GLÓRIA, Netflix's first Portuguese original series!
Netflix has announced today the premiere of Gloria, a new original series produced by SPi and co-produced with RTP.
An original story by Pedro Lopes, directed by Tiago Guedes, Gloria will be shot in Ribatejo and Lisbon. The action takes place in the 60s, at the peak of the Cold War, in the small village of Glória do Ribatejo, where RARET, an American broadcasting center that broadcasts Western propaganda for the Eastern Bloc, is located. João Vidal, an engineer whose family is connected to the Estado Novo (Portuguese Dictatorship), but recruited by the KGB, will take on several high-risk espionage missions that could change the course of both Portuguese and world History
The series will feature Portuguese and international cast including Miguel Nunes, Carolina Amaral, Victoria Guerra, Afonso Pimentel, Adriano Luz, Joana Ribeiro, Marcelo Urgeghe, Sandra Faleiro, Carloto Cotta, Maria João Pinho, Inês Castel-Branco, Rafael Morais, and Leonor Silveira.
According to José Amaral, SPi's Executive Producer, "this is the path and the strategic vision of international expansion that we have been following. As producers, this moment also represents the beginning of a new cycle, for the Portuguese audiovisual market as it positions our country on the 'roadmap' of the major international productions that Netflix has been advocating, and to which we are privileged to be able to count on the participation of RTP, which has been a great partner in this international enterprise."
José Fragoso, Programming Director of RTP1 and RTP International, believes that "shooting for the series Gloria places Portuguese fiction series at a new level of quality and demand. With an undeniable international appeal, developed by the experienced and rigorous SP team, this series, directed by Tiago Guedes, will be the first Portuguese fictional project to count on Netflix's exceptional international production and distribution capacity. RTP, whose investment in series production is now a decisive element in the development of the sector, is proud to participate directly in this co-production, which is also a historic moment for audiovisual production in our country, alongside SP and Netflix."
Nuno Artur Silva, Secretary of State for Cinema, Audiovisual and Media: "I welcome the first co-production of a Portuguese production company with Netflix and I hope that this first series, which is supported by the Tourism, Cinema and Audiovisual Fund, will be followed by many other projects that will give visibility to the creativity of Portuguese writers, directors and producers, and give the country's cinema and audiovisual market a new dynamism."
Gloria is a historical spy thriller centered on RARET, the secret Free Broadcast Office. Set in the middle of Portugal in the 1960s, the series shows how Glória, a small village in Ribatejo, became an unlikely stage for the Cold War, where American and Soviet forces fought through dangerous sabotage maneuvers to gain control of Europe. At the center of this story is João Vidal, a young man from a family with ties to the Portuguese Fascist Regime, who is recruited by the KGB after becoming politicized in the Colonial War. João will find himself entangled in the intricate webs of the espionage game and will ultimately realize that whatever side he is on, the world, especially the espionage world, is never black and white.
About SPi
Production company dedicated to the development and production of international projects. Since its foundation, it has been participating in co-productions, especially with the Spanish market, celebrating strategic alliances and following the new emerging business models that are shaping a new production reality with the entry of new players/OTT's in the global audiovisual panorama. SPi belongs to the SP Televisão Group, founded in 2007 by a team and shareholder structure with over 25 years of experience in the Portuguese audiovisual market. SP Televisão is the reference of independent production companies in Portugal, responsible for the greatest successes of Portuguese fiction, recognized nationally and internationally.