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| Genre: | |||
| Starring: | |||
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| Opentheme: | "Agnus Dei" by Cecilia Krull | ||
| Country: | Spain | ||
| Language: | Spanish | ||
| Num Seasons: | 5 | ||
| Num Episodes: | 48 | ||
| Location: | Spain | ||
| Runtime: | 75 minutes 50 minutes | ||
| Company: | Globomedia | ||
| Channel: | |||
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Locked Up (es|'''Vis a Vis'''|links=no)[1] is a Spanish serial drama television series produced by Globomedia, initially for Spanish Network Antena 3 and later for Fox Spain. It premiered on 20 April 2015.[2] The series focuses on Macarena Ferreiro, who is sent to prison for fiscal offenses and goes on to depict prison life and the corruption of law-enforcement bodies.
One year after Antena 3 cancelled the show, Fox Spain announced they had picked up the series for a third season, which premiered on 23 April 2018. It became the most watched paid TV in its timeslot. A fourth and final series premiered on 3 December 2018. Additionally, Netflix also bought global streaming rights for the show.[3] [4] [5]
Following the show's initial cancellation, several cast members moved on to other projects, resulting in major cast changes in seasons 3 and 4. Production also moved to a different filming location, as the previous studio became the set of another Álex Pina show, Money Heist. Maggie Civantos, who played the series' main character in the first two seasons, had her role reduced due to her commitment to another show, Cable Girls. However, Najwa Nimri, Berta Vázquez, María Isabel Díaz Lago, Marta Aledo, Laura Buena and Alba Flores returned as main cast members.
A spin-off entitled was released in 2020, and focuses on Macarena and Zulema, and serves as the last installment of the series.[6]
Macarena Ferreiro Molina is a Spanish woman who falls in love with her boss and commits embezzlement. She is accused of four tax crimes and consequently imprisoned at the Cruz del Sur Prison as a precautionary measure with a high bail set.
In prison, Macarena learns that to avoid projected seven-year sentence she will likely receive if convicted depends on changing, evolving and becoming a different person. To pay the bail, her family outside searches for a large sum of money hidden somewhere.
See main article: Locked Up (season 1).
Framed by her lover for corporate fraud, young Macarena Ferreiro finds herself locked up in a high security women's prison surrounded by tough, ruthless criminals.
Still in denial, prison proves to be a very rude awakening for Macarena and at the end of her first day, she finds herself struggling to cope. Yolanda, her cellmate, takes Macarena under her wing, but a midnight visit from Zulema, the prison's most dangerous inmate, is about to change Macarena's life forever.
See main article: Locked Up (season 2).
Zulema, Saray and Macarena escape from prison. With Sandoval's (Ramiro Blas) bribery, Miranda (Cristina Plazas) imposes stricter prison rules and regulations in response to their escape. With authority from the director to use any extreme measures to discipline misbehaving inmates, some officials abuse their power on some of the inmates.
See main article: Locked Up (season 3).
Saray, Rizos, Sole (María Isabel Díaz Lago), Tere (Marta Aledo), Anabel (Inma Cuevas), Antonia (Laura Baena) and Zulema (Najwa Nimri) adapt to the new environment of Cruz del Norte after being transferred to the new prison.
See main article: Locked Up (season 4).
Season four deals with the aftermath of Zulema (Najwa Nimri), Saray (Alba Flores) and Altagracia's (Adriana Paz) escape. Altagracia, who used to terrorize the woman inmates as a prison guard, is now one of them. Sandoval is the new director of Cruz del Norte.
While the show initially focused on the character of Macarena Ferreiro, portrayed by Maggie Civantos, it became an ensemble show.[7]
| Characters | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Actor | Character | season | ||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Oasis | ||
| Maggie Civantos | Macarena Ferreiro Molina | |||||
| Najwa Nimri | Zulema Zahir | colspan="5" | ||||
| Carlos Hipólito | Leopoldo Ferreiro Lobo | colspan="3" | ||||
| Roberto Enríquez | Fabio Martínez León | colspan="2" | ||||
| Cristina Plazas | Miranda Aguirre Senén | colspan="3" | ||||
| Berta Vázquez | Estefanía Kabila Silva "Curly" | |||||
| Alba Flores | Saray Vargas de Jesús | |||||
| Inma Cuevas | Ana Belén "Anabel" Villaroch Garcés | |||||
| María Isabel Díaz | Soledad "Sole" Núñez Hurtado | |||||
| Encarna Molina | colspan="3" | |||||
| Ramiro Blas | Carlos Sandoval Castro | |||||
| Alberto Velasco | Antonio Palacios Lloret | |||||
| Marta Aledo | Teresa "Tere" González Largo | |||||
| Daniel Ortiz | Román Ferreio Molina | |||||
