Locked Up (TV series)

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Locked up
Genre	Serial drama Crime Thriller
Created by	Iván Escobar Esther Martínez Lobato Álex Pina Daniel Écijas
Starring	Maggie Civantos Najwa Nimri Carlos Hipólito Roberto Enríquez Berta Vázquez Alba Flores
Theme music composer	Iván Martínez Lacámara Manel Santisteban
Opening theme	"Agnus Dei" by Cecilia Krull
Country of origin	Spain
Original language	Spanish
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	48
Production
Production location	Spain
Running time	75 minutes (seasons 1–2) 50 minutes (seasons 3–4)
Production company	Globomedia
Distributor	Antena 3 Televisión Fox Spain
Release
Original network	Antena 3 (2015–2016) Fox Spain (2018–2019)
Original release	20 April 2015 (2015-04-20) – 4 February 2019 (2019-02-04)
Chronology
Followed by	Vis a vis: El oasis
External links
Website
Production website

Vis a Vis (French: Vis a Vis, "Face to Face"),^[1] is a Spanish serial drama television series produced by Globomedia, initially for Spanish Network Antena 3 and later for Fox Spain. It premiered on 20 April 2015.^[2] The series begins by focusing on Macarena Ferreiro, a young woman who is sent to prison for fiscal offenses and goes on to depict the plights of prison life and the corruption of law-enforcement bodies.

One year after Antena 3 cancelled the show, Fox Spain announced they had picked up the series for a third season, which premiered on April 23, 2018. It became the most watched pay TV in its timeslot. A fourth and final series premiered on December 3, 2018. Netflix also bought global streaming rights for the show.^[3][4][5]

Following the show's initial cancellation, several cast members moved on to other projects, resulting in major cast changes in seasons 3 and 4. Production also moved to a different filming location, as the previous studio became the set of another Álex Pina show, Money Heist. Maggie Civantos, who played the series' main character in the first two seasons, had her role reduced due to her commitment to another show, Cable Girls. Najwa Nimri, Berta Vázquez, María Isabel Díaz Lago, Marta Aledo, Laura Buena and Alba Flores returned as main cast members.

A spin-off entitled Vis a vis: El oasis was released in 2020. The show focuses on the characters of Macarena and Zulema. This served as the last installment of the series.^[6]

Plot[]

Macarena Ferreiro Molina is a 28 years spanish woman and who falls in love with her boss and because of him commits several accounting manipulation and misappropriation crimes. She is accused of four tax crimes and consequently she is imprisoned at the Cruz del Sur Prison as a precautionary measure with very high bail set. She has to face the emotional shock of what being in jail means to her, as well as the complicated relationship between the inmates; among them Zulema stands out as the most dangerous prisoner.

In prison Macarena realize the chance to survive the projected seven-years sentence she will likely receive if convicted depends on changing, evolving and becoming a very different person. Meanwhile, in order to pay the bail, her family outside gets involved in finding a large sum of money hidden somewhere when in dispute with Zulema's boyfriend, lead the Ferreiro to a terrible situation.

The series reflects the day-to-day life of prisoners and a group of officials in a penitentiary, and the transformation of a harmless woman, apparently incapable of doing harm, into a survivor who leaves her scruples aside. The fight for survival thus marks the coexistence between the inmates, characterized by alliances, betrayals and acts of revenge both between inmates and between officials.

Series overview[]

Series		Episodes		Originally aired			Ave. viewers (millions) and share
				First aired	Last aired	Network
	1	11		20 April 2015 (2015-04-20)	2 July 2015 (2015-07-02)	Antena 3	3.547 (19.9%)
	2	13		31 March 2016 (2016-03-31)	22 June 2016 (2016-06-22)		2.431 (14.2%)
	3	8		23 April 2018 (2018-04-23)	11 June 2018 (2018-06-11)	FOX Spain	0.151 (0.8%)
	4	8		3 December 2018 (2018-12-03)	4 February 2019 (2019-02-04)		0.129 (0.7%)

Season 1 (2015)[]

Season one follows the story of Macarena Ferreiro (Maggie Civantos), a young woman who was sentenced to prison for embezzling money from the company she's working as instructed by her boss and lover. Her life upside down when she meets the inmates, Zulema Zahir (Najwa Nimri) the prison's most dangerous inmate, her loyal friend Saray (Alba Flores) and Rizos (Berta Vázquez) a bubbly inmate who would make her question her sexuality. As she adapts to the prison environment, her decisions and choices dire consequences, not just to her but also to her family, who was caught up into her mess.

