HBO Max has secured an exclusive first-look TV agreement with Domingo Corral, the celebrated Spanish TV executive whose departure from Movistar Plus+ last year prompted an remarkable display of sector backing. The deal, announced this week at the Series Mania festival in France, marks a significant vote of confidence in Corral’s creative direction at a moment when Spanish television is experiencing unprecedented international recognition. The deal grants HBO Max exclusive rights to develop original TV content with Corral in Spain, with the inaugural project already greenlit: a series examining the case of El Nani, a young criminal who disappeared in police custody during Spain’s transition to democracy in 1983.
A Second Chapter for Spanish Television’s Artistic Visionary
Corral’s exit from Movistar Plus+ in May 2025 sparked considerable concern through Spain’s creative sector. The move sparked an remarkable collective letter signed by close to 150 prominent figures, among them Pedro and Agustín Almodóvar, Javier Bardem, and Penélope Cruz, expressing gratitude for his leadership and apprehension for the platform’s future. Their combined message underscored the significant influence Corral had exerted on Spanish TV’s creative direction and international standing during his tenure at the country’s major pay television operator.
Under Corral’s creative direction, Movistar Plus+ achieved remarkable success on the worldwide market. In 2025 alone, the platform’s productions received the top prize at Series Mania for Alauda Ruíz de Azúa’s “Querer,” whilst Oliver Laxe’s “Sirāt” took the Jury Prize at Cannes and subsequently received two Oscar nominations. These accolades demonstrated that Spanish television could contend at the highest international level, cementing the nation as a significant creative contributor in premium content production.
- HBO Max Chief Content Officer Sarah Aubrey revealed the exclusive first-look deal
- El Nani series represents the first project within the new partnership arrangement
- Alberto Rodríguez and Rafael Cobos will pen and direct the El Nani series
- Corral maintains practice of backing Spain’s most innovative storytellers and filmmakers
The El Nani Project and Corral’s Signature Style
The opening project under Corral’s HBO Max deal showcases his characteristic approach to producing television that explores significant turning points in Spanish history. The El Nani series examines the unexplained vanishing of a young petty criminal in police custody during 1983, a case that came to represent Spain’s difficult shift to democracy. Rather than treating this as a straightforward crime narrative, the project frames the subsequent court case as a testing ground for testing the nation’s emerging democratic bodies. This thematic depth—recasting a individual case into a more expansive investigation of systemic accountability—represents the defining characteristic of Corral’s artistic sensibility.
The creative team brought together for El Nani underscores this dedication to quality. Alberto Rodríguez, alongside Rafael Cobos, will pen and helm the series, contributing considerable pedigree to the project. The pair are also competing in Series Mania’s primary competition this week with “The Anatomy of a Moment,” another Movistar Plus+ production from the Corral era. Their involvement indicates that HBO Max is backing established talent able to delivering the sophisticated, character-driven storytelling that has become synonymous with prestige Spanish television.
A Well-Established Partnership Returns
The partnership between Corral and Rodríguez-Cobos is not unprecedented; their prior work together under Movistar Plus+ created a artistic understanding founded on shared creative vision. This sustained partnership proves advantageous for both parties. For HBO Max, it guarantees that Corral incorporates trusted colleagues into the fold, professionals already aligned with his editorial sensibilities and capable of producing work that meets worldwide expectations. For Corral himself, preserving these connections provides sustained creative energy as he handles his move from corporate executive to independent producer.
Sarah Aubrey’s comments at Series Mania underscored HBO Max’s dedication to backing creators instead of constraining them. “The answer always is the best stories from the best creators,” she explained when asked about the platform’s approach to content acquisition. This approach appears well-suited for Corral, whose body of work demonstrates an consistent commitment to discovering and developing Spain’s most innovative storytellers. By offering him a first-refusal agreement with creative autonomy, HBO Max signals its readiness to back his artistic vision and editorial sensibilities.
Spain’s Television Revival During Corral’s Stewardship
Domingo Corral’s period as director of fiction and entertainment at Movistar Plus+ significantly altered Spain’s standing within the international television landscape. Under his leadership, the platform developed from a regional subscription television provider into a creative powerhouse able to compete with Europe’s leading broadcasters. His creative vision favoured creative ambition over profit-driven concerns, producing a collection of programmes that earned accolades at the most prestigious European awards and festivals. This sustained dedication to artistic merit over commercial volume cemented Movistar Plus+ as a destination for discerning viewers and a beacon for leading creative professionals.
