AXN Japan Deal for ‘Una vida menos en Canarias’

As Spain continues to cement its position among the world’s most dynamic exporters of scripted TV, Atresmedia Sales has unveiled a key deal with AXN Japan on detective drama “Una vida menos en Canarias” (“Murders in the Canary Islands”).

The agreement marks a fresh step into one of the toughest yet most prestigious of Asian markets, suggesting Japan’s growing appetite for premium Spanish drama.

It follows earlier Atresmedia’s breakthroughs such as “El tiempo entre costuras” (“The Time in Between”), aired on NHK, and Hulu Japan’s hit prison thriller “Vis a Vis” (“Locked Up”).

A high-energy procedural with a sun-drenched noir aesthetic, “Una vida menos en Canarias” first premiered on Atresmedia’s streaming service Atresplayer before rolling out in primetime on flagship network Antena 3, then embarking on an international journey.

Across Europe, the series found a second life on Netflix in several territories and was later licensed in Poland through pay TV operator Romanze.

While the new Japanese deal covers only AXN’s linear channels, the pact underscores how Atresmedia’s integrated broadcast-plus-streaming ecosystem has become a powerful incubator for global exports.

“Local success is a key element nowadays for international sales. Only the best productions in local markets have the ability to become successful internationally,” said José Antonio Salso, head of acquisitions and international sales at Atresmedia.

Salso credited the group’s dual leadership — across Spain’s linear TV and its digital platform Atresplayer, with over 670,000 subscribers and five million unique monthly users— for providing a launchpad for global travel.

Abroad, the market is increasingly driven by risk management. “There’s too much supply; buyers want proof,” observes Miguel García, sales director at Atresmedia Sales. “If you can demonstrate a show has worked elsewhere, you lower uncertainty.”

Produced for Atresmedia by ITV Studios-backed Plano a Plano, “Una vida menos en Canarias” was created by Fran Carballal, Enrique Lojo and Curro Royo.

Starring Ginés García Millán (“Heirs,” “Isabel”) and Natalia Verbeke (“Billionaires’ Bunker”), the series blends case-of-the-week tension with the chemistry between two contrasting detectives, balancing the hallmarks of classic noir with Atlantic light and humor.

Spain-to-Japan exports are hardly new terrain for Atresmedia. “The Time in Between” aired on NHK General in 2015, while “Locked Up” became Hulu Japan’s first major Spanish-language acquisition, building a loyal fandom for Spanish thrillers. 

Yet each new sale carries symbolic weight. “This agreement with AXN strengthens our ties with Asia and signals a step forward in a historically complex region,” Salso said.

The deal joins a string of headline-grabbing international sales that have kept Atresmedia at the forefront of Spanish drama exports.

One of its most recent hits, “Sueños de libertad,” produced by Banijay’s Diagonal TV for Atresmedia, premiered Sept. 22 on HBO Max across Latin America and Brazil, following earlier launches in the Baltics and the Middle East. 

Currently Spain’s highest-rated daily drama, it has proven that long-form serialized storytelling can also thrive on global streamers.

Meanwhile, psychological thriller “Ángela,” the Spanish remake of British hit “Angela Black,” produced by Buendía Estudios for Atresmedia, has turned into a worldwide phenomenon, ranking among Netflix’s top non-English titles in more than 40 countries.

In February, “A muerte” (“Love You to Death”), produced by Atresmedia alongside DeAplaneta, Playtime Movies and Sábado Películas, premiered globally on Apple TV+ as an Apple original series, achieving a milestone as it opened the platform’s doors to made-in-Spain productions.

“We’ve been first movers in Spain when it comes to building alliances with global players,” Salso argued. 

“From Netflix after ‘Money Heist,’ to Apple TV+ with ‘A muerte,’ and the integration of an Atresplayer selection within Disney+, Atresmedia Sales acts as a catalyst for new opportunities with third parties in the market,” he said.

Looking ahead, “Sira,” the anticipated sequel to The Time in Between,” reunites Atresmedia, Buendía Estudios and Netflix, with Adriana Ugarte reprising her iconic role. 

Scheduled for 2026, the period drama will premiere in Spain on Atresmedia before expanding worldwide via Netflix.

“Clients are producing more of their own originals, so they rely less on buying from us than during the first wave of platforms. But Spanish content remains highly valued globally. When a platform bets on a Spanish series, it works worldwide,” García says.

Current demand trends, García notes, revolve around recurring elements: female-centered storytelling — as in “Ángela” or “Sira” — which connects with broad audiences; high-production period dramas, still one of the most reliable bets for mainstream platforms; crime and thriller formats with procedural clarity, exemplified by “Una vida menos en Canarias;” and daily dramas produced to prime-time standards, such as “Sueños de libertad.”

The executives also see as a market opportunity in the streamers’ growing ‘broadcastization.’ 

“The streamers have gone mainstream, they are becoming broadcasters in all but name. This makes them increasingly more natural clients of a group like Atresmedia, which generates content for feeding both commercial free-to-air channels and its own Atresplayer platform,” said García.