A new six-part thriller series, Celeste will be available on Spain’s streaming service Movistar Plus+ starting this fall. The series features Spanish actress Carmen Machi in the lead role of Sara Santano, an everyday tax investigator on the brink of retirement. Santano is drawn into one last case, in which she must investigate the enigmatic Mexican pop star Celeste, played by Andrea Bayardo.
The show reunites Machi with writer Diego San Jose, who she previously collaborated with on the 2014 film Spanish Affair, which also earned her a Best Supporting Actress recognition at the 2015 Goya Awards. Celeste was co-written by San Jose, Daniel Castro, & Oriol Puig, and directed by Helena Trape.
In an interview with Variety, San Jose explained that the series aims to subvert the traditional thriller genre by featuring a seemingly mundane protagonist in a higher-intensity story. He compares Celeste to thrillers like Zodiac and Se7en, but with a unique twist, seeking to pique the curiosities of audiences with an untraditional premise. San Jose debated whether it was possible to create an engaging thriller with plot twists, starring what he calls “the most boring person in Spain,” middle-aged tax agent Santano who goes on a transformative journey following in the footsteps of the elusive Celeste.
Celeste‘s first season premieres at Spain’s San Sebastián Film Festival late September, before hitting streaming on Movistar Plus+ in November.
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