Mercedes Ron’s ‘Fault’ Franchise Initially Felt “Impossible” to Make, Banijay Producer Recalls

What do producers need to succeed in a global and competitive industry in the streaming age? That has been a recurring theme this week during the sixth edition of Iberseries & Platino Industria in the Spanish capital, Madrid. And it was a topic that came up during a panel entitled “Inside Banijay’s Scripted Strategy: The Engine Behind Global IP.” The recipes that creatives gave included authenticity, passion, and even obscurity. Simone Oliviera, development & new business director at Banijay’s Brazil banner A Fábrica, was asked how she and her team make globally appealing programming. Her take: “Beauthentic to your country to be universal.” After a reel showed off such diverse programming from her company’s portfolio as Desperate Lives,Double Dad, Airplane Mode and My Life on Mars, she also highlighted: “It is good to work with different projects and partners, which also helps to be more global.” Just around the time of the panel discussion, Banijay unveiled that an adaptation of Raphael Montes’ Uma Mulher No Escuro (A Woman in the Dark) has been greenlit for Brazil’s Globoplay, with the production being led by A Fábrica. It is being developed in partnership with the author’s development studio Casa Montes. Steve Matthews, head of scripted, creative at Banijay Entertainment, emphasized that there is no abstract formula for creating global hits. “If you say you’ll do a commercial show, it won’t be good and it won’t be commercial,” he said, drawing laughter from the Iberseries crowd. “Trends will change by the time you make what people tell you they want. You better love it before you start.” Love and passion is also what drives Banijay’s Spanish label Pokeepsie Films, CEO Carolina Bang told the panel. With such young-adult romance hits as bestseller author Mercedes Ron’s Fault (Culpables) franchise and the recently launched Drawn Together, all for Prime Video, passion has actually been a key ingredient of success both on and off screen. “We only do what we love and believe in,” Bang emphasized, in explaining how Pokeepsie has gone from being known for its black comedies and horror stories to becoming a purveyor of “the House of Ron.” She first felt the love for Fault from her kids before becoming a fan herself. But she wasn’t sure anyone would greenlight films based on the popular books. “In this case, we moved into young adult, and now, everybody says that it is so clever to do young adult. Everybody is doing young adult, but five years ago, it was impossible. I spent three years trying to sell [it]. Nobody wanted it at the very beginning – really.” But she did find a platform whose appetite and interest aligned with Pokeepsie’s. “I was so lucky to find out that the Amazon crew [was looking for] the kind of movie that we had in mind,” Bang concluded. “It’s not very common for these kinds of things to happen.” Maria Grazia Vairo, director of content at Banijay’s Italian producer Groenlandia, echoed that sentiment, saying that especially series need a commissioner believing in a producer and creative’s vision. “Nothing’s a slam dunk,” she emphasized.Her label, known for such hits as Motor Valley, Lidia Poët and Macho Men, has produced for the likes of Netflix, Sky, Disney+. “The main thing is story,” she shared. “What [streamers] are looking for are original stories.”Her team has developed a reputation for telling stories of real people or characters who are based on real people. And they don’t need to be famous kings and emperors or global icons. “They are not famous people but obscure in history,” she noted. Case in point: Someone Killed Spiderman – Accidentally Famous, a drama series set in the 1980s and inspired by the real-life origins of the Italian band 883, which proved so popular that its season 2 is on its way. Tuesday’s conference day saw creators of series that address far-right politics, the climate crisis and more discuss whether great dramas can change the world. And Mediawan executives shared insights on their strategy and focus, including such hits as F1: The Movie, Slow Horses and Call My Agent! On Monday, Iberseries saw Amazon MGM Studios executives discuss the success of the Mercedes Ron young adult novel adaptations and Spanish zombie horror film Apocalypse Z, while Parrot Analytics shared data trends and estimates for the subscriber impact of Netflix’s Argentina hit series The Eternaut. And a YouTube top executive predicted more Obsession– and Backrooms-style film hits from online creators.