With Se tiene que morir mucha gente, El castillo and Matar a un oso in its Mipcom slate, the Spanish company is expanding the international reach of its original productions. Speaking with ttv, Rebeca Aguilar discussed the response from buyers and the growing recognition of the Movistar Plus brand.
*with reporting by Carolina Mussio and Ana Paula Carreira from Cannes, France.
The success of Se tiene que morir mucha gente among younger viewers and international buyers’ interest in El castillo and Matar a un oso are shaping Movistar Plus’s international distribution efforts, as the Spanish company looks to expand the reach of its original productions.
“We’re very happy to be bringing several titles that are performing extremely well on our platform. Starting with Se tiene que morir mucha gente, which has been a success with critics, audiences and on social media. It’s been an incredibly positive surprise for the company to have a series that connects so strongly with younger viewers and reaches a generation that can sometimes be difficult to find the right content for,” Rebeca Aguilar, Head of International Distribution at Movistar Plus, told ttv at Mipcom.
Created by Victoria Martín and based on her novel, Se tiene que morir mucha gente is a six-part comedy starring Anna Castillo, Macarena García and Laura Weissmahr. The series premiered on May 21 and, following its performance on the platform, was renewed for a second season scheduled for 2027.
Movistar Plus’s Cannes slate also includes El castillo, a six-part drama created by Isabel Peña and Eduardo Villanueva, in collaboration with Caballo Films and Mafalda Entertainment. Based on Mabel Lozano’s nonfiction book El proxeneta, the series explores criminal networks involved in the sexual exploitation of women in Spain. Following its presentation at the San Sebastián International Film Festival, it premiered on Movistar Plus on October 8.
“El castillo, which premiered last Thursday, its a series we’re extremely proud of. We have Isa Peña as showrunner, dealing with a very sensitive subject in an incredibly delicate and thoughtful way,” Aguilar said.
“And toward the end of the year, we’ll be releasing Matar a un oso, the other title we’re bringing to the market. It’s a coproduction with ARTE, a thriller set in a very special location in the Pyrenees, between Spain and France. Visually, it transports you to a very distinctive and beautiful world. It’s receiving a very positive response from buyers,” she added.
Matar a un oso was created and directed by brothers Jorge and Alberto Sánchez-Cabezudo, whose previous credits include La zona and Nos vemos en otra vida. Inspired by real events, the story begins with the death of a bear named Cachou in Spain’s Aran Valley, triggering a criminal investigation and exposing tensions within a mountain community. The cast includes Eduard Fernández, María Rodríguez Soto, Miki Esparbé, Pol López, Nora Navas and Àlex Monner.
The Movistar Plus Brand
With productions such as Hierro and Antidisturbios among its established titles, Movistar Plus has built a slate of original Spanish fiction with a presence at international festivals and content markets. “We’re very fortunate to have genuinely distinctive stories in our catalog. It’s not just about the visuals, although some of our productions, such as Hierro and Antidisturbios, have a very recognizable visual identity. Beyond that, there’s the talent we work with behind the camera, the scripts and the characters. It’s very much a team effort, and I think that’s what elevates a series to the level we’re looking for.”
“Our team simply focuses on finding good stories with compelling characters that can connect with different audiences, and trying to make those stories travel as far as possible, not just in Spain but internationally,” Aguilar explained.
Movistar Plus received further recognition on the festival circuit in 2026. El castillo screened in the Official Selection at San Sebastián, while Se tiene que morir mucha gente received an award at the FesTVal in Vitoria-Gasteiz, where actress Sofía Otero was also honored.
“I think the brand is very well established. It’s taken many years to build it, working as a team and carefully defining what we wanted to do, which stories we wanted to tell and, above all, how we wanted to tell them. We’re especially proud when someone recognizes our content without even needing to see the logo,” Aguilar said.
“We’re very happy with the reception our titles are getting. We’re bringing a very varied selection, which allows us to reach different types of buyers. Hopefully, we’ll be able to announce some deals soon, because the response has been extremely positive,” she concluded.
