In the summer of 2021, a news came out. Javier OlivaresThe creator of ‘The Ministry of Time’ was going to adapt the novel as follows: Pilar Eyre ‘I, the King’It focused on the intimate life of Juan Carlos I. The idea was to make three seasons between 10 and 12 episodes and media professional would handle production. However, more than a year after the announcement of the project, it is at a standstill. “In Spain it’s easier to talk about a 15th century queen than a 21st century king,” says Olivares, ironically speaking, at a round table this Thursday. Serialized Fest To talk to the author of the book on which his editing is based, whether he is in Spain or not. censor when addressing the honorary figure.
Why is it so difficult to make a Spanish-style ‘The Crown’? He doesn’t want to talk about the author”black hands“. Not even from the “concept of evil” by anyone, because recently two documentary series have been released that examine the history of the monarch and his clan. ‘Save the King’ (HBO Max) and ‘The Bourbons: A Royal Family’ (Atresplayer Premium). But he thinks that the documentary genre has never faced as many obstacles as fictional series that want to approach their honorary biography (it should not be forgotten that the producers of ‘Vatan’ also have their own projects on this subject).
Olivares is clear on why: “fiction scary because it has metaphors, layers, you see something and think about what it symbolizes” and goes deeper by emphasizing: “The documentary tells what happened, but in a TV series you see it and you communicate with emotions. and more to come”. He gives as an example ‘Crown’“It describes Elizabeth II better than any documentary”. Meanwhile, a series where the recently deceased monarch is convinced he’s watching “and who he’s having a good time with.”
“People don’t ask questions”
Eyre, on the other hand, thinks that the complexity of making a fiction about honorary has a very clear purpose: what is monarchy for. That’s not appropriate because it would be touching the system,” he says.
The project to turn the novel ‘Yo, Rey’ into a fiction series was presented on all platforms. One showed interest, but his lawyers decided to refuse it to avoid trouble, noting that Olivares had yet to understand, even writing a several-page document detailing why such a series was unreportable: “It was a bargain, because the novel had no legal implications whatsoever. There was no problem”.
The screenwriter attributes the show’s stopping (for a moment, because they have not lost hope that it will happen, especially with Mediapro) to the mechanism of the television industry. “You go to a chain or platform, they read your project, they look at hundreds of others, and they decide which to do. They don’t say no, but they don’t call you back either,” explains Olivares.
“There are no black hands, but when you know they are hard to buy and you don’t, what do you do? There is even self-censorship“, influences the television creator, who with this panorama draws his own conclusion from the audio-visual reality of the country: “In Spain, with exceptions, things that can cause bubbles are considered better avoided by the public.” And this does not happen only in a series about the King, but close It happens to others who are interested in Spanish history.” That’s why we won’t be seeing a series about Felipe González or José María Aznar,” he concludes.