‘Locked Up’ Co-Creator Iván Escobar Breaks Down His New Series, ‘Express’

variety.com:

Emiliano Granada One of four Starzplay productions for the Spanish-speaking market, “Express” was commissioned by the platform in Spain and U.S.-based Spanish-language premium streamer Pantaya, marking the arrival in Spain of both international production companies which have fully embraced the not-so-hidden talent in the Spanish and Latin American markets and foresee their potential development.Written by “Locked Up” co-creator Iván Escobar and co-produced by Spanish giant The Mediapro Studio, responsible for some of Spain’s biggest international TV titles (“The Head”), the show embodies the meeting of Spanish writing talent and international high production values.

The result is a high octane thriller that spins the police procedural genre and devotes its attention to the emotional consequences that hit its characters with the violence of shrapnel.

The series’ thrilling pace is held together by the strong presence of its female lead Barbara, played by a versatile Maggie Civantos (“Locked Up”), a criminal psychologist who deals with express kidnappings, a type of crime where time is precious and losing an hour can mean losing the life of the victim.

Herself a victim of a kidnapping and still dealing with its consequences, Barbara’s impatience when it comes to police protocols that often stand in her way to save a life lead her to more unorthodox methods that put everyone around her in danger.Variety talked with Escobar as the series premieres on Starzplay.What interested you about these types of crimes?The seminal idea came from a meeting I had not long ago in which there were no chairs and when I asked about it they simply replied that it was meant to be an express meeting.