Weiss & Morales: Detective Stories from the Canary Islands
This year, Germany’s Nadcon and Spain’s Portocabo joined forces to create a new crime procedural set on the Canary Islands for ZDF and RTVE. The detective stories with exotic flavor will make their debut on the TV screens next year with ZDF Studios already pitching the show to international buyers, starting this MIPCOM.
In this interview with TVBIZZ Magazine, executive producer Alfonso Blanco ‘Fosco’ talks about how his company started the partnership with the German co-producers, the advantages of shooting on the Canary Islands and why the show will attract the interest of viewers not only in Germany and Spain.
In this interview with TVBIZZ Magazine, executive producer Alfonso Blanco ‘Fosco’ talks about how his company started the partnership with the German co-producers, the advantages of shooting on the Canary Islands and why the show will attract the interest of viewers not only in Germany and Spain.
Alfonso Blanco ‘Fosco’
Weiss & Morales is a coproduction between pubcasters ZDF and RTVE, ZDF Studios and Nadcon in Germany and Portocabo in Spain, with the story of the crime procedural set on the Canary Islands. Tell us more about how the idea about the series was born and how long did it take to finalize the project?
The coproduction was born from an existing friendship between Peter Nadermann (Nadcon) and Alfonso Blanco (Portocabo), who were invested in producing an organic coproduction that would work well for both German and Spanish audiences. The German audience is fully invested in their crime stories, 90-minute closed cases procedurals, as a successful format on ZDF and in other European broadcasters, but practically non-existing on TVE. For ZDF the idea of opening the audience to soft crime, against exotically cinematic landscapes: a Southern noir, after exploiting dark winter crime stories, was warmly welcomed. The choice of the sun-soaked Canary Islands was clear from the beginning as an organic element of the coproduction. The extensive German community of stable residents on the Islands involved in businesses there, created the necessary environment for this series to make sense. This was also a great selling point for TVE, as having a series that could feature the Canary Islands, also allowed to uncover diverse and intriguing worlds, hidden away from the well-trodden touristic paths of the islands, for the mainland viewer.
The idea was clear from the beginning, to follow the financial structure already experienced with Portocabo’s previous coproduction Hierro (Movistar Plus+ and ARTE France), this time involving the two public broadcasters. The project had a long soft pre-production, bringing the concept of international co-production into the Spanish market is relatively new. But once everybody was comfortable with the model, everything moved forward quickly. The green light came in January 2024, the shooting took 15 weeks beginning in mid-April and it has been a wonderful experience for everybody, opening new possibilities for the future.
When will the series premiere in Spain and in Germany and have you already sold it to other countries? Have you considered further seasons?
The series is currently in post-production, the episodes will premiere in 2025 both in Spain and Germany, and we are currently working on a P&A campaign with presence in the main international markets and with both Spanish and international premieres.
Weiss & Morales stars Miguel Ángel Silvestre from Spain and Katia Fellin from Germany. Was it difficult to find the two leading actors and set up an international cast? Did the German and Spanish teams get along well, was there a major difference in the style of work of the two teams?
On the Spanish side of the cast, we had Miguel Ángel Silvester (Sense8, 30 Coins) in mind from the beginning, after Portocabo’s experience coproducing Campanella’s The Envoys we were both very happy to continue the collaboration. Finding Nina was a bit more of a challenge, as we needed somebody who could speak both German and Spanish fluently, but when Katia Fellin (Pagan Peak, Wild Republic) appeared, it was immediately clear we had the couple. Additional family characters fell into place very nicely. Nadcon were very keen on bringing Margarita Brioche, on board from the beginning who plays Margarethe, a wonderful mother for Nina Weiss. Margarita and Thomas Heinze as the German consul, make a fantastic couple. Marian Hernández was perfect as Raúl’s wife, with renown Juanjo Puigcorbé as his father-in-law added to Raúl’s domestic struggles. Casting the Canary Island actors was easy, as we had worked before with excellent actors many of whom were also German speaking like Yaiza Guimaré, Mónica López or Luífer Rodríguez, followed by Saulo Trujillo and Tanía Santana.
The opportunity of having a German and Spanish team was a wonderful and enriching experience, particularly on the Canary Islands where the German imprint is so embedded into the culture. And the confidence the team had in each other’s work created a positive synergy surrounding the production that made it run rather smoothly. With regards to communication, with many Canary Island members of the team speaking fluent German or English, there wasn’t an issue.
Weiss & Morales revolves around the story of two investigators, Spanish Civil Guard sergeant Raúl Morales (Silvestre) and German BKA agent Nina Weiss (Fellin) who find themselves compelled to work together. Is the story entirely fictional or based on real cases and what are the classic elements of the crime genre reformulated to meet the current standards of premium TV dramas?
