“Streaming has really broken down content in a way that we no longer just watch what’s from America,” Eva Longoria said during the TCA Winter Press Tour about her new series, Land of Women, which she executive produces and stars in. The first two episodes launch globally on Wednesday, June 26th, on Apple TV+, filmed in both English and Spanish and available simultaneously in both languages. “We used to have this fear of subtitles. Now, it’s very normal because we live in a global community. Thematically, when dealing with themes of love, parenting, divorce, or pain, these are universal themes. You don’t really need language to understand.”
(Apple TV+)
Created by Ramón Campos, whose period drama Gran Hotel was adapted for American audiences in 2019 as ABC’s Grand Hotel, the show follows a woman named Gala (Eva Longoria) who has to go into hiding with her daughter (Victoria Bazúa) and aging mother (Carmen Maura) in a small village in Spain. “We live with different languages,” Ramón explained, who also serves as a writer and executive producer. “When Eva speaks with her son, she speaks in English, but at the moment, they start to speak in Spanish. And we live in that world, and we think this situation must be reflected in the fiction. It’s important to reflect the world we live in.”
“Ramón and I did Grand Hotel together,” Eva Longoria shared about how she first connected with the series creator. “I was like, ‘Ramón, why don't you write me a show? I want to shoot in Spain. I want to drink wine and shoot in Spain.’” All jokes aside, that’s exactly what ended up happening, with the village Gala hides in being the one her mother grew up in, its main export – wine. Filming took place in Figueres, Spain. “It was very remote. We worked in a cooperative that was functioning, a real cooperative. The grapes were there, the vines were there, and all the people of the village were our extras. They were amazing. Everybody spoke Catalan. What I was experiencing as Eva was what Gala was experiencing. It was definitely a different culture, and it was so much fun because it was such a real environment. And you’ll see when you watch the series, it’s stunning.”
The cast and crew bonded over a local sport in Figueres. “We discovered bitlles,” Ramón Campos revealed. “It’s like bowling, but it’s specific to Catalonia, and we discovered it when we arrived there. It’s like, ‘Okay, we need some local sport,’ and they called the federation of the bitlles to come through to teach us how to play. And for them, they’re very proud to show the world the culture.”
Eva Longoria is bilingual, but acting entirely in Spanish for that version of Land of Women still presented her with challenges. “It's Castilian Spanish, which was Spain Spanish; I'm Mexican,” Eva Longoria explained. “We wanted to play that reality. We’re all different. We don't all have to be the same. Luckily, I had the easiest job because I'm the fish out of water. As I stumble through, I say the wrong words, and there are embarrassing moments. There are funny moments.” But filming the show twice required the cast to memorize their lines in both languages. But Eva’s authentic language barriers between Mexican Spanish and Castilian Spanish were worked out by the end of the shoot.
Now, I'm basically a Spaniard. But it was fun because my character was just stumbling through. And I think it's so fun because streaming has knocked down those doors of global shows, so I think people will appreciate it.”
The first two episodes of Land of Women debut June 26th on Apple TV+, with new episodes releasing on subsequent Wednesdays through July 24th.