La que se avecina

La que se avecina

Logo of the show
Genre Comedy
Black comedy
Created by Alberto Caballero
Laura Caballero
Daniel Deorador
Written by Alberto Caballero
Laura Caballero
Daniel Deorador
Sergio Mitjans
Directed by Laura Caballero
Starring Silvia Abril
María Adánez
Ricardo Arroyo
Carlota Boza
Fernando Boza
Cristina Castaño
Pablo Chiapella
Rodrigo Espinar
José Luis Gil
Álvaro Giraldo
Macarena Gómez
Nacho Guerreros
Eva Isanta
Cristina Medina
Isabel Ordaz
Antonio Pagudo
Vanesa Romero
Jordi Sánchez
Antonia San Juan
Luis Miguel Seguí
Nathalie Seseña
Fernando Tejero
Opening theme "La que se avecina" by Big Bang Boka
Country of origin Spain
Original language(s) Spanish
No. of seasons 8
No. of episodes 104
Production
Executive producer(s) Alberto Caballero
Esther Jiménez
Camera setup Multiple-camera
Running time 70-90 minutes
Production company(s) Alba Adriática (2007–2010)
Infinia (2010–2013)
Contubernio (2013-)
Broadcast
Original channel Telecinco
Picture format HDTV (1080i)
Audio format Stereophonic
Original run April 22, 2007 – present
Chronology
Preceded by Aquí no hay quien viva (2003–2006)
External links
Website

La que se avecina (English: What's yet to come) is a Spanish television comedy created by Alberto Caballero, Laura Caballero and Daniel Deorador. It follows the inhabitants of Mirador de Montepinar, a fictional building located on the outskirts of a big city, Madrid. Both the feel of the show and most of its original cast came from the Antena 3 series Aquí no hay quien viva, which ended when rival network Telecinco bought Miramón Mendi, the series' production company.[1]

La que se avecina debuted on Telecinco, and was later rerun by the same network as well as cable/satellite channels FactoríaDeFicción and Paramount Comedy.[2][3] The series debuted in 22 April 2007 and became popular thanks to its funny characters, witty script, use of catchphrases and capacity to reference and poke fun at contemporary issues; the program is a caustic satire of many of the typical personalities found in Spanish society.

The name of the show involves wordplay, as "vecina" is the Spanish word for neighbour.

Synopsis

The series tells the story of the inhabitants of the block of relatively luxurious flats. Common themes in the story are the problems faced by people sharing apartments in Spain, the Spanish property bubble,[4] and the hardships faced by young people trying to find a place to live.[5] The block of flats itself is in the outskirts of the city, around 15 minutes from the centre. There are 3 floors,[6] with a total of 10 flats. The residential area also contains a car park, the caretaker's office, commercial spaces and some communal areas.[5]

Plot summary

Season 1

Season one starts with the arrival of the new residents into the new block of flats, Mirador de Montepinar. On the top floor, there are two flats, A and B: In flat A live the brothers Sergio and Joaquín Arias. Sergio is an actor by trade and a playboy by nature, while Joaquín is an unlucky-in-love estate agent, constantly battling to keep his job and sell the show flat on the ground floor. In Flat B live Javi Maroto, president of the community, and his wife Lola Trujillo. As president, Javi is often inundated with petty complaints from the residents, who include his parents, Vicente Maroto and Gregoria Gutiérrez, who live below him in apartment 2B. They share a floor with Amador Rivas, Maite Figueroa Espinosa and their 3 children (apartment 2A); and Germán Palomares, a defaulter whose identity is completely unknown. In flat 1A live Cristina Aguilera, a woman whose wedding was recently called off by her fiancé, who ran off with another woman, and Silvio Ramírez, a gay man from Cuba who often poses as her boyfriend, and even as her fiancé in the final episode. In flat 1B lives Leo Romaní, vice-president of the community who has an on-off relationship with Cristina. In flat 1C live Antonio Recio, a seafood wholesaler, and his wife Berta Escobar. On the ground floor below there are four spaces: flat A is the building's show flat, which is occupied by Izaskun Sagastume and Mari Tere Valverde, a couple of elderly friends who become squatters in the flat and stay using mischievous, and often legally doubtful, means, but end up purchasing the flat for a token sum of 1 euro. In flat B reside Enrique Pastor, a civil servant, his wife Araceli, her mother Rosario (Charo), and his teenage son Francisco (Fran). They are joined later in the series by Julián, Enrique's father . The two other spaces on the ground floor are occupied by a hairdresser's shop, owned by Araceli and staffed by Fabio Sabatani, a gay Argentinian and friend of Silvio, and Sandra Espinosa, a young insecure hairdresser; and the estate agents' office where Joaquín works alongside Eric Cortés and their boss Raquel Villanueva. Other recurring characters are Máximo Ángulo (Maxi), the community's doorman and husband (separated) of Izaskun, and Coque Calatrava, the ex-convict gardener.

