Spanish Female Showrunners Insights: Tatiana Rodriguez (TVE’s ‘La Ley Del Mar’)

Tatiana Rodriguez (Source: Roberto Garver)

Spanish scripted shows are finding new audiences around the world. In this new series of articles, TBI speaks to some of the showrunners behind the country’s most acclaimed series, starting today with Tatiana Rodriguez, who has recently wrapped La Ley Del Mar (aka The Law Of The Sea) for TVE.

We’ve seen streamers and broadcasters cutting spending around the world over the last year, how has this affected Spain’s scripted sector from your perspective?

The main thing it has created is uncertainty. We don’t really know what’s going to happen, or what the model is going to be, but we do know that for the time being we’re going to be producing less and cheaper, and we’re being asked to maintain quality. It´s becoming clear that everyone has stepped on the brakes.

There is less money and at the same time everything is more expensive, making it even harder to get projects off the ground while maintaining quality standards

Tell us about your latest show and what makes it unique.

La Ley Del Mar is a miniseries for TVE, based on real events, that tells the story of the first Spanish fishing boat that rescued a boat with 51 immigrants on board, 100 miles off the coast of Libya in 2006. It is unique in the way the humanity and everyday ‘epicness’ of the real-life characters permeated the fiction throughout the creative process. It’s one of those special projects where you know you have been privileged to tell something important.

If you could wish for one thing to change within the Spanish scripted industry, what would it be?

I would give more importance to the script and more time to all the processes. Also more relationship between script, direction and production departments, to really work together.

How have budgets changed over the past year and what are you expecting in 2024?

There is less money and at the same time everything is more expensive, making it even harder to get projects off the ground while maintaining quality standards. 2024 will be a weird year when the real picture of the sector will hopefully become clearer.

What do you expect the key trend to be in 2024 in terms of the types of shows being commissioned?
I think the focus is on free-to-air television. We thought it was dying, but not only was it not, but the platforms are also now seeing it as a reference.

What has been your favourite Spanish-language show of the past 12 months?
La Mesías, the series by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo for Movistar Plus+.

Tell us about one of your passion projects that you would love or make but which is yet to be greenlit.

A fantasy drama set in a village in northern Spain in the late 1960s, about the impact of the construction of a dam. How what seemed like the future ended up being how we used to live.

For those looking to learn more about the latest trends in Spanish scripted, check out the articles below:

Spanish Female Showrunners Insights: Laura Sarmiento (Netflix’s ‘El Cuerpo En llamas’)
Spanish Female Showrunners Insights: Gema R. Neira (Netflix’s ‘El Caso Asunta’)
Spanish Female Showrunners Insights: Amaya Muruzabal (Prime Video’s ‘Reina Roja’)