In more big news at Madrid’s Iberseries & Platino Industria, Munich-based Beta Film has secured sales rights to Secuoya Studios’ William Levy-starrers “Under a Volcano” and “Road to Arcadia.”
Billed as a gripping crime thriller, six-hour series “Road to Arcadia” casts Levy as Pablo, the coach of a Canadian wrestling team living a fulfilled quiet life with son Bruno, whom he adores, and partner Irene (Paula Echevarría, ), until his wife (Michelle Renaud) resurfaces and with her their secret mutual dark past.
An often humor-laced romantic action thriller “Under a Volcano” toplines Levy as Captain Mario Torres, a dashing rescue pilot dispatched to Canary Island Tenerife as a volcano shows signs of activity. There Mario meets Dani (Maggie Civantos, “Locked Up”), a volcanologist known for her research and fiery character. When the volcano erupts, Mario and Dani have to navigate its danger and their sentiments for each other.
Directed by Jorge Saavedra (“Zorro”), “Road to Arcadia” is produced for SkyShowtime, a Comcast-Paramount join venture and Mexican SVOD operator ViX, part of TelevisaUnivision. “Arcadia” and “Volcano” also slot into a two-title three-way deal between Secuoya, William Levy Entertainment and ViX announced at the May 2024 L.A. Screenings.
Both titles carry large streaming service potential. Levy, a star of “Resident Evil: The Final Chapter,” also toplined RCN TV telenovela “The Scent of Passion” (“Cafe con aroma de mujer”), a huge hit on Netflix, and Secuoya Studios’ mini-series “Montecristo,” a big hit on ViX and Spain’s Movistar Plus+. Beta Film is also selling the third season of “El Inmortal – Gangs of Madrid,” a Movistar Plus+ production with Banijay’s DLO Producciones whose Season 1 world premiered at Canneseries 2022.
In Season 3 of the mob thriller, charting one man’s spectacular rise up the Madrid narco food chain, José Antonio has installed his most loyal gang member as the successor to his throne: La Rubia. But when a snitch blows the whistle on an upcoming shipment, José Antonio’s ultimate life-and-death battle for power ensues. The series is produced by Movistar Plus+ in collaboration with DLO Producciones.
The deals are the latest in a 15-year relationship between Beta Film and Spain which saw Beta sell the original versions of Bambú Producciones “Grand Hotel” and “Velvet” to Latin America, sidestepping format deals and without the need for a “neutral” Spanish-language dub.
That breakthrough arrangement made both some of the hottest propositions in Latin America’s cable market while also firing up subs for SVOD operator Netflix.
Beta Film released some of Movistar Plus+’s earliest of titles, such as “The Pier,”· Alex Pina and Esther Martinez Lobato’s follow up to “Money Heist” and one of the fastest-selling titles at Mipcom 2018.
Boffo sales led to Beta Film and Movistar Plus+ signing a multi-year production & distribution deal, announced at 2019’s MipTV, only ended when Movistar Plus+ moved to launch its own sales operation, Movistar Plus+ Internacional, in March 2022.