Season 2 (2016)[]

The season started with Zulema (Najwa Nimri), Saray (Alba Flores) and Macarena's (Maggie Civantos) escape from prison and its consequences. With Sandoval's (Ramiro Blas) bribery, Miranda (Cristina Plazas) imposed a stricter rules and regulations in prison as a repercussion to the inmate's escape. With authority from the Director to use any extreme measures to discipline misbehaving inmates, some officials resorts to abuse of power with some of the inmates as victims of physical and mental abuse as well as rape. With threats looming around Macarena's family for getting caught up with the Egyptian's family, the Ferreiro suffer their darkest tragedy. Macarena, Rizos (Berta Vázquez) and Saray's love triangle continues with Fabio (Roberto Enríquez) on the mix.

Season 3 (2018)[]

The season revolve on the lives of Saray (Alba Flores), Rizos (Berta Vázquez), Sole (María Isabel Díaz Lago), Tere (Marta Aledo), Anabel (Inma Cuevas), Antonia (Laura Baena) and Zulema (Najwa Nimri) as they adopt to the new environment of Cruz del Norte after being transferred to the new prison due to over crowding in Cruz del Sur, the inmates were forced to unite and put aside their differences towards each other as they encounter inmates and prison officials of Cruz del Norte. New characters were introduced such as a group of Chinese inmates, who they immediately knew are the ones who are in control of the prison with Macarena (Maggie Civantos) as their first victim.

Season 4 (2018–2019)[]

Season four deals with the aftermath of Zulema (Najwa Nimri), Saray (Alba Flores) and Altagracia's (Adriana Paz) escape. Altagracia, who used to terrorize the woman inmates as a prison guard, is now one of them. Zulema and Saray, who were once bestfriends, are now each other's enemies. Dr. Sandoval (Ramiro Blas) is the new Director of Cruz del Norte, who enforced violence to tame the inmates making the prison more dangerous than ever. We see Saray as a mother who would do anything for her child and Zulema, who would later be revealed to be a mother. Meanwhile, Sole (María Isabel Díaz Lago) is revealed to have Alzheimer's disease.

Cast and characters[]

While the show initially focused on the character of Macarena Ferreiro, portrayed by Maggie Civantos, it eventually evolved into an ensemble show.^[7]

Cruz del Sur woman Inmates[]

• Maggie Civantos as Macarena Ferreiro-A young woman sentenced to prison for 7 years due to frauds by helping her boss and lover steal money from the company's funds. (season 1–2, Oasis, Recurring: season 3–4).
• Najwa Nimri as Zulema Zahir –Known as the queen of prison due to her criminal records and illegal activities even while incarcerated, causing the inmates and some prison workers to fear her. (season 1–4, Oasis).
• Berta Vázquez as Estefania "Rizos" Kabila –A young afro in prison for 4 years due for auto theft. (season 1–4).
• Alba Flores as Saray Vargas de Jesús –A young woman sentenced for assault. (season 1–4, Guest: Oasis).
• Inma Cuevas as Ana Belén "Anabel" Vila Roig Garcés –A woman sentenced to 9 years for prostitution y drug. (season 1,2 and 3).
• María Isabel Díaz Lago as Soledad Núñez Hurtado –A prisoner who burned her husband and mistress to death.(season 1–2-3 and 4).
•  [es] as  Teresa González Largo –Sentenced to 4 years.(season 1–4).
• Laura Baena as Antonia Trujillo Díez –The prison cook, must serve 5 years.(season 1–4).
• Belén Cuesta as Yolanda Montero.

Cruz del Sur Employees[]

• Roberto Enríquez as Fabio Martínez León –A hot-tempered prison guard and former Police Officer. (season 1–2, Guest: 3).
• Ramiro Blas as Carlos Sandoval Castro –The Prison Doctor of Cruz del Sur and director of Cruz del Norte. (season 1–2,4, Guest: 3, Oasis).
• Cristina Plazas as Miranda Aguirre Senén–The director of Cruz Del Sur. (season 1–2).
• Alberto Velasco as Antonio Palacios Lloret –A friendly prison guard.(season 1–2,4).
• Harlys Becerra as Ismael Valbuena Ugarte –An antagonistic chief prison guard. (season 1–2).
• Ana Labordeta as Paloma Garrido "Governor" –The head prison guard. (Recurring season 1).

