‘Suburra’ prodco Cattleya hires Netflix exec for Spanish expansion

Arturo Diaz

ZeroZeroZero and Suburra producer Cattleya is launching a new Spanish arm and has hired a Netflix exec to head it up, with the division marking the first scripted interest in the country for parent ITV Studios (ITVS).

Cattleya Producciones will specialise in the creation and production of drama for Spain and the global market, with its base in Madrid.

Suburra

The new label will be headed up by MD Arturo Díaz, who joins from Netflix where he had been director of Spanish-language originals for almost five years. His credits include Las Chicas De Cable, Élite and Memorias De Idhún in Spain, as well as Club de Cuervos in Mexico and Frontera Verde in Colombia.

Prior to Netflix, Diaz was head of content at Dynamo Producciones, a producer at Sangre Films and a development executive at NBCUniversal Media.

Italian oversight

The company will employ a Spanish-based team, with operations overseen by Cattleya’s founder and co-CEO Riccardo Tozzi, alongside co-CEOs Giovanni Stabilini and Marco Chimenz, plus Lisa Perrin, MD of international production at ITVS. The UK-based firm will distribute all drama internationally.

Diaz said: “Being at the forefront of the expansion of Spanish language storytelling to a global audience has been absolutely thrilling and everyday I see how many more avenues and possibilities there are for Spanish-speaking talent to work on series and films that impact Spain, Latin America, and the rest of the world.

Lisa Perrin

“Having ITV Studios and Cattleya as our companions in this journey, with their incredibly successful track record and network of contacts, unlocks even bigger opportunities for creators to tell their stories.”

Perrin added: “It’s long been ITV Studios ambition to work within the Spanish scripted market. Spain is renowned for its creativity and storytelling. It doesn’t get any better than launching this production company, Cattleya Producciones, with the dream team – Cattleya and Arturo and I’m looking forward to working on exciting new projects with them.”

Spanish drama has soared in popularity globally over the past five years, with Apple TV+ among those ordering local series in recent weeks. The demand has also prompted a flurry of activity on the production front, with France’s Newen Group yesterday acquiring a majority stake in Spain’s iZen Producciones, which is behind Amazon drama El Cid.