Movistar+ and The Mediapro Studio launched the new comedy in the international market through a virtual event, in which they revealed new details about the project and announced it will have a second season.
In Mid-2019, Movistar+ and The Mediapro Studio announced the production of Nasdrovia, a comedy based on the novel El hombre que odiaba a Paulo Coelho by Sergio Sarria, starring Leonor Watling (Hable con ella) and Hugo Silva (Brigada Costa del Sol).
And in February of this year, the Miptv organization chose the series for its Miptv’s Drama Buyers Summit 2020.
After the market was canceled, Movistar+ and The Mediapro Studio organized a virtual event to launch the series in the international market.
The event featured Domingo Corral, director of Content at Movistar+; Marc Vigil, the series’ showrunner and director; and Marta Ezpeleta, director of Distribution and Coproduction at The Mediapro Studio.
Domingo Corral y Marc Vigil
For starters, Domingo Corral announced the series’ second season is already in development, while Vigil added that it could have at least one further season.
“At Movistar+ we like to take comedy seriously, in the sense that we try to make them ‘character driven’ and not based on sketches, gags or stereotypes. We want humor to come from the situations that these well-developed characters are in,” Corral said.
With six 30-minute episodes and a plot that combines thriller with the Russian mob, the comedy is influenced by the work of directors like Quentin Tarantino and the Coen brothers, or shows like the HBO series Barry, as revealed by Marc Vigil.
What is Nasdrovia About?
The series is about a couple in their mid-life crisis, who decides to give up their careers as lawyers and open a Russian restaurant in Madrid, together with a chef who lived for many years in Russia. The decision puts them in the mafia’s way and leads to unexpected situations.
Unlike the book, the story revolves around a female character.
“I’m very proud of what we accomplished with Nasdrovia, because comedy is the hardest genre and especially in this case, because we tried to escape the traditional way in which comedy is done in Spain,” said Marc Vigil.
“It’s not a sitcom. Humor doesn’t come from gags. We tried to create ordinary situations that are very recognizable and stand out in terms of tone, narrative style and acting,” he added. “In addition, even when funny situations happen, we tried to get viewers to never stop feeling that the characters are in danger.”
A Comedy that can travel
With those credentials, Marta Ezpeleta, director of Distribution and Coproduction at The Mediapro Studio, has no doubts about the series’ international potential.
“Nasdrovia is a show that can travel internationally very well because it has all the classic elements of a comedy, such as the fish out of water, and combines them with universal elements such as the mid-life crisis or the mafia, which make it appealing to broadcasters and platforms worldwide,” she said.
Marta Ezpeleta
“At The Mediapro Studio we always look for universal stories and Nasdrovia is a good example of this. It’s also a strong story and an outstanding cast, not just the main couple, but all the characters around them as well,” she added.
The series will premiere on Movistar+ “before the end of the year” if the Covid-19 crisis allows it, and after that, it will be available for the international market.
It was written by Miguel Esteban (El fin de la Comedia, Capítulo 0) and Luismi Pérez (El intermedio, Capítulo 0), with Sergio Sarria, author of the book, as script coordinator.
