The left re-arms on television

BarcelonaThe arrival of the last quarter of the season has led different channels to question their bets in order to round off their audiences. Two of the channels where more movements are observed are La Sexta and La1, both with a more openly progressive tendency. The signing of Marc Giró by the Atresmedia group –to present a late night show titled Cara al show– has caused a chain effect and there are already half a dozen professionals identified with progressive positions who will premiere a program in the coming weeks. These are some of the upcoming additions.

Aimar Bretos

Host on the afternoons of the program Hora 25 on Cadena SER, part of Grupo PRISA, Aimar Bretos will now have a television window on La Sexta. La noche de Aimar will be broadcast in prime time and under the production of Newtral, the production and verification company founded by Ana Pastor. The journalist has not yet revealed many details about how he plans this television adventure, beyond emphasizing that it will seek journalistic rigor and interviews, but without them overshadowing the rest of the program. It will be a format less tied to current events than the radio program and with good doses of emotion, without exploiting sentimentality. The network will imminently announce the premiere date, as well as that of Giró's show.

José Luis Sastre

Also coming from Cadena SER, where he is second-in-command of the morning magazine Hoy por hoy, in this case he has signed with La1 to present El juicio, also in prime time. This format is reminiscent of Tribunal popular and will focus on generating a debate on social and current affairs, shaping it as a judicial hearing, with initial arguments from the parties, testimonies, evidence, pleas, deliberations, and a final verdict by a popular jury of nine citizens. Ana Pardo de Vera and Montserrat Nebrera will be the two lawyers who will complete the trio of presenters. There is no premiere date either, but promotions have already begun to be broadcast on La1, so it will be a matter of a few days.

Iñaki Gabilondo

The third of the names historically linked to SER who will premiere a television program – and doubly so – is the most veteran of them all. At 83 years old, Iñaki Gabilondo is taking on a program on La2 to disseminate the history and expansion of the Spanish language. It is an eight-episode documentary series made in collaboration with the Instituto Cervantes and the Real Academia Española. This is complemented by another docuseries, this one of four episodes, dedicated to the republican exile after the Civil War, in this case accompanied by the actress Alba Flores.

Henar Álvarez

The departure of Marc Giró from La1 –and the absence of Andreu Buenafuente– has forced the network chaired by José Pablo López to shake up its roster of comedians. After Dani Rovira's failed experience with Al margen de todo, which was canceled in March due to low ratings after only three broadcasts, it will now be Henar Álvarez who will try to fill Giró's void. Her program moves from Sundays on La2 to Tuesdays on La1 –following in Giró's footsteps– and premieres this Tuesday, after La revuelta, with Shakira as the star guest, featuring an interview recorded in Mexico. The format will essentially be the same, but longer and with a larger budget.

Jesus Cintora

The program Malas lenguas is yielding good audience results with its mixed formula, which starts on La2 and ends on La1 each afternoon. The Spanish public corporation has decided to reward its presenter, Jesús Cintora, and has commissioned him a weekly show on La2, with a different production team. This new venture will occupy the Saturday night slot on the schedule, after several unsuccessful attempts, and will seek direct competition with LaSexta Xplica, with a format reminiscent of La noria, the classic Telecinco program presented by Jordi González. Pending final confirmation, work was underway to premiere it this Saturday, April 11.

Manu Sánchez

Comedian, presenter, actor, director, producer, and businessman, Manu Sánchez is one of the most popular faces on Canal Sur, the regional television of Andalusia, where he has hosted programs such as Tierra de talento or La semana más larga. His style is based on delivering a fast-paced monologue, with a political background and Andalusian vindication. “I am left-wing because I believe in the fair distribution of wealth, even though I am a businessman. I vote for what is not convenient for me because it is a matter of principles”, he declared in an interview to eldiario.es. At the end of March, La1 announced that they had hired him to prepare some of his own projects “ from Andalusia to the world”, where entertainment would be combined with reflection and opinion. It is therefore suggested that he could be the successor to Andreu Buenafuente, if the Catalan comedian finally decides to take more time to recover.