''¡García!'' (or ''García!'') is a Spanish television series based on the graphic novel by Santiago García and Luis Bustos. Created by Sara Antuña and Carlos de Pando for

HBO Max Max (known in other countries as, and soon to be reverted globally to HBO Max) is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. It is a proprietary unit of Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming on behalf of Home Box Of ...

, it stars Francisco Ortiz and

Veki Velilla Verónica del Sol González Velilla (born 3 September 1995), better known as Veki Velilla, is a Spanish actress. Life and career Valilla was born in Madrid in 1995. She initially attended university to study education science, but dropped out ...

. Eugenio Mira directed the 6 episodes.

Premise

Set in a version of current-day Spain on the verge of

societal collapse Societal collapse (also known as civilizational collapse or systems collapse) is the fall of a complex human society characterized by the loss of cultural identity and of social complexity as an Complex adaptive system, adaptive system, the downf ...

, the fiction follows Antonia, a reporter who accidentally unravels a decades-old plot concerning a super-agent created in the 1950s by the Francoist secret services, García, who was subsequently cryogenized. The latter, defrosted by Antonia, finds himself dazed and confused in current-day Spain.

Cast

Production

Created and written by Sara Antuña and Carlos de Pando (showrunners of '' The Neighbor''), ''¡García!'' is an adaptation of the eponymous graphic novel by Santiago García and Luis Bustos. The series is produced by García La Serie, S.L. (an '' ad-hoc'' production company linked to Zeta Studios) for WarnerMedia Original Programming. The project, billed as a "satirical thriller with sci-fi elements", was greenlighted in May 2021. Miguel Salvat, Steve Matthews and

Antony Root Antony Root is a British television executive and producer. He has worked in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States. He was formerly Executive Vice President of Original Programming and Production for HBO Europe and Head of Original P ...

are credited as executive producers, whereas Eugenio Mira was charged with the direction of the 6 episodes comprising the season, set to feature a running time of around 60 minutes. is the cinematography director. Shooting in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

had already begun on 7 May 2021. Still in production, the project was showcased together with other HBO Max originals ('' Todo lo otro'', '' Venga Juan'' and ''Sin novedad'') at the 69th San Sebastián International Film Festival in September 2021. On 25 October 2021, HBO Max released a teaser video, announcing an intended release date for 2022.

Release

The first two episodes made their

world premiere A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the film ...

at the

Fantastic Fest Fantastic Fest is an annual film festival in Austin, Texas, focused on fantasy, horror, sci-fi, action and cult films, the largest genre festival in the United States. It was founded in 2005 by Tim League of Alamo Drafthouse. Lisa Dreyer ...

in September 2022. They also screened at the 55th

Sitges Film Festival SITGES - International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia () is an annual film festival held in Sitges, Catalonia, Spain. It specializes in fantasy film, fantasy, Horror film, horror and Cult film, cult films. Established in 1968, the festiva ...

. HBO Max released the first two episodes in 4K along with

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and

Dolby Atmos Dolby Atmos is a surround sound technology developed by Dolby Laboratories. It expands on existing surround sound systems by adding height channels as well as free-moving sound objects, interpreted as three-dimensional objects with neither horiz ...

on 28 October 2022. A free-to-air release of the first episode on Spanish channel DMAX was also programmed for 28 October 2022.

Reception

Raquel Hernández Luján of ''

HobbyConsolas ''HobbyConsolas'' is a Spanish video game magazine founded in 1991 by Hobby Press and published by Axel Springer SE. The first issue appeared in October 1991. The monthly magazine offers information about games for all consoles, and since 2012 ha ...

'' rated the show with 80 points ("very good"), praising its "agile storytelling, the committed cast, and its boundless aesthetic and musical ambition". Pere Solà Gimferrer of ''

La Vanguardia ' (; , ) is a Spanish daily newspaper founded in 1881. It is printed in Spanish and, since 3 May 2011, also in Catalan. It has its headquarters in Barcelona and is Catalonia's leading newspaper. Despite being mostly distributed in Catalonia, ...

'' highlighted "an impeccable execution that knows how to recreate the adventurous spirit of Indiana Jones and the sense of action of the classic James Bond without renouncing to have its own identity". In the United States, ''

Decider Decider is both a real word and a "Bushism". It may refer to: * ''Decider'' (website), a pop culture website operated by the ''New York Post'' * '' Bill Maher: The Decider'', a stand-up comedy special * Decider (Turing machine), a Turing machin ...

''s Johnny Loftus also wrote a positive review for the series, concluding: "''Garcia!'' offers a gleeful riff on spy movies, and a grip of chase and fight scenes right out of the Indiana Jones adventure handbook. But it also has something to say about the shifting tides of contemporary politics, between democracy and fascism, and that push and pull isn’t exclusive to contemporary Spain."

Accolades

, - ! rowspan="5" , 2023 ,

28th Critics' Choice Awards The 28th Critics' Choice Awards were presented on January 15, 2023, at the The Century Plaza Hotel, Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, California, honoring the finest achievements of filmmaking and television programming in 2022. The ...

, , colspan = "2" , Best Foreign Language Series , , , , align = "center" , , - , rowspan="2" , 10th Feroz Awards , colspan = "2" , Best Drama Series , , rowspan="2" , , - , Best Supporting Actor in a Series , Emilio Gutiérrez Caba , , - , rowspan = "2" , 31st Actors and Actresses Union Awards , , rowspan = "2" , Best Television Actor in a Minor Role , , Luis Rallo , , , , rowspan = "2" , , - , Arturo Querejeta , ,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:García! 2022 Spanish television series debuts 2022 Spanish television series endings 2020s Spanish drama television series Spanish-language television shows HBO Max original programming Television shows based on Spanish comics Television shows filmed in Spain Television shows set in Spain Television series by Zeta Studios Spanish thriller television series Political thriller television series Fictional super soldiers Political satirical television series Fiction about suspended animation Spanish action television series Spanish spy television series