A Storytelling Lesson

In this virus-ridden apartment, we’ve binge-watched all eight episodes of the Spanish series Arde Madrid in the last forty-eight hours. Beautifully filmed, witty, well-acted, smart and fiercely funny as well as short, too short. 

This morning when I googled the release date of the second part, I discovered that there won’t be one. Conceived initially as a one-season project, the TV channel that aired it wanted a continuation. Numerous awards, terrific reviews and extraordinary audiences, and yet the creators agreed on not continuing. Among the few reasons they gave, one was to respect their original idea. 

Quite often, we come across films with too many climaxes or TV series that should have finished a few seasons ago. Putting storytelling ahead of commercial success, more recognition and more money is unusual and radically admirable. Every story has its natural conclusion. Storytellers know it. What comes after an ending is called ‘appendix’, and appendices can frequently be chopped off.   

Put a payday alert on your phone and treat yourself with the Arde Madrid boxset. Also, there's an interview with its creators on Variety.