Carla Sofía Gascón, Itziar Ituño Set for Political Fantasy Satire 'When the Demons Rule' from Spain's Atlántica Films (Exclusive)

Carla Sofía Gascón, Oscar nominee for 'Emilia Pérez,' and Itziar Ituño of 'Money Heist' have signed on to star in the Spanish TV series 'When the Demons Rule' (Los demones mandan), a political fantasy comedy in which good battles evil, on Tallinn TV, Beats No.1v71. The six-episode series, currently in development, pairs Ituño with Rodrigo Suzarte […]

Spanish actresses will play the role of extraordinary women in human disguise who fight demons, politicians and capitalists who rule the world.

Carla Sofía Gascón, Oscar nominee for Emila Pérez and Itziar Itonio of Money Heist have committed to star in Spanish good vs. evil TV show Los demones mandan for Tallinn TV Beats No17 Co-Financing. The six-episode series currently in development reunites Eatono with helmer Rodrigo Suzarte ("Hidden Island," "Gen Mishina") and production banner Atlantika Films, behind the highly anticipated Movistar Plus Original "Patagonia," slated for release in January 2027. From 'Doctor Who': 'Everyone's a creator, not all creations are bad' Russell T Davies, the BBC's AI boss, calls Doctor Who 'clumsy' and teases the future of the show: 'You'll start production next summer'

Created and produced by Atlantica founder Nano Arrieta - a long-time collaborator of Oscar-winning Fernando Truba - and Claudia Ruiz, the film is a contemporary thriller infused with the paranormal, fantasy, folklore and humor, where "demons hide in plain sight, drawing powerful people into the universe." Popular log on Variety

Arrieta - who is currently drafting a pilot script with Basque screenwriter Ibay Ariztegui - said the storyline is based on prominent Argentine author Manuel Mojica Lions' novel "Journey of the Seven Demons".

"In the book, the demons are basically settled in hell because they've already done their job and the devil sends them back into the world to collect souls. But looking at the world we live in today, our feeling was: the demons are already here. You only have to look at genocide, the rise of fascism, political extremism and everything they're saying around us," he said. Instead of doing a literal adaptation, the creators kept the DNA of the book and changed the ideas of evil, temptation and power with a contemporary twist. However, as Arita emphasized, the series is essentially built around the four heroes. "Those women come from a very ordinary, working-class background, but their jobs actually represent some of the pillars that hold society together. One works in care, one in education, one in health care, one in journalism," Arita explained. Gascon will play Manuela, a teacher at an elite school, and Itono will play Evita, the personal secretary of the prime minister of the show's fictional country.

Connected by a community hub, these women help neighbors and immigrants, stepping in where institutions fail. They will try to destroy and chase away the demons in human disguise, embedded in the society.

Arita said of Gascon's casting, "I've known Carla for a while and she's always been very generous with us. We've been looking for this. The right project to work on together, because you need something ambitious, something of real quality and something that really makes sense to her. And it looks like this might be it."

Arita said of Eatono, with whom he recently co-starred in the upcoming environmental thriller Patagonia, “It's been a real pleasure to work with him. As an actor, he's incredibly intelligent, generous and instinctive, and on a personal level, he's become a very good friend." "It's obviously incredibly exciting to have the two of them together because they're two very powerful actresses, but they also have very strong characters and voices beyond the screen, which is very much in line with what the show wants to talk about," she argued.

The remaining key players are in negotiations.

Financially, Arrieta said about 60 percent of Spain's production costs are covered by tax incentives from Spain's Basque region. He is now actively seeking "platforms, broadcasters, investors, creative or production partners who want to participate in the development phase and help us make the strongest and highest quality version of the series possible."

At Tallinn’s TV Beats, a spin-off from the Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event Black Nights Film Festival sidebar, “When Devils Rule” will compete for the €50,000 ($56,000) Council of Europe Co-Production Development Award.

"Patagonia" from Atlanca Films is repeated at Mipcom by ZDF Studios.