A step forward for Betevé in series production. Barcelona's public television premieres this Sunday Episòdic, an anthology that will adapt various Catalan theatrical and literary works. Although Betevé had already made forays into self-produced fiction, the new proposal is presented as a major project that aims to support new generations in the audiovisual industry. In fact, one of the distinctive elements of Episòdic is that it has been created, directed, and filmed by 38 undergraduate and master's students from various universities and film schools in Barcelona.

Canadian actress Carrie-Anne Moss became known around the world for the role of Trinity in the Matrix saga. The performer is promoting her latest project, the mystery series Yaga (HBO Max), and during interviews with different media outlets she has recalled her close bond with Catalonia and, more specifically, with Sitges. Before dedicating herself to acting, Moss worked as a model and it was during that stage that she settled in the Garraf municipality. The 59-year-old actress asserts that Sitges is one of her favorite places in the world.

Horror does not always need a monster hiding in the dark. Sometimes an apparently normal house, a gated community, or a family carrying secrets is enough. Over the decades, series have explored these possibilities and turned fear into a resource to talk about both what we do not know and what is too familiar to us. The genre has gone through ghost stories, alien invasions, killers, and supernatural creatures, but it has also found new ways to unsettle the viewer in trauma, grief, and social violence.

After a very intense October regarding series, November arrives more moderate, although also with some notable titles. Among the proposals that attract the most attention is the premiere, after years of waiting, of the series from the Blade runner universe. And although we have not included it in the list, the second part of the second season of Rivals.

On Monday, TV3 premiered In vitro, a series that takes place in a fertility clinic. An innovative idea that, inevitably, forces a balance between comedy and drama. On one hand, the humor typical of work environments and everything related to sex and the intimacy of a couple, and on the other, the suffering that surrounds the difficulties of conceiving a child. Added to this are the human miseries surrounding expectations about offspring and the female universe in complex hormonal situations. A common aspect in many contemporary fictions also emerges: the normalization of an immaturity and infantilization of the characters that enhances the drama of any circumstance, however insubstantial it may be. All in all, a very fertile context for building fiction. In vitro asks, or rather, begs the viewer for a good dose of condescension regarding plausibility. One thing is the reality of reproductive processes and another, very different, is for the characters' actions to be hardly credible: a researcher tricking music students into donating eggs that will satisfy a pianist's longings, or a devoted wife trying to put her husband's semen into a jar, without him noticing, with a furtive straw in his law office. Fried eggs and bananas will become symbolic elements to enhance this zygotic breeding ground. zygotic.

Assisted reproduction, the limits of science, and social expectations surrounding motherhood are some of the topics addressed by In vitro, the new series from 3Cat and HBO Max. The production, created by Alejandra Guimerà and Marc Crehuet, premieres this Monday, October 19, on TV3, on the 3Cat platform, and on HBO Max, coinciding with the opening of the Serielizados Fest. Starring Bruna Cusí and David Verdaguer, the fiction explores the experiences of people who turn to fertility treatments and the professionals who accompany them.

Barcelona will host a new edition of the Serielizados Fest from October 19th to 28th, the festival dedicated to series that combines premieres, screenings, meetings with creators, and professional activities. This year's programming connects Catalan fiction with productions from the rest of the country and international titles, in addition to recovering series that have marked the history of television. Among the program's highlights are the premiere of In vitro, the screening of Sicarios, the new production by Carles Porta, and the tribute to the thirty years of Nissaga de poder. The festival will also feature the presence of British screenwriter Steven Moffat (Sherlock and Doctor Who) and Israeli creator Hagai Levi (The affair and In treatment).

At a time when series consumption is dominated by streaming platforms and audiences are highly fragmented, achieving a fiction that attracts a large volume of viewers can be an impossible mission. The BBC, the British television broadcaster, seems to have hit the mark with Ludwig, a gentle mystery that with its second season has become the most-watched fiction in the United Kingdom since the beginning of the year. According to the BBC, the first episode of the season has accumulated 9.1 million viewers in its first 28 days of availability. In Spain, Ludwig can be watched on Movistar Plus+, which premieres the second installment this Thursday, October 15.