Season 2

Most of the main characters from season one stay for the second season, although notable departures are Cristina, who left for unknown reasons, Rosario (Charo), whose character left due to the death of the actress playing the part, Emma Penella, and Araceli, who left her husband Enrique, who has to look after Fran all by himself. Eric moves into Sergio and Joaquín's apartment, while Raquel, her cousin Nines, and her friend Blanca, all single ladies looking to start a new stage of their lives, move into Cristina and Silvio's old flat after Silvio is evicted. Nines takes on work as a maid in various flats in the building, and in one episode is about to get married to Leo before he leaves her at the altar after claiming he's in love with Raquel. A structural change is that the old hairdresser's shop on the ground floor is converted into a bar, called Max & Henry's and run by Maxi and Enrique. In this season, Maxi is come to be seen as a trusted part of the community, being called to for help by many different members of the community. After Javi leaves the post of president in the beginning of the series, Amador takes over the role with Leo remaining as his vice-president. Amador's wife Maite takes the role of "First Lady" seriously, and becomes obsessed with her image, splashing out on luxury items in order to look good despite her own family's crippling financial troubles. In addition to these problems, Amador finds out about his wife's previous infidelity with Sergio, which ultimately leads to their faltering marriage, and in turn leads to him being overthrown as President. Antonio takes over the role of president, with his nemesis Enrique drafted in as his second in command, imposing strict regimes but taking swift, often extreme and legally-dubious decisions.

Season 3

This season sees the introduction of several new characters in Mirador de Montepinar. Judith Bécker, an attractive and successful psychologist, moves into the Attic A flat. She becomes part of the circle of friends of the younger group of women (Raquel, Nines and Lola) in the building, who develop a somewhat fractious relationship with the other, older group of women in the building; and other residents come to Judy for therapy. Another new arrival is Lola's mother, Estela Reynolds, who comes to live with her daughter and son-in-law. Estela is a former actress and her extremely dramatic, loud, crafty, and lustful nature causes plenty of stress both in Javi and Lola's home as well as in the rest of the building. Another new arrival is Antonio and Nina's baby Toñín, who arrives into the world via artificial insemination and a complicated web of blackmail, deceit and lies. Coque, now moonlighting as the doorman after replacing Maxi, starts the series as something of a henchman for the power-mad Antonio before running away with the latter's wife Berta, who after feeling neglected by her husband has an affair with him. Antonio is unaware of this affair as he is too busy in his role as President of the Community, obsessing over tracking down the defaulter Germán Palomares. This obsession gets him and his community into an array of predicaments. Enrique starts the season as Antonio's ally, all the while dreaming of the presidency for himself, which Antonio keeps on promising him, without actually handing it over. Amador, meanwhile, is left without a job after being replaced by a pot plant in his bank, and without money, love and a home as his marriage with Maite remains on the rocks.

Season 4

The fourth season starts with a summary of the previous four months, in which Enrique was kidnapped by Germán Palomares, and Coque and Berta lived together in the countryside farming goats. All characters return to Montepinar, and the star-crossed lovers continue their affair. Berta's husband, Antonio, eventually finds out about her affair with Coque when they confess, after months of his investigating and suspecting several other neighbours. At one time he is convinced that Enrique is Berta's lover, and as a result he hires a hitman to kill him, although the hitman ultimately fails. Needless to say, this adds even more tension to the already-frosty relationship between the president and the politician. Enrique starts therapy sessions with Judith in order to get over his memories of the kidnapping and to have someone who listens to him, and the two start a relationship and he proposes to her but she turns him down. Meanwhile, Amador is ordered by the court to pay Maite alimony, and gets a job as a street cleaner, as well as other short-lived jobs, to pay her off and to follow his dream of buying a "pussy magnet" motorbike. Raquel and Judith, meanwhile, spend a lot of the season trying to get Maite, who constantly annoys them, out of their group of friends. Estela continues to stir up trouble, and after a brief affair with Leo and others, is eventually kicked out of the house by her own daughter, Lola. A new character, Rosario Parrales, is introduced in this season. He is an illegal immigrant from South America who agrees to pay Amador, who mistook him for a woman when they met on the internet, €6000 in exchange for his hand in marriage. The sham is easily discovered by the authorities, and the marriage licence isn't granted. Later in the season Rosario is hired to work for Mariscos Recio, and ends the season acting as the president of the community after Antonio is overthrown. In the final episode of the season, Goya is found dead in the kitchen while cooking croquettes, Berta leaves to join a convent, and Antonio, Coque, and Enrique (going under the name "The A Team") set off on a caravan trip around Spain together.

