PRODUCTION / FUNDING Spain / USA
Shooting begins for El refugio atómico, the new Netflix series by Álex Pina and Esther Martínez Lobato
- The brains behind Money Heist, Sky Rojo and Berlin have called on the talents of a cast toplined by Miren Ibarguren, Joaquín Furriel, Natalia Verbeke and Carlos Santos
Filming has been under way since Monday 5 February for El refugio atómico (lit. “The Nuclear Shelter”), the new series created by Álex Pina and Esther Martínez Lobato, the brains behind Netflix smash hits such as Money Heist, Sky Rojo and the recently released Berlin. Across its eight one-hour episodes, it tells of how World War III is about to break out and a group of multi-millionaires takes refuge in a luxury bunker, called Kimera Underground Park.
From within its walls, they will watch as a bewildering spectacle unfolds on various screens and the world they once knew comes crashing down above their heads. And while the situation outside becomes ever more terrifying, they will make the most of their exclusive city, complete with a basketball court, restaurant, zen garden, cocktail bar, shrink’s couch, gym and spa. That is what their privilege will boil down to: just like in the reality TV show Big Brother, they will gradually get accustomed to living (together) in a luxurious hellhole located in a subterranean universe full of enigmas, a place where the unfinished business of two families afflicted by a wound from the past will erupt.
The inhabitants of this shelter are played by Miren Ibarguren (whom we saw recently in the series You Shall Not Lie [+see also:
trailer
series profile], and in films such as Phenomena and My Father’s Mexican Wedding [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), Joaquín Furriel (an Argentinian actor who has appeared in European flicks of the likes of The Year of Fury [+see also:
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interview: Rafa Russo
film profile] and Enterrados [+see also:
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film profile]), Natalia Verbeke (also in the series You Shall Not Lie), Carlos Santos (Goya Award for Best New Actor for Smoke & Mirrors [+see also:
film review
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interview: Alberto Rodríguez
film profile], glimpsed last year in Mi otro Jon and De perdidos a Río [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), Montse Guallar, big-screen debutant Pau Simon, Alicia Falcó, Agustina Bisio and Álex Villazón.
These thesps will be directed by Jesús Colmenar (who has helmed various episodes of Money Heist and Sky Rojo), David Barrocal (also behind Sky Rojo and Berlin) and Mexico’s José Manuel Cravioto (the Mexican series El colapso). The screenplays have been penned by Álex Pina, Esther Martínez Lobato, David Barrocal, David Oliva, Lorena G Maldonado and Humberto Ortega.
El refugio atómico is a production by Vancouver Media (Álex Pina’s company) for Netflix. The series will be aired imminently, all over the world, on Netflix and will only be available on that platform.
(Translated from Spanish)
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