Although the idea of an international team of investigators, is not new, it’s based on how the police forces from different countries in the Schengen Space, work together. The singularity of Weiss & Morales is the organic element of this sun-soaked soft crime proposal: the Canary Islands, with its international German-Spanish community that grounds the storyline to an existing reality. Choosing a place where over 30 thousand German citizens have set up residence, was the premise that makes it stand apart. Although the cases depicted in the series are not based on true crime, the environments are all existing. Research showed a thriving development model, a community of mixed German-Spanish workers involved in fields like technology, science, sports and services, as a key element of how the Canary Islands are moving into the future.
It highlights cases in which normal people make bad choices, things get out of hand and end up involved in crime, much like most true crime cases. The series gravitates far from psych killers or dark intended crimes, turning towards the simplicity of small communities, where everybody knows each other, and rather than delving into the science of procedurals, Weiss & Morales explores the understanding of human nature and what feels right, as a way of following leads to solve the crime.
What helps Weiss & Morales stand out in today’s over-saturated content world and what will viewers in Europe and abroad like the most about the new production?
Weiss & Morales as an organic coproduction highlights the cultural differences that lead to a complementarity present in the characters. The series explores topics like relationships and trust, delving on how confidence can be undermined when secrets play a part. The theme crosses through the protagonists’ relationship and in each of their own private lines, where fear of judgement, internal conflicts like guilt or self-doubt can undermine trust, ruining a relationship. For Nina Weiss a secret opens an identity crisis, launching her in search for the truth, having to overcome a stagnant relationship with her mother. For Morales, unaware of the timebomb affecting his relationship with his wife, his struggle will undergo a turmoil of emotions when the lines that divides his private life and the investigation begin to blur.
Shooting series as coproductions is one of the trends on the European TV market. Was setting up the financing and all the necessary details for the series with so many partners a challenge for you and did you use any incentives from Germany and Spain?
Weiss & Morales alongside being an organic coproduction from the content perspective, created by a team from both territories, has another singularity: its financial structure. TVE is fully invested in coproducing European drama series, and this project matched that interest of opening a new line of production. On the other side, ZDF was also an initial accomplice to the financing model and the project. The principal difference in this model is that it allows the producer to retain IP, a normal circumstance in other European territories, but not so frequent in the Spanish market. Retaining the IP allows the producers (Portocabo and Nadcon) to contribute an important part of the financing, through tax schemes and public subsidiaries. The cherry of the cake was having the distribution on board, with ZDF Studios as a partner. This coproduction model increases the creative capacity, reduces risk for each partner and allows for more ambitious productions.
Do you believe Weiss & Morales will pave the way for more German-Spanish coproductions in the future and have you considered shooting other fiction projects together?
We trust that Weiss & Morales will consolidate the coproduction model between Spain and Germany. In regard to the experience for all sides, we are absolutely excited to continue codeveloping and coproducing with our current partners.
The coproduction was born from an existing friendship between Peter Nadermann (Nadcon) and Alfonso Blanco (Portocabo), who were invested in producing an organic coproduction that would work well for both German and Spanish audiences. The German audience is fully invested in their crime stories, 90-minute closed cases procedurals, as a successful format on ZDF and in other European broadcasters, but practically non-existing on TVE. For ZDF the idea of opening the audience to soft crime, against exotically cinematic landscapes: a Southern noir, after exploiting dark winter crime stories, was warmly welcomed. The choice of the sun-soaked Canary Islands was clear from the beginning as an organic element of the coproduction. The extensive German community of stable residents on the Islands involved in businesses there, created the necessary environment for this series to make sense. This was also a great selling point for TVE, as having a series that could feature the Canary Islands, also allowed to uncover diverse and intriguing worlds, hidden away from the well-trodden touristic paths of the islands, for the mainland viewer.
The idea was clear from the beginning, to follow the financial structure already experienced with Portocabo’s previous coproduction Hierro (Movistar Plus+ and ARTE France), this time involving the two public broadcasters. The project had a long soft pre-production, bringing the concept of international co-production into the Spanish market is relatively new. But once everybody was comfortable with the model, everything moved forward quickly. The green light came in January 2024, the shooting took 15 weeks beginning in mid-April and it has been a wonderful experience for everybody, opening new possibilities for the future.
When will the series premiere in Spain and in Germany and have you already sold it to other countries? Have you considered further seasons?
The series is currently in post-production, the episodes will premiere in 2025 both in Spain and Germany, and we are currently working on a P&A campaign with presence in the main international markets and with both Spanish and international premieres.
