At a time when it’s difficult for series to break through on free-to-air television, Entrevías arrived last year to show that there was still hope for fiction in prime time. The first two seasons achieved an average market share of 15.9% and 1,736,000 viewers. Later, its inclusion in the Netflix catalog gave it a successful second life in Spain and great success in countries such as Venezuela, Uruguay, Honduras, Chile, Brazil and the United States. The third series of episodes that Telecinco will broadcast for the first time this Tuesday (10:50 p.m.) comes at a time when the channel most needs to rejuvenate viewers.
According to Entrevías creator David Bermejo, there are pros and cons to approaching a new season with such high expectations after the success of the previous season. “You’re lucky enough to have a board that already exists and some great parts with great actors, which gives you more security because you don’t have to start from scratch. But on the other hand, there is the dizziness of success. We have to react,” he tells EL PAÍS before the series premieres this Saturday at the recently opened South International Series Festival in Cádiz. The first episode was already tested there, with visibly good results, judging by the laughter and applause, in front of an audience that collapsed into the procession both at the entrance and at the exit, around the Congress Palace – with the help of those present – the corner the Virgin of the Rosary, the patron saint of the city.
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As Bermejo explains, the peculiar “love story” between the protagonist, the grumpy Tirso (played by José Coronado), and his rebellious granddaughter is still alive, but it was planned to last two seasons, which forced the screenwriters to come up with something to leave new ones. Properties beyond that. This mission is played out through the inclusion of characters such as that of Natalia Dicenta, Maica, Tirso’s ex-wife, who left her family and returns with the intention of finding her family again and creating a foundation in the neighborhood to educate young people to help escape. from the street. But neither Tirso nor the gang members will view his apparently good intentions favorably. “She is the opposite of Tirso. “She is a character who believes in second chances, she is smart, kind, pleasant, she takes people on the streets… and that drives Tirso crazy because he believes that she is actually a manipulator who has come to protect her “Stealing from family,” Bermejo continues.
Nona Sobo and Jose Coronado, in Entrevias.
There is also Óscar Higares as Inspector Romero, an ambitious man with a dark past who wants to make a political career. To do this he has to appear in the media and thus the neighborhood becomes conflictual again. His mission will be to stir up the hornet’s nest, which he has been doing since the first chapter. He will face Ezequiel (Luis Zahera), who will wake up from a coma with amnesia and will have his goddaughter Dulce – another addition, Michelle Calvó – as an ally. And on another front, they’re joined by Nata’s little cousin, now the neighborhood’s mistress and crime boss. Tente, played by Álex Medina, is a violent minor who becomes a nightmare for Tirso and his family. “I think it’s a more mature season, with more excitement, more emotions and more dynamics. We were more ambitious,” summarizes Bermejo.
Ingredients for success
But what made Entrevías gain the public’s favor and others not? “That’s the million dollar question,” says the creator. On the one hand, it highlights the actors. “Having Jose Coronado is like putting a luxury brand on a bag, and it’s automatically better. But when I think about it, I think there’s something very local, very close to the series. It mixes many genres, action, love, emotion, comedy, irony… It’s very similar to life.” Bermejo describes his series as “quixotic”: “There is a very clear anti-hero who believes he can change the world and that thinks the world is crazy, but he is the crazy one.” And there is an adventure that is told with humor, and through this adventure you get into society, into the problems that lie on the street. It is a mixture that we know how to master very well in this country. Additionally, he is well traveled despite being very local. “I don’t know, it may or may not be anything because that’s the million dollar question.”
Jose Coronado, at one point during the filming of the third season of Entrevías.
One of the ingredients that stands out in Entrevías is its neighborhood character, with characters of different origins, different facial features and different accents, which is unusual in national television literature. “It is a reality that exists and is not represented. It’s not something we look for, it’s just there. If we did a series about Spain in the ’70s it wouldn’t be there, but it is here now. I’ve always thought the show was about prejudice in general, about race, class and age prejudice and how the lack of communication makes us believe people are a certain way that they aren’t. These are topics that have not been explored much in Spanish series. “But there’s not a lot of fiction that deals with neighborhood environments, with what’s happening on the street. If you walk into the neighborhood it’s there. If not, avoid it,” argues Bermejo.
The other ace up the sleeve of Entrevías has its own name, that of its protagonist. Jose Coronado has chained successful series on Telecinco, from El Príncipe to Entrevías, including Vivir sin Permit, all with the screenwriter and producer Aitor Gabilondo behind him. What must Coronado have become as an amulet for the series? “He has presence. He has rare charisma. And one thing people don’t need to know is that Coronado has spectacular professionalism. He’s the first to arrive on set, he pulls the whole team together, he demands that everyone do their best and that helps ensure that things have quality. He does underground work to make things work. “He is a leader in all areas of his life,” says the screenwriter. “He always puts in the work and that is very much appreciated, especially when he is a star. I could be an idiot and nothing would happen. But that’s not it at all.”
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