GLORIA Alert

From today the 10 episodes of Netflix's first original Portuguese series are available. Named GLORIA, this is a historical suspense and espionage series set in the middle of 1960s Portugal, set in the small village of Glória do Ribatejo, which turned out to be an unlikely Cold War stage, where American and Soviet forces fought to gain control of Europe.

Produced by SPi and with a script by Pedro Lopes, Tiago Guedes was in charge of directing, for whom GLORIA represents a very special moment. "First, because it introduced me to a world and a reality that I was unaware of until now, such as the existence of RARET in Glória do Ribatejo and the importance of its role during the Cold War," he begins by saying, adding, "Then, because it is the first time Portugal has created and produced a Netflix content, an important milestone for the Portuguese market that thus conquers a place in this very important global showcase. And lastly, because it showed me the resilience, will and professionalism of an entire team and cast, who never dropped their arms during the global pandemic that was shaking the entire World, still without vaccines.”

For his part, the author assures us that writing GLORIA was stimulating on several levels. "The writing was a research challenge for all the scriptwriters and filming during the pandemic was only possible thanks to a very special team. No other Portuguese series has had such great production values, and I'm sure we made a different, original project, with an agile and surprising narrative, truly cinematographic photography, and a direction with great sensitivity. As for the cast, I'm sure they'll be the talk of the town internationally", says Pedro Lopes.

At the centre of GLORIA's story is the character João Vidal, played by the actor Miguel Nunes, a young man from a family with links to the Portuguese Fascist Regime, who is recruited by the KGB after becoming politicised in the Colonial War. João will find himself caught up in the intricate webs of the espionage game and will ultimately realise that, whatever side he's on, the world, especially that of espionage, is never black and white.