The acclaim afforded to Corral by Spain’s creative institutions underscores the significance of his achievements. In May 2025, approximately 150 leading names from Spain’s film and television industries—including Pedro and Agustín Almodóvar, Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz, and Alejandro Amenábar—signed an public statement articulating their appreciation for Corral’s efforts and airing worries about Movistar Plus+’s strategic path subsequent to his exit. This remarkable display of unity from the nation’s cultural leaders demonstrated the significant influence Corral had wielded over Spanish TV output and its international reputation.
| Series Title | Key Achievement |
|---|---|
| “Querer” | Series Mania top prize (2025), directed by Alauda Ruíz de Azúa |
| “Sirāt” | Cannes Jury Prize (2025), two Oscar nominations |
| “Sundays” | San Sebastián top prize (September 2025), from Alauda Ruíz de Azúa |
| “The Anatomy of a Moment” | Series Mania main competition entry (2026), written and directed by Alberto Rodríguez and Rafael Cobos |
| Movistar Plus+ slate | Elevated Spain’s international television profile and established platform as European creative destination |
The breadth and calibre of these successes demonstrate that Corral’s track record was far from accidental or sporadic. His knack of recognising captivating storylines and pair them alongside visionary creators delivered a steady flow of award-winning content that resonated both domestically and internationally. This proven history provides HBO Max with strong assurance as it begins its partnership with Corral, suggesting that his upcoming productions will uphold the artistic rigour and cultural significance that characterised his Movistar Plus+ output.
The Direction of Auteur-Driven Television
The HBO Max deal represents a critical juncture for visionary television in the streaming landscape. By granting Corral an exclusive first-look deal for Spanish-language original productions, the major streaming platform is clearly backing a creative vision that places emphasis on artistic credibility and cultural significance over formulaic content created solely for algorithmic engagement. This alignment signals HBO Max’s strengthened resolve to moving beyond competing simply on subscriber numbers but on the calibre and standing of its original content. Corral’s appointment highlights a broader industry acknowledgement that acclaimed storytelling, notably from non-English-speaking markets, constitutes a vital competitive advantage in an increasingly crowded streaming landscape.
The opening project under this agreement—a programme focused on El Nani, a young petty criminal whose disappearance in police custody during 1983 epitomised Spain’s challenging shift to democratic rule—illustrates the calibre of material Corral tends to favour. Directed by celebrated film-makers Alberto Rodríguez and Rafael Cobos, the series aims to blend historical importance with modern-day relevance, investigating themes of government responsibility and fairness that resonate far beyond Spanish borders. This focus on substantial content implies that HBO Max aims to draw on Corral’s experience to produce material with real artistic intent, establishing Spanish broadcasting as a cornerstone of its global approach.
Questions Emerging From the Streaming Landscape
Despite the optimism surrounding Corral’s appointment, significant concerns remain regarding the long-term viability of prestige television production within the streaming landscape. Whilst HBO Max has shown commitment to quality programming under Sarah Aubrey’s direction, the wider streaming sector continues grappling with profitability challenges and shifting subscriber expectations. The financial pressures confronting streaming services sometimes clash with the lengthy development cycles and significant investment required for truly compelling auteur-driven projects. Whether HBO Max can maintain its commitment in culturally significant Spanish-language content amid wider sector consolidation and economic uncertainty stands as an unresolved matter that will substantially influence the platform’s direction.
Furthermore, Corral’s shift from Movistar Plus+—Spain’s preeminent pay-television service with extensive industry expertise and national market reach—to HBO Max prompts inquiry into artistic independence and budget distribution. Whilst Aubrey’s stated commitment to “the best stories from the best creators” indicates a supportive environment, the realities of operating across a vast multinational enterprise stand in sharp contrast to managing a domestic service. The degree to which HBO Max will afford Corral the creative latitude and budgetary discretion he enjoyed at Movistar Plus+ remains to be seen, especially given that streaming services contend with increasingly constrained budgets and competing strategic priorities across multiple territories and content verticals.
- Will HBO Max sustain investment in prestigious Spanish productions in light of budget pressures?
- Can Corral maintain his creative direction inside a large corporate organisation?
- How will this agreement shape other European creators’ connections to streaming services?
