Paramount+ Series ‘The Road Trip’ Gets Launch Date & Teaser; Prime Video Sets Cast For ‘Reina Roja 2’; ANICA President; Dark Horse Stages Expands; True To Nature Tracks Adventurer; S4C Names CEO — Global Briefs

‘The Road Trip‘ Teaser On The Road At Paramount+

First-look images (above) and a teaser trailer have been released for The Road Trip, the Paramount+ rom-com launching on the streamer in the UK, Canada and Australia. December 26 has been pencilled in for a debut in those countries. The rom-com series about a camper van ride in Spain stars Emma Appleton, Laurie Davidson, David Jonsson, Isabella Laughland and Angus Imrie, and explores whether someone can be the right person but at the wrong time. The trailer reveals the love affair between Addie (Appleton) and Dylan (Davidson), which began two years before as a holiday romance before ending. Paramount claims the show has “all the fun of Planes, Trains and Automobiles and the romantic yearning of One Day.” Ryan O’Sullivan and Matilda Wnek wrote and created the show, with Miriam Brent, Eleanor Moran and Rory Aitken the executive producers. 42 is making The Road Trip in association with PTIS, the studio arm of Paramount Global.

Prime Video‘s ‘Reina Roja‘ Season 2 Begins Shooting

Prime Video’s Spanish-language drama Reina Roja (Red Queen) has begun filming a second season in Malaga, Spain. The season will be based on ‘Loba Negra’, the second book in Juan Gómez-Jurado’s novel trilogy. Victoria Luengo (Antidisturbios, La Habitación de al Lado) and Hovik Keuchkerian (La Casa de Papel, Un Amor) will reprise their lead roles as Antonia Scott and Jon Gutiérrez respectively. Adriana Torrebejano (Machos Alfa, Sin Huellas), Silvia Abascal (Montecristo, García!), Mauricio Morales (Vestidas de Azul, En Fin), Beka Lemonjava (Sin Huellas, In From the Cold), Javiera Sky (El Despertar, Til Death Do Us Part) and Féodor Atkine (Love and Death, Ronin) are joining the cast. The season will follow the uber-smart Antonia Scott and temperamental policeman Jon Gutiérrez solving a crime related to the Russian mafia in the Costa del Sol following the disappearance of the wife of a mobster who lives run constant flight. Koldo Serra (Sin Huellas, Las Casa de Papel is directing with Focus Studios and Dopamine producing. Josep Amorós is executive producer, along with Serra, Pere Roca and Helena Medina, who also serves as the scriptwriter along with Salvador Perpiñá.

Producer Takes Over As President Of Italy’s ANICA

Producer Alessandro Usai has taken up the post of President at Italy’s National Association of Film and Audiovisual Industry (ANICA), with a pledge to counter disinformation around the sector. Usai, who was voted into the post in September, replaces Francesco Rutelli, who held the role for eight years. In a speech marking his arrival in the role, Usai thanked Rutelli for his work. His priorities he said he would maintaining ANICA’s role as a key reference body for the Italian audiovisual world and changing current public discourse around the sector. “Intervening in the narrative around the sector, which has recently been the subject of approximate information to say the least, which effectively delegitimizes an entire sector, is one of the priorities,” he said. “It must be underlined that our sector has been among the few to give signs of industrial and employment growth in a difficult context for Italy on many fronts.”

Dark Horses Set To Open New Stages

Dark Horse Stages will open a pair of new stages on Thursday (November 14). Spanning 40,000 sq ft, Stages 3 and 4’s launches come as Kirk Englebright, President and CEO of Dark Horse Stages, predicted “anticipated growth in local production” in Wilmington, North Carolina. Dark Horse Stages are currently filming the likes of Kevin Williams TV series Waterfront, Jonas Pate’s Runarounds and Season 3 of The Summer I Turned Pretty, and counts Dawson’s Creek, One Tree Hill, Swamp Thing, Iron Man 3 and George and Tammy among its past productions. Dark Horse Stages is based on a 12.5 acre campus close to Wilmington International Airport. “The expansion of Dark Horse Stages brings tremendous value to North Carolina’s film industry by enhancing our capacity to meet the diverse needs of today’s productions,” said North Carolina Film Office Director Guy Gaster. “The continued evolution of this outstanding facility elevates North Carolina’s appeal as a premier film destination to both major studios and independent filmmakers, alike, providing a modern and attractive entertainment hub that will foster creativity, efficiency, and true collaboration for years to come.”

True To Nature To Document Adventurer’s Continental Challenge

Wendy Darke’s True to Nature is teaming with Oli France’s Wild Edge to create short- and long-form content about the adventurer’s plan to sustainably travel from the lowest altitude to the highest point on every continent. The first two legs of ‘The Ultimate Seven’ challenge have already been completed, with France climbing Kilimanjaro in Africa on September 15, 2023, before spending 64 days travelling 3,588 miles from Death Valley to North America’s Denali, summiting on May 16 this year, becoming the first person this century to complete this feat. The third leg is going from Laguna del Carbon to Aconcuaga in South America in Vanuatu 2025 before scaling Mount Everest in spring 2026. France is traveling only by bike foot or skis during the feat. UK indie True to Nature will produce shows, films and content around the challenge. According to Darke, there’s interest from broadcasters, streamers and distributors, but no deals in place right now.

Wales’ S4C Names CEO

S4C has named Geraint Evans as its CEO following a tumultuous period for the Welsh pubcaster. Evans has been interim Chief Content Officer since the exit of Llinos Griffin-Williams in October 2023 and shared CEO duties with Elon Morris for six months after the untimely departure of previous Chief Exec Sian Doyle. Interim Chairman Guto Bebb said the appointment heralded “a new chapter” for the network and that Evans had “a clear vision of the path that S4C needs to take in order to ensure a prosperous future.” Evans, who joined S4C in 2019 as News and Current Affairs Commissioner, will begin his role in January 2025, with Sioned Williams remaining as Interim CEO in the meantime. Before S4C, he had a 25-year run with ITV Cymru.