Macarena's Family[]

• Carlos Hipólito as Leopoldo Ferreiro Lobo – Macarena's father and former police guard. (season 1–2).
•  [es] as Encarna Molina – Macarena's mother. (season 1–2).
• Daniel Ortiz as Román Ferreiro Molina – Macarena's older brother. (season 1–2, Guest: Oasis).

Cruz del Norte Inmates[]

• Ruth Díaz as Mercedes Carrillo –A mother and a politician in the local district that was sentenced to prison due to corruption. (season 3, Guest: 4).
•  [es] as Akame –Leader of the Chinese gang in Cruz del Norte and antagonistic towards the newly transferred inmates from Cruz del Sur. (season 3).
• Ana Marzoa as Prudencia Mosqueira –Soledad's friend in prison. (Also star, season 3).
•  [es] as Goya Fernández –One of the self proclaimed 'leaders' of Cruz del Norte and a drug dealer who initially was cold towards the newly transferred inmates from Cruz del Sur. (season 3-4, Oasis).
•  [es] as Luna Garrido –A transgender inmate who befriended the Cruz del Sur inmates, also a drug addict. (season 3-4).

Cruz del Norte Employees[]

• Javier Lara as Álex Moncada – Director of Cruz del Norte. (season 3).
• Luis Callejo as Andrés Frutos –A prison guard who secretly trades with the Chinese inmates. (Also star, season 3).
• Adriana Paz as Altagracia Guerrero –An ex-prisoner and an antagonistic prison guard, Zulema's accomplice. (Also star, season 3–4).
• Cristina Marcos as Magdalena Cruz –Owner of Cruz del Sur, del Norte, del Oeste, and the newly planned del Este. (Also star, season 4).
• Benjamín Vicuña as Antonio Hierro –A strict prison guard assigned to monitor Zulema. (Also star, season 4).
• Zaira Pérez as Nuria Millán – Prison guard in Cruz del Norte. (Recurring season 3–4).

Police Force[]

• Jesús Castejón as Inspector Damián Castillo –The head detective of the police force. (season 1-4, Guest: Oasis).
• Hugo Guzmán as Camilo Jalapeño –Inspector Castillo's partner. (Recurring season 2).
• Verónika Moral as Helena Martín –An undercover cop in prison.(season 2).
• Jose Javier Domínguez as Inspector Pipiolo – Inspector Castillo's partner. (Recurring season 2).
• Irene Anula as Inspector Nerea Rojas – Inspector Castillo's partner, Rizos' love interest. (Recurring season 3).

Recurring and guest stars[]

• Adryen Mehdi as Hanbal "The Egyptian" Hamadi  –Zulema's boyfriend who did does work for her. (season 1).
• Dunia Rodríguez as María Prieto "Casper" Téllez –Zulema's servant in prison. (season 1–2).
• Sonia Almarcha as Lidia Osborne - Román's wife. (season 1–2).
• Irene Arcos as Carolina –Fabio's wife. (season 1–2).
• Carmen Baquero as Alba Vargas de Jesús –Saray's mother. (season 1–3).
• Paula Medina as Jacky – Inmate from Cruz del Sur. (season 1).
• Olivia Delcán as Cristina "Bambi" Marquina –Anabel's servant in prison and one of Macarena's friend. (season 2).
• Mona Martínez as Carlota "Governor" –Head prison guard of Cruz del Sur. (season 2).
• Elena Seijo as Susana Tamayo Román –An inmate Who had after she kidnapped a girl thinking it's her daughter. (season 2).
• Sara Vidorreta as Amaia Jiménez.
• Rafael Núñez as Fernando – Husband of Sole's heart donor. (season 2).
• Laura Quirós as Alicia González – Mercedes' daughter. (season 3).
• Georgina Amorós  as Fátima Amin –Zulema's daughter. (season 4).
• Édgar Vittorino as Caimán –Male prisoner from one of Cruz's prison.(season 4).
• Mala Rodriguez as Saray's girlfriend.(season 4).
• Nahara Calero as Estrella Vargas -Sandoval's daughter and Saray. (season 4).
• Juan Blanco as Alfonso "El Piti" –Tere's boyfriend. (season 1,4).
• Farah Hamed as Zulema's mother.
• Miriam Rodríguez–One of the prisoners of Cruz del Norte, she is part of the choral group. (season 4).
• Raúl Tejón as Unai del Álamo–A prison guard from Cruz del Norte and Altagracia's lover. (season 3).
• Ester Expósito as one of the daughters of Fernando. (season 3).