Season 5

After Enrique gets a call from Judith begging him to return. He comes back from his caravan trip with Antonio and Coque to discover that the community is in ruins, with no light and no working lift. Judith, now acting as president, calls on Enrique, her on-off partner, to be her vice-president and get Mirador de Montepinar out of its crisis. She comes to face plenty more crises, most of which are generated by Antonio in his attempt to undermine the presidency. In the other basement flat across the corridor from Enrique, Amador's overbearing mother, Justi, moves into the flat with him and goes to a lot of trouble to get her son's life and marriage back together, while Amador himself tries hard to get rid of her so he can pursue his life as a playboy. Amador now shares joint custody of the children with Maite, who moves into the flat above him to live with Raquel and Nines. Lola, meanwhile, leaves for Miami to shoot a series, leaving Javi to live with his recently bereaved father. Javi feels jealous and lonely and has to wrestle with his fidelity after Raquel, Judith and Berta all take a liking to him. A new resident is Reyes Ballesteros, who moves into 2ºB with her lover, Araceli, who has returned to the community to spend more time with Fran. Her new-found sexuality, mixed with her old feelings with Enrique (they are now still married, but separated), her battle for her son, her absent-mindedness, the homophobic views of some of the community, and her ongoing therapy sessions with Judith, make it difficult for them all to get along. The end result is that Judith and Enrique get married. Parrales, in the meantime, has expanded Mariscos Recio and a new fishmonger's is set up in the commercial area by the flat. Maxi continues being the mastermind of various schemes, and his relationship with his girlfriend, Ana Rosa, a blow-up doll, could be said to be blossoming.

Season 6

The season begins with the end of Judith's presidency. After a failed round of voting, the occupant of ground floor flat B is randomly selected to succeed Judith. As a result, Araceli, joint owner of the flat with Enrique, takes the helm. Antonio still wants the presidency for himself, and his various attempts to undermine Araceli, including clogging the pipes of the building, are all unsuccessful. Lola is still angry with Raquel due to her supposed infidelity with her husband, Javi and during the first 9 episodes the two do not speak amicably to each other. Javier tries to reconcile with Lola, which he eventually manages to do after the two end up having sex again. A few episodes later, they find out that she is pregnant. In order to fix his marriage, Javi calls on Lola's father, Fermín Trujillo, who she has never met. Estela Reynolds, Lola's mother, returns to the series and lives under the same roof as Javi, Lola and Fermín. Amador is still trying to get back with Maite, but that hits a snag when she is arrested and spends a brief time in prison for dealing drugs. To make things worse, she must face another problem: she and her husband will be evicted if they are unable to pay off the €16,800 debt they owe. Naturally, they try to scrape together the money and Amador eventually does so. The bad news for them is that the money arrives a few minutes too late, and his house is put up for auction as a result. He and his family are forced to move out of the downstairs flat, and go back to live in flat 2A where they previously lived. Sergio is another returner to the community; he comes back after having invested all his savings in shady deals and wants to fight for the paternity of his son with Maite, Amador Jr. (nicknamed "Chicken Eyes"). Antonio, in the meantime, finds out that he has a long-lost mother. He tries to track her down during the last episodes, and it turns out she was a nun. Violet, his sister, recently released from the mental hospital, comes to live with him and his wife, and is given work in his fishmonger's.

