The left re-arms itself on television

BarcelonaThe arrival of the last quarter of the season has led the different channels to put their bets on the table to try 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 reaction 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 next incorporations.

Aimar Bretos

Presenter in the evenings of the program Hora 25 on Cadena SER, from Grup 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 company and verifier founded by Ana Pastor. The journalist has not yet revealed many details about how he plans this television adventure, beyond emphasizing that he will seek journalistic rigor and that there will be interviews, but without them taking over 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 announce the premiere date imminently, as well as that of Giró's show.

José Luis Sastre

Also coming from Cadena SER, where he is the 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 be based on generating a debate on social and current issues, giving it the form of a judicial hearing, with initial arguments from the parties, testimonies, evidence, allegations, deliberations, and a final verdict by a popular jury made up 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 for double the reason – is the oldest of all. At 83 years old, Iñaki Gabilondo is taking on a program on La2 to publicize the history and expansion of the Spanish language. It is an eight-episode documentary series made in collaboration with the Cervantes Institute and the Royal Spanish Academy. 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, 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 Giró's path – and premieres this very Tuesday, after La revuelta, with Shakira as the star guest, with an interview recorded in Mexico. The format will be essentially the same, but longer and with a larger budget.

Jesús Cintora

The program Malas lenguas is achieving good audience results with its mixed formula, which starts on La2 and ends on La1 every afternoon. The Spanish public corporation has decided to reward its presenter, Jesús Cintora, and is commissioning 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, Andalusia's regional television, 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 in my best interest because it is a matter of principle,” he stated in an interview with eldiario.es. At the end of March, La1 announced that they had hired him to prepare his own project “from Andalusia to the world”, which would combine entertainment with reflection and opinion. It is therefore suggested that he could be the replacement for Andreu Buenafuente, if the Catalan comedian finally decides to take more time to recover.