Life on Mars Heads to Spain

LONDON, February 28: BBC
Worldwide has completed its first-ever sale of a scripted format in Spain with
its hit series Life on Mars.

Antena 3 licensed the
format to produce eight episodes, and has already shortlisted three independent
Spanish production companies to make the series. BBC Worldwide’s international
formats team will executive produce the series with input from Kudos, the
program’s original makers.

The Spanish version will
be set in post-Franco Madrid in the late 1970s, which is when women were first
allowed into the Spanish police force. The series follows a crime-fighting duo
with different opinions, backgrounds and eras in time. The show is set to air
in the channel’s prime-time slot next year.

Mercedes Gamero, the head
of acquisitions at Antena 3, said: “I am delighted to announce that we will be
making a Spanish version of the wonderfully original Life on Mars series. We expect the unique twist on the
traditional police drama will be very popular in Spain and we are looking
forward to recreating the success it has had in the U.K.”

Claudia Danser, the head
of Iberia at BBC Worldwide, added: “This is a very exciting deal for us, not
only because it is the first scripted-format sale in this territory, but also
because it signals a move into local drama series. These are some of the
highest-rating programs on Spanish television and Worldwide’s expansion into
this area shows its continuing growth in Iberia.”

—By Kristin
Brzoznowski