It's been a busy year for television in Spain. Aside from the deaths, 2023 saw the return of Miguel Bosé in different formats and styles or of Chenoa as host of the first live gala on a platform with Amazon's OT. Also changes in the network (especially at Telecinco) and in the offices. Pedro Piqueras and Paloma del Río are among the list of classics in recent television history who are retiring. We conclude the review with a vision of some of the fictional characters who have left the greatest mark.
Illustrious deaths
Matthew Perry, in 2006. Fred Prouser (Portal)
Matthew Perry. His untimely death in the fall at the age of 54 marked the loss of a friend for millions of viewers around the world. Friends, one of the most popular series in history, continues to generate countless hours of views on on-demand platforms. Chandler Bing's character, a caustic laugh machine, contrasted with the tragedy of the Canadian actor's personal life.
Maria Teresa Campos on a television.Antonio_Quilez 0711 (/Cordon Press)
Maria Teresa Campos. Tetuán-born Málaga, a pioneer of television and radio in Spain, died in September at the age of 82. She is known for programs such as Apueste por una con Hermida, Pasa la vida en La 1 or Día a día and The Critical Look on Telecinco. She popularized political gatherings decades ago, which are now a fashionable genre. And she is still the queen of the morning.
The creator and director of television programs Sergi Schaaff on the set of “Saber y Ganar”.RTVE
Sergi Schaaff. We owe the director, who died in January at the age of 85, formats such as the eternal Know and Win, which continues to be a ratings phenomenon on La 2 and which he directed until shortly before his death, and Time is Gold. Associated with TVE since the sixties, he also took part in competitions such as 3×4 by Julia Otero and Si lo saber no vengo with his inseparable Jordi Hurtado.
The actress and television presenter Laura Valenzuela, 1995.LUIS TORRES (EFE)
Laura Valenzuela. She died in March at the age of 93 and is television history. She was the first female presenter in Spain and one of the first in the world. In the 1950s and 1960s he often formed a charismatic couple with Joaquín Prat Sr., for example at Saturday galas. He was also one of the first faces of commercial television, founding Telecinco in the 1990s. As an actress, she made a film together with Alain Delon, Sophia Loren and Concha Velasco.
A turbulent year
Silvia Intxaurrondo, the day she accepted the Ondas Award 2023. Gianluca Battista
Silvia Intxaurrondo. The fact that he corrected Feijóo live in the middle of the election campaign ensured that he was on everyone's lips for weeks. The journalist forms a great tandem with Marc Sala in La Hora de La 1, which is achieving increasingly better ratings in the mornings on the public broadcaster. At the end of the year she received the Ondas Award for best presenter.
Carlos Franganillo, in Torrespaña, Madrid. Bald Olmo
Carlos Franganillo. The star newcomer of the season. In January 2024, the renowned journalist will make the jump from the night news program of La 1 to that of Telecinco. He takes over from Pedro Piqueras at a time when Mediaset España is betting again on the news genre, renovating the sets and regaining the news programs on its second channel, Cuatro. Her successor in the public institution is Marta Carazo, an experienced journalist who was previously TVE correspondent in Brussels.
The journalist and television presenter Ana Rosa Quintana. Carlos Alvarez (Getty Images)
Ana Rosa Quintana. This year was the year of the transition from the Ana Rosa program to the Ana Rosa network. The change in power and editorial control at Mediaset España has resulted in production company Unicorn Content becoming the clear winner, at the expense of the soon-to-be-defunct La Factory de la Tele. The communicator's company is responsible for more than 70 live hours per week on Telecinco and Cuatro. And she has become viewers' favorite villain.
Alessandro Salem, CEO of Mediaset, at the group's headquarters.Claudio Álvarez
Alessandro Salem. The Italian manager began 2023 by taking over the management of Mediaset Spain. The group was looking for its direction after the departure of Paolo Vasile, the decline in viewership (which worsened this year) and the internal power struggle, a confrontation that Salem won and that ended with the departure of Borja Prado chairman of the group. Salem has spearheaded a change in direction at the station with the closure of certain areas and a commitment to news broadcasts. 2024 will measure the success of your strategy.
The communicator Inés Hernand. Bernardo Perez
Inés Hernand. The communicator has been the protagonist of television information several times throughout 2023. Earlier this year, after appearing repeatedly as co-host of Benidorm Fest, she protested on social media when she realized she had earned less than her colleagues. In June, a sentence he said (“I have no doubt about the victory of a progressive government in the next general election”) caused RTVE to delete an edition of “Gen Playz” from the internet because it compromised its neutrality. Later, “Gen Playz” was canceled and Hernand, after collaborating in several areas, ended the year as co-host of “I Don't Know What You're Talking About” on La 1, together with Mercedes Milá.
Great races coming to an end
Paloma del Río, sports commentator for TVE.
Pigeon of the river. After nearly four decades of a career dedicated to commentating on women's and minority sports, which she boosted through her popularity, the pioneering RTVE sports journalist retired this year. His career is distinguished not only by the number of Olympics he has voiced. In several of her projects, she also advocated for women's rights and the LGTBI community.
The journalist Pedro Piqueras. Bernardo Perez Tovar
Pedro Piqueras. The 68-year-old journalist is retiring after a half-century career: “I'm stuck, like bullfighters at the end of the season, I have to quit, but I already miss TV and haven't left yet,” he said in a recent interview in EL PAÍS. He leaves his place on the Telecinco evening news to Carlos Franganillo, another member of this list.