| Harlys Becerra | Ismael Valbuena Ugarte | colspan="3" | ||||
| Laura Baena | Antonia Trujillo Díez | |||||
| Inspector Damián Castillo | ||||||
| Ruth Díaz | Mercedes Carrillo | |||||
| Huichi Chiu | Akame | colspan="2" | ||||
| Javier Lara | Álex Moncada | colspan="2" | ||||
| Ana Marzoa | Prudencia "Pruden" Mosqueira | colspan="2" | ||||
| Luis Callejo | Andrés Frutos | colspan="2" | ||||
| Adriana Paz | Altagracia Guerrero | |||||
| Itziar Castro | Goya Fernández | colspan="2" | ||||
| Abril Zamora | Luna Garrido | |||||
| Georgina Amorós | Fátima Amín | |||||
| Cristina Marcos | Magdalena Cruz | |||||
| Benjamín Vicuña | Antonio Hierro | |||||
| David Ostrosky | Víctor Ramala | |||||
| Lucas Ferraro | Cepo Sandoval Castro | |||||
| Ana María Picchio | Ama Castro | |||||
| Isabel Naveira | Laura "La Flaca" Ros | |||||
| Lisi Linder | Mónica Ramala | |||||
| Claudia Riera | Triana Azcoitia | |||||
| Alma Itzel | Kati Ramala | |||||
| Fernando Sansegundocomo | Matías "Mati"Maneses | |||||
| Iván Morales | Javier Colsa | |||||
| José de la Torre | Pérez | |||||
| Almagro San Miguel | Diego Ramala | |||||
| Lolo Diego | Apolo | |||||
| Pablo Vázquez | Julián Quintanilla | |||||
| Elena | ||||||
| Virginia "Vivi" Quintanilla | ||||||
| Ismael Palacios | Lucas | |||||
= Lead character
= Macarena Ferreio's relatives
= Inmates
= Prison staff
= Police inspectors
= Oasis Characters
Season 1 started broadcasting in the United Kingdom on 17 May 2016 on Channel 4's Walter Presents video-on-demand service.[8] In 2017, Prime Video acquired the first two seasons for the United States, and in 2018, Hulu acquired the first four seasons for Japan.[9] In Greece, the series premiered on 27 November 2018 on ERT.[10] Netflix bought the rights for international distribution in 2017.
The series is also available for a limited amount of time on the online streaming service 'VTMGO' by the Belgian broadcaster VTM.
Critics praised the cast's acting and fast-paced storyline. "The acting is strong throughout, the characters engaging and believable, the script is fast-paced and captivating, and it looks beautiful on screen with some creative and imaginative camerawork."[11] Rebecca Nicholson from The Guardian says that the show is "tremendously silly and fantastically taut thriller that carries itself at a breathless pace".[12]
"This is violent – brutally so – and very graphic in its portrayal of life in a women's prison. But utterly brilliant at the same time. It is dark with a constant air of threat and menace running through it. I love it." from Martin Howse of Entertainment Focus.[13]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominees | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Best Actress | Female Cast of Vis a Vis | [14] | ||
| FesTVal de Televisión y Radio de Vitoria | Discovery of the Year | Vis a Vis | |||
| Premios MiM | Best Drama Actress for Television | Maggie Civantos | |||
| 2016 | Best Female Lead Performance | [15] | |||
| Best Male Lead Performance | |||||
| Best Female Performance in Supporting Role | |||||
| Best Female Performance in Minor Role | |||||
| Best Actress | |||||
| Best Actor | |||||
| Best Fiction | Vis a Vis | ||||
| Best Production | Cristina López Ferrar, Juan López Olivar | ||||
| Audience Award for Best Spanish Series | Vis a Vis | ||||
| Festival de Luchon (France) | Best Spanish Fiction | Vis a Vis | |||
| Premios Paramount Channel | Best Villain | Najwa Nimri | |||
| Best Upcoming Actress | Berta Vázquez | ||||
| Premios MiM | Best Drama Series | Vis a Vis | |||
| Best Direction | Vis a Vis | ||||
| 2017 | Best Female Lead Performance | ||||
| Best Male Lead Performance | |||||
| Best Female Performance in Supporting Role | |||||
| Best Female Performance in Minor Role | |||||
| Best Drama Series | Vis a Vis | ||||
| Best Lead Actress | |||||
| Best Supporting Actress | |||||
| Inma Cuevas | |||||
| Audience Award for Best Spanish Series | Vis a Vis | ||||
| Best TV Actress | |||||
| Premios Fenix Awards | Best TV Ensemble | Vis a Vis | |||
| 2018 | Best Actress | ||||
| Best Director | Jesus Colmenar, Sandra Gallego, David Molina Encinas, Jesus Rodrigo | ||||
| Premios MiM | Best Drama Series | Vis a Vis | |||
| Best Drama Actress | Najwa Nimri | ||||
| 2019 | Best Male Performance in a Minor Role | ||||
| Best Female Newcomer | |||||
| Best Lead Actress | |||||
| Best TV Actress | Najwa Nimri | ||||
| The Platino Awards for Iberoamerican Cinema | Best Actress in Mini series or TV Series | Najwa Nimri | |||
| Spanish Audio Visual Award | Best TV Show Music | Manel Santisteban, Ivan Martinez Lacamara | |||
| 2020 | Best Male Supporting Performance | ||||
A spin-off series titled premiered in April 2020. The show focuses on Macarena and Zulema teaming up together. The spin-off serves as the last season for the series.[6] [16]