Cast summary[]

Characters
Actor	Character	season
		1	2	3	4	Oasis
Maggie Civantos	Macarena Ferreiro Molina	Main		Recurring		Main
Najwa Nimri	Zulema Zahir	Main
Carlos Hipólito	Leopoldo Ferreiro Lobo	Main
Roberto Enríquez	Fabio Martínez León	Main		Guest
Cristina Plazas	Miranda Aguirre Senén	Main
Berta Vázquez	Estefanía Kabila Silva "Curly"	Main
Alba Flores	Saray Vargas de Jesús	Main				Guest
Inma Cuevas	Ana Belén "Anabel" Villaroch Garcés	Main			Guest
María Isabel Díaz	Soledad "Sole" Núñez Hurtado	Main
[es]	Encarna Molina	Main
Ramiro Blas	Carlos Sandoval Castro	Main		Guest	Main	Guest
Alberto Velasco	Antonio Palacios Lloret	Main			Main
Marta Aledo	Teresa "Tere" González Largo	Main
Daniel Ortiz	Román Ferreio Molina	Main				Guest
Harlys Becerra	Ismael Valbuena Ugarte	Main
Laura Baena	Antonia Trujillo Díez	Main
[es]	Inspector Damián Castillo	Recurring		Main		Guest
Ruth Díaz	Mercedes Carrillo			Main	Guest
Huichi Chiu	Akame			Main
Javier Lara	Álex Moncada			Main
Ana Marzoa	Prudencia "Pruden" Mosqueira	Guest		Also Starring
Luis Callejo	Andrés Frutos			Also Starring
Adriana Paz	Altagracia Guerrero			Also Starring
[es]	Goya Fernández			Recurring	Main
[es]	Luna Garrido			Recurring	Main
Georgina Amorós	Fátima Amín				Recurring
Cristina Marcos	Magdalena Cruz				Also Starring
Benjamín Vicuña	Antonio Hierro				Also Starring
David Ostrosky	Víctor Ramala					Main
Lucas Ferraro	Cepo Sandoval Castro					Main
Ana María Picchio	Ama Castro					Recurring
Isabel Naveira	Laura "La Flaca" Ros					Also Starring
Lisi Linder	Mónica Ramala					Also Starring
Claudia Riera	Triana Azcoitia					Also Starring
Alma Itzel	Kati Ramala					Also Starring
Fernando Sansegundocomo	Matías "Mati"Maneses					Also Starring
Iván Morales	Javier Colsa					Also Starring
José de la Torre	Pérez					Also Starring
Almagro San Miguel	Diego Ramala					Also Starring
Lolo Diego	Apolo					Also Starring
Pablo Vázquez	Julián Quintanilla					Also Starring
Natalia Hernández	Elena					Also Starring
Paula Gallego	Virginia "Vivi" Quintanilla					Also Starring
Ismael Palacios	Lucas					Also Starring

  = Lead character

  = Macarena Ferreio's relatives

  = Inmates

  = Prison staff

  = Police inspectors

  = Oasis Characters

International broadcast[]

Season 1 was broadcast in the United Kingdom from 17 May 2016 on Channel 4's Walter Presents video-on-demand service.^[8] In 2017, Prime Video acquired the first two seasons for the United States, and in 2018, Hulu acquired the first four seasons for Japan.^[9] In Greece, the series premiered on 27 November 2018 on ERT.^[10] Netflix bought the rights for international distribution in 2017.

The series is also available for a limited amount of time on the online streaming service 'VTMGO' by the Belgian broadcaster VTM (TV channel).

Reception[]

Critical response[]

When the premise of the series was first announced, it was immediately compared to American television series Orange Is the New Black and some media accused it of being a mere copy. However, when the pilot episode was screened for critics, they noted both series are different in tone as Locked Up is mostly a thriller while Orange Is the New Black is a comedy-drama. Besides the comparisons, the series received favourable to good reviews.