Autumn has always been a marked point on the calendar regarding animation. Once we leave the summer heat behind, animation studios take advantage of the falling leaves to present their most anticipated productions of the year. A season marked by seinen anime, that is, those aimed at a more adult and mature audience. Although animation dubbing in Catalan seems to be slowly starting to return, we will have to resign ourselves to the Catalan subtitles available on Netflix. Apart from this platform, many of the proposals this month will be available on Crunchyroll, the main streaming service dedicated to Japanese animation.

Laia Marull (Barcelona, 1973) is rarely seen on television, the medium that kicked off her career with the series Estació d'enllaç. After having only made sporadic appearances in recent years, she now premieres El castillo, a Movistar Plus+ fiction in which she plays a police officer who, in the mid-90s and early 2000s, investigates the criminal and economic network of human trafficking. It is a raw and exhaustive series, which we discuss during a meeting in Barceloneta, the actress's neighborhood for decades.

October will be a month with plenty of series to choose from. After running at half speed during the summer, platforms are hitting the accelerator and taking advantage of these weeks to launch some of their most ambitious proposals. This month will be marked by new versions of titles that have already had a previous life on screen, as well as various British productions. Catalan fiction will also carve out a space for itself.

Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson have been best friends for nearly thirty years. They met in the late 90s, when they both coincided in the film EdTV, where they played a pair of brothers. After that film, they worked together twice more: in 2008 in Surfer, Dude and in 2014 in True Detective, a series that was a critical success. The two actors are nine years apart – Harrelson is the older one – and both were born in Texas. For years, however, a question has hovered over both actors: could it be that, besides being best friends, they were also brothers? This mystery, based on a real suspicion, is at the origin of the couple's new television project, Brothers, which premieres this Wednesday on Apple TV.

Since streaming platforms appeared, the range of series available to us is greater than ever. At the same time, the waiting time between one season and another is becoming longer. This gap is starting to have an impact on viewing data, according to a study by the data company Luminate, which analyzes cultural consumption. A wait of at least a year and a half translates into a considerable loss of viewers.

On Monday night into Tuesday we will find out which are the most outstanding series of the year with the presentation of the Emmy Awards, which will hold their 78th edition in Los Angeles. The candidates to take home awards are fictions that in most cases already have a track record, but there is also some newcomer, such as The Curse of Widow's Bay, one of the surprises of this year. But before knowing which fictions are crowned, let's review five key names to keep in mind before the awards celebration.

With a long weekend ahead there is time to do many things, also to start watching those series that we have stored in the pantry because we haven't been able to get to them yet. We select five thrillers that have been released relatively recently and that guarantee a dose of adrenaline.

[Each summer, ARA dedicates a series of Sunday Media articles to reviewing television history. This year we are rescuing some of the most notable channel changes experienced by historical fiction].

Returning to routine after the holidays is lighter when we have entertainment to accompany the ordeal. The course kicks off with many British productions spread across different platforms. The offer includes premiere series and also new seasons of already known titles.

The week ahead, with Jordi Garrigós

Some of the things we hope not to miss in the next seven days

I will listen to Charli XCX's new album. Music, fashion, film is the eighth album by the British pop star and a new, more rock-oriented turn in her prolific career. After dominating with the Brat summer, Charli Aitchison abandons green and embraces black and white to remain almost the only singer of her generation who plays with the mainstream while navigating the margins and experimentation. A singer who is living her particular artistic zenith, having more fun than anyone.

Ever since its television debut in August 2020, Ted Lasso has earned the title of fiction's most beloved football coach. The protagonist of the eponymous Apple TV comedy, created by and starring Jason Sudeikis, is the archetype of the good guy who strives to make everyone around him happy, sometimes even forgetting himself a little. After a three-year absence, Ted Lasso, the quintessential good feelings series, returns this Wednesday with a new season that marks a renewal of the plot and characters.

August is not a thrilling month when it comes to series premieres, but the few fictions that land on the platforms have a clear objective: to entertain without making us think too much. The calendar includes some new releases but also the return of already known titles.