Series Review: "Sky Rojo" (2021-23).

"From the creators of La casa de papel" comes Sky Rojo. This Spanish dark comedy action drama television series, created by Álex Pina and Esther Martínez Lobato. A fatal turn of events at a brothel sends three women haunted by their pasts on a wild run from their pimp and his henchmen.

By late November 2019, Verónica Sánchez, Miguel Ángel Silvestre, Asier Etxeandia, Lali Espósito, Yany Prado, and Enric Auquer were cast in a new Netflix dark comedy action drama series created by Pina and Lobato. At the same time, principal photography commenced and took place in Madrid, Tenerife and Toledo. In early 2020, filming was set to move to Castilla–La Mancha and take place there for approximately four months. However, the project was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and filming continued in October in Madrid. The first season premiered on March 19th, 2021. Principal photography took place before the first season's premiere. The second season premiered on July 23rd, 2021. In mid August, it was announced that the series had been renewed for a third and final season. Etxeandia confirmed that principal photography was scheduled to commence in November. The third and final season premiered on January 13th, 2023.

The series stars Sánchez, Silvestre, Etxeandia, Espósito, Prado, and Auquer. The characters engage with the soul. It feels like comfort food. Your heart paces, but you feel at home.

This series is full of outlandish plot points in virtually every episode. Yet I kept watching. Why? Partly because the series is dynamic and unusually well structured. The good direction including the action parts, the photograph and the visual commitment to red as an identity color, a script that measures well how to dose revelations and twists. At twenty-four episodes across three seasons, it is a bit drawn out, but even so, it's often as tense and exciting as early-era Lost. If you want a actioner with visual panache - try this. The direction of the series has been outstanding, with vibrant action scenes, an impeccable photograph, an A+ musical selection and soundtrack. Throughout the entire series and especially the second half it has gone with the plot 'in crescendo', with certain moments of pause, provided by the solid scripts by Pina and company. It's more twisty thriller than soapy telenovela, driven by its ingenious plot, engaging characters, tense flash points, pulsating score and occasional moments of humor. For every wrong move it makes, it gives you a dozen reasons to feel giddy over its sheer audacity and how high it's getting off its own genre fumes. It manages to keep stealing you back to its side. That's the real heist. The series has no intention of going quietly. Just like the gang, this acclaimed drama is going to keep up the good fight until its final breath. I dig smart action stories. But I don't care much for ones about fictional events and I was worried about what the series would become in future episodes. It looked like the show might have changed genres in its final season.

Simon says Sky Rojo receives:

Also, see my review for Money Heist (La casa de papel).