Weiss & Morales stars Miguel Ángel Silvestre from Spain and Katia Fellin from Germany. Was it difficult to find the two leading actors and set up an international cast? Did the German and Spanish teams get along well, was there a major difference in the style of work of the two teams?
On the Spanish side of the cast, we had Miguel Ángel Silvester (Sense8, 30 Coins) in mind from the beginning, after Portocabo’s experience coproducing Campanella’s The Envoys we were both very happy to continue the collaboration. Finding Nina was a bit more of a challenge, as we needed somebody who could speak both German and Spanish fluently, but when Katia Fellin (Pagan Peak, Wild Republic) appeared, it was immediately clear we had the couple. Additional family characters fell into place very nicely. Nadcon were very keen on bringing Margarita Brioche, on board from the beginning who plays Margarethe, a wonderful mother for Nina Weiss. Margarita and Thomas Heinze as the German consul, make a fantastic couple. Marian Hernández was perfect as Raúl’s wife, with renown Juanjo Puigcorbé as his father-in-law added to Raúl’s domestic struggles. Casting the Canary Island actors was easy, as we had worked before with excellent actors many of whom were also German speaking like Yaiza Guimaré, Mónica López or Luífer Rodríguez, followed by Saulo Trujillo and Tanía Santana.
The opportunity of having a German and Spanish team was a wonderful and enriching experience, particularly on the Canary Islands where the German imprint is so embedded into the culture. And the confidence the team had in each other’s work created a positive synergy surrounding the production that made it run rather smoothly. With regards to communication, with many Canary Island members of the team speaking fluent German or English, there wasn’t an issue.
Weiss & Morales revolves around the story of two investigators, Spanish Civil Guard sergeant Raúl Morales (Silvestre) and German BKA agent Nina Weiss (Fellin) who find themselves compelled to work together. Is the story entirely fictional or based on real cases and what are the classic elements of the crime genre reformulated to meet the current standards of premium TV dramas?
Although the idea of an international team of investigators, is not new, it’s based on how the police forces from different countries in the Schengen Space, work together. The singularity of Weiss & Morales is the organic element of this sun-soaked soft crime proposal: the Canary Islands, with its international German-Spanish community that grounds the storyline to an existing reality. Choosing a place where over 30 thousand German citizens have set up residence, was the premise that makes it stand apart. Although the cases depicted in the series are not based on true crime, the environments are all existing. Research showed a thriving development model, a community of mixed German-Spanish workers involved in fields like technology, science, sports and services, as a key element of how the Canary Islands are moving into the future.
It highlights cases in which normal people make bad choices, things get out of hand and end up involved in crime, much like most true crime cases. The series gravitates far from psych killers or dark intended crimes, turning towards the simplicity of small communities, where everybody knows each other, and rather than delving into the science of procedurals, Weiss & Morales explores the understanding of human nature and what feels right, as a way of following leads to solve the crime.
What helps Weiss & Morales stand out in today’s over-saturated content world and what will viewers in Europe and abroad like the most about the new production?
Weiss & Morales as an organic coproduction highlights the cultural differences that lead to a complementarity present in the characters. The series explores topics like relationships and trust, delving on how confidence can be undermined when secrets play a part. The theme crosses through the protagonists’ relationship and in each of their own private lines, where fear of judgement, internal conflicts like guilt or self-doubt can undermine trust, ruining a relationship. For Nina Weiss a secret opens an identity crisis, launching her in search for the truth, having to overcome a stagnant relationship with her mother. For Morales, unaware of the timebomb affecting his relationship with his wife, his struggle will undergo a turmoil of emotions when the lines that divides his private life and the investigation begin to blur.
Shooting series as coproductions is one of the trends on the European TV market. Was setting up the financing and all the necessary details for the series with so many partners a challenge for you and did you use any incentives from Germany and Spain?
Weiss & Morales alongside being an organic coproduction from the content perspective, created by a team from both territories, has another singularity: its financial structure. TVE is fully invested in coproducing European drama series, and this project matched that interest of opening a new line of production. On the other side, ZDF was also an initial accomplice to the financing model and the project. The principal difference in this model is that it allows the producer to retain IP, a normal circumstance in other European territories, but not so frequent in the Spanish market. Retaining the IP allows the producers (Portocabo and Nadcon) to contribute an important part of the financing, through tax schemes and public subsidiaries. The cherry of the cake was having the distribution on board, with ZDF Studios as a partner. This coproduction model increases the creative capacity, reduces risk for each partner and allows for more ambitious productions.
Do you believe Weiss & Morales will pave the way for more German-Spanish coproductions in the future and have you considered shooting other fiction projects together?
We trust that Weiss & Morales will consolidate the coproduction model between Spain and Germany. In regard to the experience for all sides, we are absolutely excited to continue codeveloping and coproducing with our current partners.
