Cinema today cannot be understood without streaming. Shows compete with movies. A group of screenwriters – Borja Cobeaga, Isabel Peña, Aitor Gabilondo, Coral Cruz, Marta Libertad, and Fernando Navarro – discuss how a flood of fiction on platforms has changed their professional lives and daily routines.
Isabel Peña speaks about the initial optimism: more work, more chances to tell adult stories beyond traditional prime-time labels. Peña collaborated with Sorogoyen on the Movistar Plus+ mini-series Antidisturbios. Yet the optimism faded quickly. The reality is tighter schedules and fewer creative risks, with time becoming the crucial factor in delivering quality work, though exceptions exist.
Aitor Gabilondo, known for the acclaimed drama Patria, based on the novel by Fernando Aramburu, notes a broader expansion of work and rising salaries that improve conditions and recognition. Still, challenges remain, including the distribution of rights and ongoing negotiations that shape the industry landscape.
Financing remains uneven. No producer initially backed Faith of Etarras, until Borja Cobeaga finally brought it to Netflix. The initial impact of platforms appears positive, bringing substantial investment into the audiovisual sector. Yet underlying tensions emerge as the first platform narratives evolve. What began as a revolutionary discourse gradually shifts toward formats similar to traditional television, with reality shows and serials mirroring what public television already produces.
Juan Diego Botto is pictured in I don’t like to drive. This image is part of a broader conversation about contemporary streaming and its influence on storytelling across networks.
There is a need to deepen what has already been achieved. For Cobeaga two key points stand out: first, the platform era is not just a bubble; there continues to be intense script work and other audiovisual trades. Second, platforms opened doors that once seemed unimaginable, enabling series about personal journeys and licensing stories that would have been unthinkable in traditional production. Many series cases would not exist without these platforms.
Similarly, Coral Cruz notes that platform-based editing has significantly expanded opportunities for Spanish screenwriters. More work is available to develop new proposals. Cruz, who created a project for RTVE Play, explains that after years of hopeful expectation about platform-driven change, a shared, practical approach has emerged when betting on riskier formats and content ideas.
More ways to finance
Fernando Navarro emphasizes a desire to keep writing for the screen regardless of platform shifts. Financing and production models are in constant flux. The old era offered one or two pathways; today several routes exist, though mutual trust remains elusive. A storyteller from Barcelona recalls that after completing studies at a script program, opportunities were scarce. The rise of various platforms has expanded work for many, changing the traditional routes: a writer with a feature might have aimed for TVE, while a more commercial project could go to Telecinco or Antena 3, widening the pool of potential projects and funding. Yet opacity in viewing data adds a layer of copyright complexity for screenwriters and other professionals.
In this evolving landscape, the screenwriter’s craft adapts to new financing patterns while keeping a focus on authentic storytelling. The shift away from a single path creates both opportunity and uncertainty, inviting creative resilience as the industry maps out a future where platforms are a fundamental part of the ecosystem. [Citation: Industry analysis of Spanish streaming evolution and its impact on authorship and rights]