Disney+ Spain Launches its First Original Melodrama ‘Return to Las Sabinas’ at Iberseries & Platino Industria

Disney+ Spain has unveiled what it touts as the first original daily melodrama series produced by a premium streaming platform in Europe, “Return to Las Sabinas” (“Regreso a Las Sabinas”).

The announcement was the first order of the day at the Madrid confab, Iberseries & Platino Industria, which kicked off on Oct.1.

Like the traditional telenovela, it will be stripped daily but unlike the popular genre, will run for only 70 45-minute episodes instead of the 100-plus episodes typical of the original format that originated in Latin America.

Shot in and around Barcelona, the story follows sisters Gracia and Paloma who return to their childhood home in Las Sabinas to care for their father. Gracia reconnects with her first love, Miguel, who is now engaged to Ester. However, his brother Tano, is still in love with her and refuses to back down.

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Paloma takes over the family lands and clashes with landowner Paca Utrera, who has a nefarious plan for the town. In the meantime, the girl’s father, Emilio, attempts to reconcile with his daughters, but a hidden secret complicates his efforts.

To make “Return…”, Disney+ Spain partnered with Barcelona-based production company Diagonal TV, part of Banijay Iberia, whose credits include the melodrama series of nearly 20 years ago, “Amar en tiempos revueltos.”

It counted on Diagonal’s Jordi Frades, who served as showrunner and executive producer of the new melodrama penned by Eulàlia Carillo.

Speaking at the press conference alongside Frades, Disney+ Spain’s VP of original production, Sofía Fábregas related how it came about:

“Diagonal, as you know, are the leading reference in this type of fiction in Spain, and we met with them. They pitched several ideas to us, and this is the result—nearly a three-year journey. Two and a half years of thinking differently or trying to, offering viewers something new or approaching television in ways that have always been done but with a different model. “

She added: “It’s true that melodrama has a very loyal audience, particularly in Spain, Latin America and Turkey, where the genre performs exceptionally well. In fact, we aimed to stay very faithful to the melodrama format. However, we used all-natural interiors and exteriors, which is a major shift from what we’re used to in daily series; we are a premium television after all. It was a challenge, but it turned out wonderfully, with the best partners.”

‘When Disney+ approached me, they didn’t know they were also giving me a second chance. It was a return to a genre I hadn’t visited in years – the daily melodrama. Thirty years had passed since “Poble Nou,” my first and last daily series. And now, I had the chance to delve into this difficult and sometimes underestimated genre, with the experience of everything I had learned along the way,” said Frades.

“This would be the first daily series filmed entirely on natural exteriors and interiors with no sets, with a cinematic look. Only two cameras, lighting shot by shot, and filming more than 20 pages of script per unit, per day… quite something. I must confess I was terrified thinking if that would even be possible… And it was… And it was a tough but wonderful shoot, one of the best of my life,” he added.

“Return to Las Sabinas” will start streaming worldwide on Disney+ and Hulu from Oct. 11.