Season 7

The outgoing president, Araceli, is replaced by her ex-husband, Enrique, who has just returned from Brazil after splitting up with his wife, Judith. Antonio becomes his second-in-command. Judith gives birth to their son Dylan in Chicago, but returns in the middle of the season. Enrique is in the dark about the existence of his son for a long time, but eventually finds out after randomly bumping into his pram in Chicago Airport. This event eventually leads to him being deported back to Spain as a suspected terrorist, and he is soon followed there by Judith and their son, who are refused re-entry into the States due to Enrique's criminal record. Meanwhile, there is another new baby in the community, as Lola gives birth to Javi's daughter, but they are unable to come up with a suitable name for a long time until they eventually choose Úrsula. Lola suffers from great depression, loses her job in her television series, and has to keep on putting up with her parents, Estela and Fermín, who are back in love and get married. They temporarily move out of Lola's marital home into the ground-floor flat, whose mortgage is being paid for by Javi and Lola. Antonio and Berta also have new marital problems: the long-suffering Berta finally tries to get a divorce from Antonio, with the help of Rebeca Ortiz, a lawyer friend of Judith who looks after her flat while she is in Chicago. Antonio is aware that Berta is entitled to half of all his assets, as she has been financially dependent on him throughout their marriage. To prevent Berta from getting her hands on his fortune, he gives away his assets and tries to manipulate her into settling for less than she is entitled to. First he gives the flat he is leasing to Nines, the mother of his youngest son, and then he gives his seafood company away to his clinically insane sister Violeta. Berta moves in temporarily with Araceli, and the two have a short-lived lesbian affair. Amador and Maite continue to have financial woes, losing the flat they were squatting in (2º A) after it is reclaimed by Edurne, the daughter of recently deceased Izaskun. They are left with no choice but to move into a makeshift house in the garage, shoddily built by them with the help of a few of their neighbours, and their gloom continues. Their children move in too. In addition, Nines and Coque have an affair, Nines gets a job in Max & Henry's, Fermín and Estela get their own reality TV series, Antonio and Matthew (an over-sensitive American who is splitting up from Ingrid, Judith's sister) move into Enrique's flat to form the "Happy Singles", Rebeca has to deal with her socially inept gynaecologist ex-husband Santiago, and Vicente starts an affair with Penélope, only to find out she is a mass murderer.

Cast and characters

Main

Former characters

Broadcast

Episodes

The show has attracted a high number of viewers, averaging between 15 and 23% of the share since its first season.

Season Episodes Originally aired Audience
Season premiere Season finale Average number of viewers
1 13 April 22, 2007 July 22, 2007 3,185,000 (21.2%)[7]
2 15 April 3, 2008 August 3, 2008 2,863,000 (19.5%)[8]
3 14 June 10, 2009 September 16, 2009 2,171,000 (16.3%)[9]
4 12 May 26, 2010 August 4, 2010 2,180,000 (15.1%)[10]
5 13 May 1, 2011 July 24, 2011 2,793,000 (16.2%)[11]
6 13 October 1, 2012 January 28, 2013 4,148,000 (22.4%)[12]
7 13 December 2, 2013 March 10, 2014 4,100,000 (21.4%)
8 16 October 13, 2014

References

  1. ↑ "Los vecinos de "Aquí no hay quien viva" se mudan a la calle "Atocha"" (in Spanish). 26 September 2006.
  2. ↑ "'Aquí no hay quien viva' vs 'La que se avecina': el duelo resucita en la TDT". FormulaTV (in Spanish). 11 May 2010.
  3. ↑ "'La que se avecina' y 'Aquí no hay quien viva' también triunfan en Paramount Comedy" (in Spanish). 12 February 2012.
  4. ↑ Isabel, Gallo. "Tele 5 estrena 'La que se avecina', una parodia del 'boom' inmobiliario". El País. 21 April 2007.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Luis Merlo no estará en "La que se avecina"" (in Spanish). 24 January 2007. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
  6. ↑ J., Marcos (18 December 2006). "Los inquilinos de Desengaño 21 se mudan a una moderna urbanización". ABC.
  7. ↑ "La segunda temporada de 'La que se avecina' se estrena hoy en Telecinco". 20minutos (in Spanish). 3 April 2008. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  8. ↑ "'La que se avecina' estrena su tercera temporada". Telecinco (in Spanish). 9 June 2009. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  9. ↑ "Muy pronto vuelve "La que se avecina", descubre las tramas de la nueva temporada". MiZonaTV (in Spanish). 18 May 2010. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  10. ↑ "Telecinco estrena la quinta temporada de "La que se avecina"". Frecuencia Digital (in Spanish). 1 May 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  11. ↑ "Silvia Abril se muda a 'La que se avecina'". Público (in Spanish). 28 December 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  12. ↑ "'La que se avecina' cierra con un 22,3% su sexta temporada, la más vista de su historia". FormulaTV (in Spanish). 29 January 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2013.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to La que se avecina.
Wikiquote has quotations related to: La que se avecina