Critics praised the Cast's acting and fast-paced storyline. "The acting is strong throughout, the characters engaging and believable, the script is fast-paced and captivating, and it looks beautiful on screen with some creative and imaginative camerawork."^[11] Rebecca Nicholson from the Guardian says that the show is "tremendously silly and fantastically taut thriller that carries itself at a breathless pace."^[12]

"This is violent – brutally so – and very graphic in its portrayal of life in a women's prison. But utterly brilliant at the same time. It is dark with a constant air of threat and menace running through it. I love it." from Martin Howse of Entertainment Focus.^[13]

After two seasons, Antena 3 cancelled the show, however, on 6 July 2017, Fox Spain announced they had picked up the series for a third and fourth season, with fourth as the last of the series. Season 3 premiered on April 23, 2018.^[3][4] And the fourth and final season was released in December 2018. The show was shot in Spain.^[5]

Awards and Nominations[]

During its four seasons run, the show collected a total of forty-four nominations with thirteen wins.

Year	Award	Category	Nominees	Result	Ref.
2015	Ondas Awards	Best Actress	Female Cast of Vis a Vis	Won	[14]
	FesTVal de Televisión y Radio de Vitoria	Discovery of the Year	Vis a Vis	Won
	Premios MiM	Best Drama Actress for Television	Maggie Civantos	Won
2016	Spanish Actors Union Awards	Best Female Lead Performance	Maggie Civantos	Won	[15]
			Najwa Nimri	Nominated
		Best Male Lead Performance	Roberto Enríquez	Nominated
		Best Female Performance in Supporting Role	Alba Flores	Nominated
		Best Female Performance in Minor Role	Inma Cuevas	Won
			Marta Aledo	Nominated
	Premios Iris	Best Actress	Najwa Nimri	Nominated
		Best Actor		Nominated
		Best Fiction	Vis a Vis	Nominated
		Best Production	Cristina López Ferrar, Juan López Olivar	Nominated
	Fotogramas de Plata	Audience Award for Best Spanish Series	Vis a Vis	Nominated
	Festival de Luchon (France)	Best Spanish Fiction	Vis a Vis	Won
	Premios Paramount Channel	Best Villain	Najwa Nimri	Won
		Best Upcoming Actress	Berta Vázquez	Won
	Premios MiM	Best Drama Series	Vis a Vis	Won
		Best Direction	Vis a Vis	Nominated
2017	Spanish Actors Union Awards	Best Female Lead Performance	Maggie Civantos	Nominated	[15]
			Najwa Nimri	Nominated
		Best Male Lead Performance	Roberto Enríquez	Nominated
		Best Female Performance in Supporting Role	Alba Flores	Won
		Best Female Performance in Minor Role	Inma Cuevas	Won
			Maria Isabel Díaz	Nominated
	Feroz Awards	Best Drama Series	Vis a Vis	Nominated
		Best Lead Actress	Maggie Civantos	Nominated
			Najwa Nimri	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress	Alba Flores	Nominated
			Inma Cuevas	Nominated
	Fotogramas de Plata	Audience Award for Best Spanish Series	Vis a Vis	Won
		Best TV Actress	Najwa Nimri	Nominated
	Premios Fenix Awards	Best TV Ensemble	Vis a Vis	Nominated
2018	Premios Iris (ATv)	Best Actress	Alba Flores	Nominated	[15]
		Best Director	Jesus Colmenar, Sandra Gallego, David Molina Encinas, Jesus Rodrigo	Nominated
	Premios MiM	Best Drama Series	Vis a Vis	Nominated
		Best Drama Actress	Najwa Nimri	Nominated
2019	Spanish Actors Union Awards	Best Male Performance in a Minor Role	Jesus Castejon	Nominated	[15]
		Best Female New Comer	Abril Zamora	Nominated
	Feroz Awards	Best Lead Actress	Najwa Nimri	Nominated
	Fotogramas de Plata	Best TV Actress	Najwa Nimri	Won
	The Platino Awards for Iberoamerican Cinema	Best Actress in Mini series or TV Series	Najwa Nimri	Nominated
	Spanish Audio Visual Award	Best TV Show Music	Manel Santisteban, Ivan Martinez Lacamara	Nominated
2020	Spanish Actors Union Awards	Best Male Supporting Performance	Alberto Velasco	Nominated	[15]

Spin-off[]

A spin-off series titled Vis a vis: El Oasis premiered in April 2020. The show focused on Maggie Civantos' character, Macarena and Najwa Nimri's character, Zulema, teaming up together. The spin-off served as the last season for the series overall.^[6][16]

References[]

External links[]

• Official website
• Locked Up at IMDb
• Locked Up at Rotten Tomatoes