HBO Max is developing a Spanish drama series inspired by Tor, a tiny village in the Catalan Pyrenees that has become a true-crime fixation because of a history of unsolved deaths. The untitled project comes from Suma Content, the production company run by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi — the duo known as Los Javis — who will executive produce. Fran Araújo and Eduard Sola are attached as screenwriters, with journalist Carles Porta and Luminol Media collaborating.
For media planners and entertainment marketers, the announcement matters less for any release timing than for what it says about HBO Max’s local original strategy. The development stage means there is no premiere date yet; the next hard data point is whether the platform converts the project into a full series order.
Why this matters for HBO Max’s local slate
Guillermo Farré, head of local original production at HBO Max in Spain, said the project brings together “some of the most exciting creative voices working in Spain today.” He added that it has “all the elements of a powerful HBO drama.” Local originals have become a retention and acquisition lever in competitive European markets, and Spain is a key battleground for prestige Spanish-language drama. A commission anchored by Los Javis gives the platform a project with built-in cultural standing, not just a true-crime case file.
True crime continues to be a reliable attention driver, but it is also highly fragmented. For a platform, a recognizable creative team and a distinct visual identity matter more than the case itself. That is the bet here: the project uses an existing true-crime following around Tor as the entry point, then leans on Los Javis to deliver a premium, character-driven drama.
A true-crime pitch built around place, not just procedure
The creators are not positioning this as standard true crime. In a joint statement, Calvo and Ambrossi said they want to make a series in which “nature, landscapes and spaces are protagonists in their own right,” while preserving character voices across decades and wrapping them in what they called “an addictive narrative.” That phrasing is a creative strategy: in a crowded genre, the point of difference is atmosphere, geography and long-form character drama.
The package combines several assets:
- A true-crime premise rooted in the unsolved events and legends surrounding Tor.
- Prestige television credentials from Los Javis after La Mesías and La bola negra.
- Screenwriting by Fran Araújo and Eduard Sola, known for character-driven Spanish drama.
- Journalistic grounding from Carles Porta and Luminol Media.
What to do with it now
Media teams should treat this as an early positioning signal, not a launch announcement. The useful actions are to monitor whether HBO Max moves the project to a full greenlight and to watch how the Spanish slate is marketed if it does. The framing also offers a transferable lesson: a saturated genre can be re-cut by shifting the protagonist from the crime to the location itself, then letting the setting shape tone and pacing.
If HBO Max greenlights the series, expect marketing to foreground isolation, landscape and long timelines rather than crime-scene reconstruction. For brands and media buyers, that is a useful read on how Spanish premium drama is being positioned to stand apart.
Source: C21media
