One of Madrid-based The Mediapro Studio Distribution’s tentpole scripted series at Mipcom, also in the lineup for Barcelona’s Serielizados Spanish competition, “Jakarta” (“Yakarta”) is one of the boldest and most endearing new shows from Spain, reuniting some of the country’s heaviest names.
Driving in creative terms the six-part half-hour is the duo behind Series Mania’s two-time International Panorama winning comedy drama “Celeste” – creator/head-writer Diego San José (also credited for the Spanish mega-hit film franchise “Spanish Affair”), and concept director Elena Trapé, credited for the Movistar Plus+/Arte thriller “Rapa” and the multi-awarded pic “Distances.”
The two were joined early in the development stage by Javier Cámara, one of the country’s most popular and lauded actors (“Talk to Me,” “Truman”), who helmed one episode and took on the lead role.
In a towering performance, Cámara plays Joserra, a former Olympian badminton player, now a world-weary physical education teacher in a small town in Spain, whose monotonous life takes a new turn when he meets a young badminton prodigy at a school tournament, 16-year old Mar (Carla Quílez, San Sebastian best actress for “Motherhood”).
Rounding off the core creative team are co-writers Daniel Castro (“Celeste”) and Fernando Delgado (“Hierro”) who also served as episodic director.
After ‘Celeste,” featuring top actress Carmen Machi as a middle-aged tax inspector facing retirement, San José says “it almost seemed impossible to find an even greyer world” for the basis of the screenplay, yet he did. “Jakarta” unfolds in the world of regional badminton tournaments and “championships played out in ugly spots centres”, not in a specific city but what he calls “a type of city. The provincial city, the one that’s neither a capital nor has the charm of a village.”
“I think that’s the real Spain,” the creator tells Variety ahead of Mipcom. “The interchangeable Spain, and I say this with all the affection as I’m from Irún, a provincial city that’s like so many others – similar architecture, similar shops and the same bands playing at local festivals.” For the creator, the two main character Joserra and Mar “are a bit like that, two provincial cities.”
Although a major source of inspiration for its universe, badminton wasn’t the core for the storyline, but defeat. “Not sports defeat, but existential defeat,” explains San José, before adding: “Jakarta” is a vindication of failure as a way of life and, with that goal in mind, we had to set the story in a context where, even if you win, you’re still a loser. I think regional badminton has that. Even if you’re the best at what you do, it won’t make you a winner. It’s defeat squared,” says the showrunner who admits being “terrible at any sport. I’m bad at all of them and I’m convinced that’s why I ended up writing,” he quips.
Diego San José, from Comedy to Drama
The 46-year-old writer who has in fact made his name with comedy, makes a bold move into pure drama with this show which he describes as “the first project where we’ve really worked with emotion. Both the bad kind, with which we want to shake up the viewer, and the good kind, which sometimes the cynicism of comedy tends to avoid,” he acknowledges.
Alejandro Flórez, “Jakarta” executive producer and director of Mediapro Studio’s banner 100 Balas (“Celeste”), also underscores San José’s brave shift away from comedy “into a story unlike anything he’s done before. It’s a work of great maturity, further elevated by the outstanding performances of its cast. Both Javier Cámara and rising actress Carla Quílez deliver sublime portrayals of their characters who are in fact, the emotional backbone of the series.”
“Diego is one of the most interesting and stimulating creators in Spain,” concurs Fran Araújo executive producer of Movistar Plus+ Originals, who praises his “remarkable ability to explore complex themes without ever losing that sense of accessibility for the audience, which makes him quite unique.”
Trapé, who was first approached by San José to board the series when they were post-producing “Celeste,” felt working on his screenplay “was like winning at the lottery.”
“Diego has a rare ability to grab your attention and gradually peel off the characters’ psychology and deepest trauma in a very delicate way.”
She also embraced the setting, “the Spain with no spark, yet beautiful,” intimately connected to the characters’ inner being. “With our cinematographer Rita Noriega (“Piggy”), we worked a lot on re-creating a sense of emptiness that both characters feel by the time they meet. We wanted to use the grey landscapes and places to catch this atmosphere, full of loneliness yet poetic.”
Digging deeper into his main characters, San José, who met up with three young badminton players and a coach while researching, says Joserra and Mar are “two characters who aren’t doing anything to fight their wounds. They hurt, but they keep going with them. Meeting each other and starting a journey through sad Spain is what will make them face their pain once and for all, and for that, each will become the other’s hope.”
“And, of course, the problem is that I don’t know if it’s worse that your hope is a 16-year-old girl or an adult who’s still stuck in 1992,” muses the creator, who admits being drawn to anti-heroes-be it “Celeste”’s Sara Santano or Joserra.
“I feel like one of them,” he tells Variety. “I’m a screenwriter who doesn’t want to be a director, so imagine how much I empathize with ordinary people! I’m not interested in people for whom things go well and I’m not talking about fiction, but about real life. I think there’s a very powerful poetry in defeat that’s in serious danger, because of all this current thinking based on winning, on achieving your dreams. I feel that not achieving dreams is more like adult life than achieving them. And, curiously, losers, who are less common in fiction, are the overwhelming majority in reality.”
San José cites two cinematic references that were clearly in his mind. “The Color of Money,” “which has an adult mentoring a young prodigy and embarking on a journey through deep America. I wanted to do something in that style but swapping deep America for provincial Spain. Then “Foxcatcher,” “not so much for the sports part but for the portrayal of obsession, the ambiguity in style, the whole dark side.”
For her part, Trapé says she was inspired by Charlotte Wells’ debut “Aftersun,” for the constant feeling of discomfort conveyed by the characters and atmosphere. “You feel something’s about to blow up so you’re on the edge.” She also referred to the classic “Harold & Maud” for the portrayal of two opposite characters in age and personality, whose encounter forever changes their lives.
Discussing the main challenges during the shoot, Araújo cites “recreating many different parts of Spain in the surroundings of Madrid, and building a whole new universe in each episode. But without a doubt, the greatest challenge was an artistic one,” he adds, referring to Javier Cámara’s performance as “absolutely monumental.”
As “Jakarta” was about to be shopped around by The Mediapro Studio Distribution to global buyers at Mipcom, both Araújo and Flórez underscored its universal appeal.
“There’s a line in the series that says, ‘no one starts playing badminton if they’re happy,’ and I think that could apply anywhere in the world,” Araújo comments.
“The two main characters travel through a non-touristic Spain, those in-between places, the towns people usually just pass through. Every country has spaces like that, inhabited by people like them. Everything the story touches on feels recognisable. At its core, the series is about two lost souls who find some kind of anchor in the most unexpected place-a sport that no one really cares about.”
Flórez adds: “The series revolves around the relationship between a former Olympic athlete, now working as a coach, and a young badminton player in whom he sees great future potential. It’s a dynamic that resonates across the world and in many disciplines. At its core, it’s a human story, driven by personal bonds, emotional subtlety, and the complexity of everyday life. And while the setting and context may naturally feel local, it’s a narrative that could unfold anywhere, making it highly relatable to audiences around the world. Even the sport at the heart of the plot, badminton, has a broader international presence than in Spain, further reinforcing the series’ global appeal.”
Produced by 100 Balas with Buendía Estudios Canarias, in co-production with Movistar Plus +, “Jakarta” was exec produced by Araújo and Flórez with San José, Laura Fernandez Espeso, and Javier Mendez. The show will roll out in Spain Nov. 6.
