV market in Cannes. Movistar Plus+ had also included the six-episode drama in its Cannes slate. Variety