Sounded returns
Chenoa, host of “OT.” Marta Perez (EFE)
Chenoa. The singer established herself as a solvent presenter this year and thus closed the circle of Operación Triunfo. From a candidate in the first edition more than 20 years ago, he became the visible face of the format when it jumped to Prime Video. With this project, after years of media exposure, she also managed to put her career in the foreground over information about her private life.
Miguel Bosé, at the Mediaset presentation of the series “Bosé”. RODRIGO JIMÉNEZ (EFE)
Miguel Bose. He has gone from an elusive figure in the media to a ubiquitous figure across many networks and platforms. In 2023, she has participated in numerous projects, often with the help of her close friend, influential producer Macarena Rey (CEO of Shine Iberia). He has actively participated in a biographical series on SkyShowtime, a documentary series on Movistar Plus+, as a jury in a musical talent show on La 1 and in several personal interviews on Telecinco.
Jorge Javier Vazquez, in “Chinese Tales.”
Jorge Javier Vazquez. It was a turbulent year for Telecinco's star presenter. A vacation due to illness prevented him from saying goodbye to Sálvame and Sálvame Deluxe, which was canceled by the new management of Mediaset España. His return in the fall to compete with Chinese Tales against Pablo Motos seemed like a poisoned gift. It lasted only 10 broadcasts and led his production company, La Factory de la Tele, to the final break with the communications group.
Mixed triumphs
The Javis, in 2019.Miquel Benitez (Getty Images)
The Javis. Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, Los Javis, continue to mark milestones in their successful careers and always with unusual projects. If they triumphed then with the musical The Call in cinemas and then triumphed with the hilarious Paquita Salas and the tough and groundbreaking Veneno, they return in 2023 with The Messiah, their biggest and riskiest series with which they swept , and unpleasant for critics and the public. And by the way, they were chosen to host the Goya Gala together with Ana Belén. A round year.
From left: Raúl, Borjamina and Bruno, the Mozos de Arousa team from “Chain Reaction”.Mediaset
Young men from Arousa. The brothers Borjamina and Raúl and their friend Bruno, native of Vilagarcía de Arousa, have joined the large group of great participants on Spanish television. With Chain Reaction they have already earned over 900,000 euros and have conquered the audience with their naturalness, their friendliness and their ability to put words into words.
Ricardo Gómez, in November 2022.INMA FLORES (EL PAIS)
Ricardo Gomez. The actor stopped being Carlitos in Cuéntame years ago to pursue acting in other projects. And it was precisely the year of his return in the final season of the La 1 series that he shone the most. In 2023, he reaped the rewards of the success of Atresplayer's La ruta and shined with his tough role in the ambitious Romancero on Prime Video.
Faces of Fiction
Elizabeth Debicki in the role of Diana of Wales, in the final season of “The Crown”.Des Willie/Netflix (Des Willie/Netflix)
Diana of Wales. The first episodes of the last season of “The Crown” were dominated by the last months of Lady Di’s life. The recreation of her death and the moments before and after was one of the public's most anticipated milestones in the journey through the life of Elizabeth II that the Netflix series depicts. Although Elizabeth Debicki shone as Diana of Wales, the episodes surrounding her death elicited mixed reactions.
Sarah Lancashire, in Happy Valley. BBC (BBC/Red Productions)
Catherine Cawood (Happy Valley). Not a single one of the seven years that passed between the second, third and final seasons of “Happy Valley” detracted from Sarah Lancashire’s performance in the slightest. Cawood is a sergeant in Halifax, but she is also a very tough character, a grief-stricken mother, a grandmother committed to her grandson's future; and a clever and sardonic agent. It may seem like a lot or a little, but the character's strength lies in his deep humanity, in his truth, something that depends on excellent scripts and Lancashire's perspective.
María Galiana, Herminia in “Cuéntame”. Pablo Blazquez Dominguez (Getty Images)
Herminia (Tell me). When Cuéntame started in 2001, few would have bet that we would still be talking about Herminia in 2023. Spain's grandmother survived until the last season of the La 1 series and in it we saw her death, funeral and burial. María Galiana, the actress who plays her, has also been at the center of some controversy because of some words about the series' writers.
Brian Cox, in the fourth season of “Succession”.David M. Russell (David M. Russell)
Logan Roy. Brian Cox fascinated in Succession with this brutal character, a millionaire with no scruples and too many children who cause him problems. A protagonist in an ensemble series with whom the writers make a risky and brilliant decision (and no one is shocked by the gutting at this point): they kill him off prematurely in an episode that ranks among the best of the last decade on television. And then? Now to fill the void left by the Giants.
The protagonists of “Cuéntame”, the Alcántara family.
The Alcantara. They have already been mentioned several times in this list. Cuéntame's farewell marked the final stretch of the year in television fiction. It's 22 Years Past, which follows the adventures of a middle-class family from 1968 to 2001. As they told their stories, they were simultaneously telling our story and they were telling us as a society. Antonio, Mercedes, their children, family members and acquaintances are forever the emotional memory of the Spanish people.
Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, in a picture from the series “The Last of Us”.
Ellie (The last of us). A character that can be summarized as: the look of a teenager at the end of the world, but not just any teenager; the one who holds the key to saving humanity. All this weight is underpinned by the interpretation of Bella Ramsey (who had already fascinated us in Game of Thrones). His boldness, his determination and strength, and his way of seeking shelter have remained with us in the midst of the apocalypse.
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