Disney Plus’ First Spanish Original, Mediaset España’s ’Besos al Aire,’ Bows on Star

Starring “House of Flowers’” Paco Leon, produced by “Patria” showrunner Aitor Gabilondo for network Mediaset España, and written by “Elite” creator Darío Madrona, Disney Plus’ first Spanish original bows Friday in Spain on Star.

Billed as “a kind of ‘Love Actually’ in times of pandemic,” “Besos al Aire” weighs in as a two-part miniseries, crisscrossing eight stories of lockdown love sparked by Spain’s first – and worst – March 14-May 2 confinement. Though a romantic comedy, “Besos al Aire” looks likely to stand as the first big, scripted record of how Spaniards reacted to COVID-19. Though a pickup, not an original production, it may also say something about what Disney Plus and Star will produce or buy in Spain, and the state of Spanish drama series production in general. Five takes on the new series:

Broadcast Networks’ Role in the New TV Landscape

Since 2017, when Netflix and Movistar Plus released their first originals, the weight of scripted series production in Spain has shifted ever more toward pay TV and SVOD platforms. But free-to-air broadcast networks can still bring two things to the table. One is a mass audience sensibility, seen in “Besos al Aire,” which is straight-arrow family entertainment, a series which wears its heart on its sleeve, has clearly delineated sentiment, pointed up by score, mixes characters from aged 18 to 70 and advances story in every scene.

A second is mass audience reach. Pay TV and OTT household penetration runs at 35% and 33%, according to Omdia. Reaching all Spanish households, Mediaset España will also market “Besos al Aire” to the hilt. Catching it on Mediaset España, many viewers will be reminded it first screened on Disney Plus’ Star.

The Future of TV Is Glocal but Most Series Will be Local

Of non-English language series, Spain’s “Money Heist” has run up the second best first-month household figures for Netflix in history, after “Lupin.” Distributed by Méditerraneo Mediaset España Group, “Besos al Aire” will be aired on Disney Plus Star in most of Europe, plus Africa and Latin America. But platforms do not expect, or need, every series they produce to break out to huge figures abroad. Platforms, pay TV and networks’ first concern is that a series functions in its country of origin. “Besos al Aire” is a case in point. Set at a hospital, supermarket and apartment block, it is spangled by local detail: News footage of Health Minister Salvador Illa announcing lockdown; shots of iconic Madrid streets eerily empty a la “28 Days Later”; people taking to their balconies every day at 8 p.m. to applaud Spain’s hospital staff, which incurred the highest rate of infection of any health service country in Western Europe.