Spanish Series at Mipcom Aim for Globalization

The Mipcom international television market — typically the buzziest and most industry-defying event of the year — wrapped without much fuss on Friday. The virtual-only MIPCOM Online+ had plenty to recommend it — including A-list virtual Q&As with the likes of Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos and multi-hyphenate Tyler Perry (this year's MIPCOM Trendsetter award winner)— and there was a steady flow of announcements and deals.

The President is Missing, the upcoming Showtime show from Bill Clinton and James Patterson‘s book by the same title, is officially not moving forward.

Bill Clinton and James Patterson’s “The President Is Missing” will not be making it to the small screen, at least not at Showtime.The premium cabler has decided not to move forward with its buzzy pilot which starred David Oyelowo and was based on the book of the same name by Clinton and Patterson, Variety has learned exclusively from Oyelowo’s co-star Ann Dowd.Speaking at a junket for the new Netflix film “Rebecca,” Dowd revealed that a combination of COVID-19 and current political events were

Jamie Lang Spain’s top tier soccer division LaLiga was buzzing on both sides of the Atlantic this week.

Emiliano De Pablos Beta Entertainment Spain is joining forces with Nicely Entertainment, the L.A.-based outfit run by former Gaumont executive Vanessa Shapiro, to produce the TV thriller series project “The Tamer.”The project, about a serial killer who tames and trains other killers to take down more of their kind, has attached Spain’s Paco Torres (“El vuelo del tren”) as writer, director and showrunner, alongside Mexican director of photography Guillermo Navarro, who won an Academy Award for

Jake Kanter International TV EditorEXCLUSIVE: Oscar-nominated 12 Years A Slave actor Chiwetel Ejiofor is to narrate a film about the world’s water shortage crisis, which is funded by an executive from Chinese tech giant Tencent and co-directed by Emmy-winner Kevin Sim.Housed at Keo Films and OoS Pictures, Day Zero is the brainchild of Tencent’s chief exploration officer David Wallerstein, who personally financed the production after becoming fascinated by the status of Earth’s water

Jake Kanter International TV EditorBilly Leroy, the star of Travel Channel’s Baggage Battles, is to front a global series for Discovery in which he opens a vintage, antiques, and collectibles store in Brooklyn, New York.Billy Buys Brooklyn (working title) is produced by MY Entertainment and will stream on dplay, as well as play on linear channels including DMAX UK, Italy, Spain and Germany, and Discovery Channel US and Europe.The show follows Leroy as he opens Billy’s Antiques & Props and uses

Jamie Lang In today’s Mipcom Roundup, ITV closes format deals around the world for some of its biggest properties; History greenlights prison break factual series with Morgan Freeman; Beta Film sells several catalog titles across Europe and the Americas; and NENT Studios U.K.

Jamie Lang After years working in film and theater, celebrated Spanish author, screenwriter and filmmaker Roberto Santiago (“The Longest Penalty Shot In The World”) has returned to TV to adapt his bestselling novel “Ana” for the small screen, starring Spanish star Maribel Verdú (“Y Tu Mamá También,” “Pan’s Labyrinth”).Angela Armero (“Velvet”) co-wrote the series adaptation with Santiago, and award-winning film and TV vets Gracia Querejeta (“Cuando vuelvas a mi lado”) and Salvador García Ruiz

Jamie Lang Spanish formats are having a moment in Europe and further abroad, headlined by successes such as “Dangerous Moms,” “Gran Hotel” and, perhaps most successful of all, Albert Espinosa’s “The Red Band Society” — the format was sold globally, including to the U.S.Espinosa, after a decade remaking his highly autobiographical Catalan original “Polseres vermelles” (“Red Band Society”), is back with “Alive and Kicking,” a new coming-of-age series that Beta Film is shopping at Mipcom.Produced

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorSPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Camelot,” the Season 2 premiere of “The Spanish Princess.”When “The Spanish Princess” returns for its second season, Queen Catherine (Charlotte Hope) and Henry VIII (Ruairi O’Connor) are ruling together over the country as the house of Tudor.When the audience rejoins the royal couple, they are closer than ever; she has given birth to a royal heir; her father, King Ferdinand of Spain (Antonio de la Torre), is

Jessica Chastain is defending the casting of co-star Penelope Cruz in their new espionage thriller “The 355”.

Rebecca Davis editorRepublican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee on Wednesday slammed Netflix for defending its decision to greenlight a high-profile adaptation of the Chinese sci-fi writer Liu Cixin’s “Three-Body Problem” novels despite his “execrable views” on China’s treatment of its mostly Muslim Uyghur population.Netflix announced early last month that it had commissioned “Game of Thrones” creators David Benioff and D.B.

 Ana de Armas  loves acting, but isn’t so crazy about its major side effect. The 32-year-old Cuban-Spanish star opened up about her relationship with fame in a new interview for Flaunt Magazine.

Jamie Lang Barcelona-based production outfit Brutal Media is bringing back “The Triplets,” a popular animated kids’ series that delighted audiences in more than 160 territories for more than two decades, and will be looking for partners at Mipcom.Raimon Masllorens, CEO at Brutal Media and driving force behind the project, has assembled a group responsible for rebooting the popular franchise, popularized in the ‘90s and early ‘00s, which includes original alumi as well as new faces with