The Mediapro Studios made the international presentation of "The Head," the psychological thriller that the company developed with Hulu Japan and HBO Asia. The world premiere of this brand new title is scheduled for June 12 in Spain through the OrangeTV platform, in Japan through Hulu and in the rest of Asia through HBO.
The plot of "The Head" occurs at the Polaris VI international research base located in Antarctica, where a group of scientists remains locked up and in isolation during the six months of winter. When the relief comes, they find many of the scientists killed and this triggers a series of events that flood the base of tension, mistrust, and much suspense. "The Head" is a murder series unlike any other, a survival thriller set in the remotest place on Earth. A puzzle box that will unfold over three separate timelines, told through conflicting testimonies from the last two survivors of an Antarctic mission. The public will have to decide what really happened on the Polaris VI station and who they can trust, to unravel the mysteries of the series.
“’The Head' is the biggest series produced by The Mediapro Studios so far,” said Laura Fernández Espeso, executive producer, who also acknowledged that the company has bet on this production because it is a story that is aimed at a global audience. "It is a global project because it includes four languages - English, Danish, Swedish and Spanish -, and is led by an impressive international cast," the executive added.
In the opinion of Ran Tellem, the appeal of the series lies in the fact that in the first ten minutes of the first chapter the basis of the series is already revealed, and it is up to the viewer to discover the rest. "It is a thriller without police, with a very innovative narrative and an international cast with very different styles and accents," he said.
For Jorge Dorado, director of the series, the powerful script of the series was what convinced him to join this project. "I didn't want to do a blockbuster-based thriller, so we did it more connected to the characters and touching issues that occur in today's world."
THE BIG CHALLENGE
The Polaris VI International Antarctic Research Base was recreated on a 2,000 m2 set in hot Tenerife, while to film the exteriors, the team moved to Iceland. "We were very passionate about telling a story about the South Pole, which is an unpopulated place that resembles space at some point and people are isolated," Tellem pointed.
For Kazufumi Nagasawa, executive producer of Hulu Japan, launching a new series in the current context of the coronavirus crisis is a great fortune. "Currently, all productions are stopped and at the same time people are very eager to see new series, so I think the launch of 'The Head' is going to resonate around the world."
The cast of the series includes John Lynch, Katharine O'Donnelly, Alexandre Willaume, Laura Bach, Tomohisa Yamashita, Richard Sammel, Chris Reilly, Sandra Andreis, Amelia Hoy, Tom Lawrence, and Álvaro Morte.
"It is a very big story that happens in a very small station," Willaume said, while Bach emphasized in the characters' hidden secrets. "They are very well orchestrated by the director," the actress commented. Furthermore, Lynch added that the protagonists of the series are very interconnected with each other. "The past becomes an enemy and the present a battlefield," he described.
Chris Reilly said that what attracted him to the thriller is the fact that there are no cops and the characters have to solve the problems alone, while Lawrence was impressed by the series' layers of relevance. "The isolation shown by the series is somewhat consistent with the confinement that people are experiencing around the world."
Finally, Álvaro Morte, Katharine O’Donnelly, Amelia Hoy, and Tomohisa Yamashita were very proud and grateful for being part of this large international project and for having worked with talented colleagues.