News

While we’re now used to the dreaded Netflix ax falling on popular shows after one season, the streamer has provided some good news for a change, as their recent surprise hit crime thriller series has now been renewed for Season 2. Landing on the streaming platform just over two weeks ago, the Colombian crime series Medusa will return for a second series, with the cast revealing the news on social media.

The sudden renewal comes just after Medusa debuted on Netflix earlier this month on March 5, with the new X/Twitter post stating, “Oh no, Barbara almost doesn’t remember the gossip ‘Medusa’ will have season 2. Only on Netflix.” An original story set in Barranquilla, Colombia, Medusa offers audiences all the thrills, drama, betrayal, and intrigue they could possibly want. And, considering that Season 1 ends on a cliffhanger, fans of the show will no doubt be relieved to hear that Medusa Season 2 is officially happening.

Warner Bros Discovery left Spain out of its clampdown on European original programs for HBO Max, and has now doubled down on the country by ordering a soccer comedy there.

Production is underway in Madrid on Playing Dirty (Monos con Pistola) The seven-part series comes from Jorge Valdano Sáenz and Pablo Tébar and is based on an idea from Carolina Bang and Álex de la Iglesia, whose drama 30 Coins is one HBO Max Europe’s most high-profile originals. The series is produced by Bang and de la Iglesia’s Pokeepsie Films, which is part of Banijay Iberia.

Playing Dirty follows the life of soccer agent Alberto Martín Ruiz, otherwise known as ‘Beto,’ as he leaves the comfortable life of working at a large soccer agency to go it alone and start his own venture. Navigating between his daily delirious struggle with soccer players and his stressful family life, his only solace is his girlfriend,...

“Our our story in Colombia is only starting,” streamer says.

Netflix will open an office in Bogota, Colombia, this year and unveil more than 30 new projects through 2022 as part of a $175m investment the streamer revealed it committed to in 2014.

Since launching in the Latin American country 10 years ago, Netflix has made local series such as Siempre Bruja, Distrito Salvaje, Chichipatos, Frontera Verde and El Robo del Siglo, and films like Lavaperros.

“ut our story in Colombia is only starting,” the streamer said in a blog.

The new hub will, it said, “allow us to be even closer to the creative community and our members,...

Netflix is to open an office in Bogota, Colombia, this year, the streamer has announced.

The studio said today that through 2022, it will have more than 30 new projects which include the already announced Ritmo Salvaje, Locombianos, Juanpis, Nada Es Igual, a comedy show starring Alejandra Azcárate, Goles en Contra, Pálpito, Perfil Falso, Diomedes and Chichipatos Season 2.

Netflix also stated today that it has invested more than $175M dollars in local content since 2014 through this year.

Previous Colombian projects backed by Netflix include Siempre Bruja, Distrito Salvaje, Chichipatos, Frontera Verde and El Robo del Siglo; comedy specials such as those of Liss Pereira, Ricardo Quevedo, Antonio Sanint, Julian Arango and Alejandro Riaño, and movies such as Lavaperros.

The news was announced in a blog post by Netflix’s Vice President of Content for Latin America, Francisco Ramos.

Netflix has revealed its most popular non-English language films and TV series in the U.S., with the list containing an interesting mix of titles from Europe, Asia and South America, plus a few surprises.

Spanish-language genre pic The Platform, set in a nightmarish vertical-style prison, tops the list of most-watched movies after being released in March this year, when lockdowns first hit America. Netflix does not tend to reveal specific viewing statistics, and these charts do not include solid numbers, but the company did previously note this one was watched by 56 million households in its first four weeks of release, making the title one of its most watched original movies ever.

The most-watched series was German show Barbarians, a historical drama about Germanic warriors fighting the Roman Empire in 9 Ad. The show is arguably...

Following the mid-April announcement of Netflix’s Covid-19 relief fund allocations for Mexico and Brazil, the streaming giant has unveiled its plans for Colombia where it has partnered with the Colombian Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences to extend aid to over 1,500 below-the-line workers in Colombia’s film and TV industry. To this end, Netflix has donated $500,000 towards the fund, which the Academy will administer.

As it has in Mexico and Brazil, the relief fund will support the hardest-hit workers who have been directly impacted by the suspension of productions across the country, such as production assistants, camera operators, lighting technicians, make-up assistants, and production drivers, among others, many of whom subsist on hourly wages and on a per project basis. A list of more than 100 eligible jobs has been determined.

“The hardest hit workers are the backbone of the entertainment industry,” said Academy president Consuelo Luzardo. “We hope...

This weekly feature is in addition to TVLine’s daily What to Watch listings.

With more than 530 scripted shows now airing across broadcast, cable and streaming, it’s easy to forget that a favorite comedy is returning, or that the new “prestige drama” you anticipated is about to debut. So consider this our reminder to set your DVR, order a Season Pass, pop a fresh Memorex into the Vcr… however it is you roll.

