The TV3 series that shows Barcelona as we've (almost) never seen it before
3Cat presents 'The Invisible Evil,' a thriller about a serial killer who kills homeless people during the pandemic.
Barcelona"There's a collective amnesia about everything that happened during the pandemic. We remember more what happened inside our homes than what happened outside," says Lluís Arcarazo during the presentation of his new series, The invisible evil, which arrives this Monday on TV3. The scriptwriter returns to the genre of thriller, who already played at the celebrated Night and day, written with Jordi Galceran, to talk about a case with a real-life tone: in Barcelona during the pandemic, a serial killer is dedicated to killing homeless people. Two police officers with very different personalities, Quique Molina and Marga Muñoz, played by David Verdaguer and Ángela Cervantes, are in charge of the investigation.
Just as Covid spread relentlessly, in the new TV3 series, evil also functions as an infection. "The idea of the series comes from wanting to counteract that inward gaze and direct attention outward, where you had an absolutely incredible situation, with a Barcelona like we've never seen before and that I hope we'll never see again. A devastated and empty Barcelona, where there were only ambulances to explain a story that was difficult for those who couldn't confine themselves, and the story of some people looking for a cure for that evil," Arcarazo summarizes.
The invisible evil It's based on genre clichés, such as two archetypal and opposite characters: the good cop who abides by the rules and the rebellious cop who ignores them. "They make a good pairing and complement each other on the job, but as the episodes progress, the viewer will see that she's not so plain. The series begins with certain clichés and then goes in more interesting directions," explains David Verdaguer, who plays Quique Molina, a police officer whose private life is falling apart.
When they look back on the pandemic, the two main actors' views are contrasting. Ángela Cervantes admits that in her case it was a "strangely sweet" moment—"I was in Barcelona, shooting my first film, and I was able to be confined with my parents," she says—while Verdaguer describes it as a "tough" experience. "I had a really bad time. On the one hand, I can't stand doing nothing, and on the other, we were locked up in a small apartment with a small child. It wasn't an easy time. I want to relive it, it was horrible," reflects Verdaguer.
Setting a series in Barcelona during the pandemic was a production headache, as the public spaces where it was filmed needed to be literally empty. "We had to film on weekends and at night. We also had to close off many streets. We needed no one to pass by. In terms of production, it was a challenge to portray this empty city, which is another character in the series," says Bernat Elias, producer of the series.
Toxic male characters
While the series works as a thriller Typically, fiction also contains high doses of social criticism. Apart from giving prominence to the homeless, who are usually neglected in fiction, The invisible evil It also highlights sexist violence both inside and outside the police force. One of the fiction's secondary plots is a case of sextortion that primarily affects Marga, although a man also appears in the sex tape. "The main victims of toxic masculinity are often men themselves. In this series, there aren't many deconstructed men," Arcarazo acknowledges.
For Cervantes, machismo also shapes her character's personality. "Unintentionally, sometimes women in positions of power imitate sexist dynamics and hurt themselves. Sometimes you have to keep quiet and comply, when that's not the case. This is what happens to Marga, partly out of fear for her future within the police force," the actress points out. For her part, Verdaguer, who defines her character as "the captain of toxic masculinity," celebrates that the series shows the reality of what many women encounter in the workplace. "Marga has a much harder time achieving things and has to prove herself 40,000 times more that she's capable. She lives in a sexist environment, where she's sexualized," she emphasizes.
On comparisons with Night and dayOriol Sala-Patau, head of TV3's fiction department, takes the pressure off and points out that the two series have little in common, beyond having the same team behind them (Arcarazo, TV3, and Mediapro). Bernat Elias corroborates his opinion: "The invisible evil It has its own identity, it is not a third season of Night and day".
