HBO Max Spain‘s non-scripted chief has outlined the recipe for the streamer’s local documentary slate, and addressed whether longer-running franchises are on the horizon.
During a busy session at the fifth annual Iberseries & Platino Industria, Bibiana González told a primarily producer-based audience that their pitches needed to have potential to generate national debate and conversation.
“You all know documentaries in Spain are very popular. Platforms are betting on this sector, as the audience has craved these types of stories,” she said. “We’re continuing to work with what pays and we seem to have been making the right choices. What we’re looking for in docs is [shows] between 3-5 episodes, because we believe thats a format that matches the platform better.
“The question we ask ourselves is what conversations will be generated in the press and society from the shows. When producers come along, we always ask, ‘How will this story transcend? What impact will it have on what generation? What conversation will it generate?’ We’re open to different genres around those lines.”
Gonzalez – who is Director, Content Networks & Streaming Non-Scripted Original Production at Warner Bros. Discovery Spain – pointed to the likes of Publio: The Never Ending Kidnapping, Sofía y la Vida Real and Los Topuria, the latter of which is a five-part behind-the-scenes look at Spanish-Georgian UFC champion Ilia Topuria, from production house Señor Mono.
González noted all her commissions were stories that had either happened in recent history or modern times, or had resonance with the current affairs of today. “As you can see, all the projects have a common solidarity,” she said.
“Local production is quite the differentiator for a local market,” continued González.. “The local flavor is absolutely apparent for every platform. Documentary production in our country is experiencing a very sweet, intense moment, with many platforms betting on high-quality documentaries, generally miniseries.”
González noted it had take “a little while to get started” and that early work around the commissioning strategy was a “struggle,” but said the response from both audiences and the industry means HBO Max Spain has “had a journey that we could describe as quite successful.”
The exec was later quizzed why HBO Max Spain had not yet leaned into any of its more successful docs or doc series and expanded them. “We still haven’t had time to make franchises, but the magic thing is you never know once you’ve launched a show [whether it could be expanded],” she responded.
HBO Max launched in Spain five years ago. It began with scripted orders for shows such as When Nobody Sees Us before pushing into unscripted and docs, the latter genre becoming a key driver locally.
Iberseries continues today in Madrid, Spain and runs through Friday (October 3).
The post HBO Max Spain Unscripted Boss Reveals The Questions That Drive Streamer’s Docs: “What Conversations Will Be Generated In Society?” – Iberseries appeared first on Deadline.
