The small town in Malaga province that's in the spotlight worldwide following Netflix premiere
'Two Graves', based on the novel by Carmen Mola, is the most watched non-English language miniseries on the global streaming platform
Within just 24 hours of its release, 'Dos Tumbas' (Two Graves) became a Netflix No.1 hit in Spain. Its overwhelming success at a national suggested the series was going to take the global platform by storm. And its impact on the rest of the world did not disappoint.
The three-episode thriller filmed in Malaga province and created by the writers behind the Carmen Mola pseudonym, has topped the US platform's non-English series list, with 8.6 million views in the first week. The plot revolving around the disappearance of two girls during the local fair develops not far from the capital of the province - in the small, charming small town of Frigiliana in the Axarquía area.
Almost a dozen times the name of Frigiliana is repeated in the first episode. The production has followed in the footsteps of The Snow Girl, also filmed in Malaga, to become number one in the world in the Netflix top ten. In addition to Spain, the miniseries has climbed to the top of the charts in 13 other countries, becoming above all a phenomenon in Latin America by enchanting viewers in Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Martinique, Panama, Uruguay and Venezuela. In Europe, it has also climbed to the top of the charts in Poland, Turkey and Romania.
The three-episode format of Two Graves is internationally recognised, as it invites people to binge-watch it in one sitting. This has proved to be a winning formula for Netflix. The series, produced by Sábado Películas, is based on the story created by Agustín Martínez, Jorge Díaz and Antonio Mercero, who publish their novels under the pseudonym Carmen Mola.
The central character is played by Kiti Mánver from Antequera, who gives life to the courageous elderly lady, alongside two other actors with whom she also shared the screen in the popular series Money Heist - Hovik Keuchkerian and a transformed Álvaro Morte, who goes from being the Professor to recovering his Andalusian accent for his role as a father and mafioso in this series.
Frigiliana has experienced the best possible promotion, as its name has travelled around the world thanks to the success of Two Graves
In Netflix's list of the most watched non-English language productions, Two Graves beats Korean production Bon Appétit, Your Majesty (a romantic comedy with fantastic touches) and the Brazilian Rivers of Fate about the disappearance of a young woman and sex-trafficking networks. Paradoxically, these three titles are all miniseries, which reveals the public's taste for plots without many episodes - up to four in these cases - and with a closed ending. However, given the worldwide success of these series, it would not be surprising if the scriptwriters found a way to expand the stories.
In the last week, Frigiliana has experienced the best possible promotion, as its name has gone around the world, reaching millions of viewers who have discovered its white houses, its Andalusian charm and its vineyards through the Netflix screen. Along with the town of the Axarquía, the other settings that shine in the series are Torrox, whose Vilches beach is home to the restaurant of the father of one of the missing girls (played by Keuchkerian), and the luxurious hacienda Huerta del Conde de Pinares de San Antón in Malaga, where the mansion of the mafioso and father of the other girl (played by Morte) is set.