More from TVLine'The Walking Dead' Drops the Disturbing First Scene of Its Midseason Premiere'The Rookie' Sneak Peek: To Save Lucy, Nolan Appeals to Rosalind Dyer's...

Spanish media conglom The Mediapro Studio has added to its stable of high-end content producers with the hiring of seasoned Colombian producer-showrunner Juliana Barrera as its head of content in Colombia.

Barrera’s credits include hit reality show “La Voz Colombia,” “Always a Witch,” the first original Netflix series in Colombia; “The Secret Law,” the true story of an all-female special police unit; “The White Slave,” a mega-series about slavery in Colombia that sold to some 150 countries; “Perfect Lies,” the Colombian version of U.S. series “Nip/Tuck,” and “Lynch,” penned by her.

With Barrera on board, Mediapro taps an insider’s depth of experience and knowledge of the inner workings of Colombian TV production, sharpened by two decades in the biz. Since 2011, she held various positions as a producer, head of content and creative director at Colombia’s top broadcaster, Caracol TV.

“The Mediapro Studio has become a benchmark in...

Michael Ahr Dave Vitagliano Mar 31, 2019

Our genre television podcast hosts take on Netflix's recently renewed supernatural drama The Order, which features witches and werewolves.

We've been discussing quite a few supernatural shows lately on Sci Fi Fidelity, from A Discovery of Witches to Always a Witch, and even our recent interview with Brittany Curran of The Magicians. At first blush, The Order on Netflix may seem very much like The Magicians with its hidden society of magic users on a college campus, but with the introduction of the opposing werewolf force, the show becomes eminently discussable.

A big part of the podcast discussion is the immediate family chemistry between protagonist Jack Morton (Jake Manley) and his grandfather (Matt Frewer) and the undeniable sparks between Jack and his mentor in the Hermetic Order of the Blue Rose, Alyssa Drake (Sarah Grey). Since the pilot of The Order was admittedly shaky,...

Michael Ahr Dave Vitagliano Mar 10, 2019

Our genre television podcasts hosts review Netflix's supernatural Colombia import, Siempre Bruja, or Always a Witch.

As a follow-up to last week's discussion of non-English speaking international genre fare on Netflix, our Sci Fi Fidelity podcast takes on one of the more recent subtitled entries on the streaming service from Colombia: Siempre Bruja, known also by its English title, Always a Witch. The show features a 17th century witch who escapes being burned at the stake by traveling to modern times where she must complete a mission to return to her true love in the past. This marks the fifth out of the last six show topics on the podcast to feature some sort of time travel!

Siempre Bruja has not been without its critics, and although it has been applauded for featuring an Afro-Latina female lead in Angely Gaviria, who plays Carmen Eguiluz in the series,...

Colombian Netflix series Always a Witch or Siempre Bruja is about a witch named Carmen who arrives from the 16th Century to 2019 and has to learn about navigating the new world, such as using social media and modern currency. Carmen ends up in present-day Cartegena and is on a mission to save the man she loves but there are dark forces she must confront to complete her mission. But who plays Carmen or the villain Lucien in Always a Witch Season 1? We will introduce you to the exciting Colombian cast in Netflix’s new supernatural series. Angely Gaviria as Carmen Angely Gaviria is a […]

The post Always a Witch cast: Who plays Carmen and Lucien in Netflix Siempre Bruja appeared first on Monsters and Critics.

Welcome to Trailer Watch, a new regular feature that helps put the spotlight on series that may fly under the radar in the crowded Peak TV landscape. Each installment of Trailer Watch will explain what the show is and why it looks interesting. Leading off: Netflix's Siempre Bruja (Always a Witch).

Witchcraft and magic continue to be big trends in television, with recent breakouts including Netflix's Chilling Adventures of Sabrina; Syfy's The Magicians; The CW's Legacies as well as its Charmed reboot; and Sundance's upcoming A Discovery of Witches leading the charge. Netflix will be adding to the supernatural fray Feb....

Fleeing the flames of the stake in the 17th century, young witch Carmen travels forward centuries in time in the official trailer for Siempre Bruja (aka Always a Witch). Chilling Adventures of Sabrina has no doubt helped ignite a new wave of witchcraft series, and Netflix's new Colombian series looks to tap into more magical adventures when it premieres sometime this year.

"Produced by Dago García and starring Angely Gaviria (Pambelé), Valeria Emiliani (La Cacica) Sofia Araujo, Youtuber Dylan Fuentes, and newcomers Carlos Quintero, Duban Prado, and Lenard Vanderaa, the 10-episode series will be available to Netflix members around the world in 2019.

Siempre Bruja will follow 18 year old Carmen, a Colombian slave and witch from the 17th century who, in a desperate attempt to save her loved one, travels in time to present day Cartagena. Navigating the waters of this exciting new world, Carmen will soon discover that once a witch,...