How Laura Fernández Espeso Is Taking Mediapro Studio Global

Laura Fernández Espeso, who took over as CEO of The Mediapro Studio (TMS), in 2020, has taken the Iberian powerhouse global. The group now has 52 offices across 31 countries, and this summer launched operations across the U.S. and Canada. “We’ve opened offices in Los Angeles after operating in Miami and New York over the last few years,” she says, TMS US & Canada fulfills our goal to create, produce, and distribute content in English, intended for audiences all over the world.”

TMS’ English-language credits to date include the Paolo Sorrentino-directed limited series The Young Pope and The New Pope, for HBO/Max, and Nicolas Winding Refn’s family adventure series The Famous Five for the BBC, as well as such features as A Perfect Day, Hunting Ava Bravo, and Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths.

Indie film is where Fernández Espeso got her start in the industry, more than 20 years ago. “I had the chance to work with renowned international directors like Francis Ford Coppola, Danis Tanovic, Ken Loach and Juan José Campanella, among others,” she recalls, “I think this experience put me on the path that would come later and fueled my interest in working with international talent and productions of very different origins.”

Born in a village near Zamora in western Spain, Fernández Espeso’s career has taken her across Europe — to London, Brussels, and Madrid — over to Los Angeles and now back to Madrid, where she is planning TMS’ global strategy. She’ll unveil the company’s full English-language slate at MIPCOM, where she’ll be giving a Media Mastermind keynote on how she plans to replicate TMS’ Spanish success — by its own estimates the group is responsible for up to a quarter of primetime TV programming in Spain — to the much bigger global market for English-language content.

Picked as one of The Hollywood Reporter‘s 2024 list of the Most Powerful Women in International TV, Fernández Espeso took time to talk to THR about her journey from indie film producer to media mogul and how The Mediapro Studio plans to conquer the world.

What was your first job in the business?

I started working in independent film over 20 years ago. I had the chance to work with renowned international directors like Francis Ford Coppola, Danis Tanovic, Ken Loach, and Juan José Campanella, among others. I think this experience put me on the path that would come later and fueled my interest in working with international talent and productions of very different origins.

Early on, I also had the opportunity to work and live outside of Spain, first in Brussels, then in Los Angeles. All of that, along with later experiences in places like the UK and Latin America — in Colombia, Argentina, and Mexico — has helped me evolve both personally and professionally.

What was the biggest professional challenge you faced this past year?

To expand the Studio’s activity in the United States. We’ve opened offices in Los Angeles after operating in Miami and New York over the last few years.

The Mediapro Studio US & Canada fulfills our goal to create, produce and distribute content in English, intended for audiences all over the world. It has been a privilege to incorporate accomplished professionals like Juan ‘JC’ Acosta and other male and female executives with vast experience. We’ll be announcing very solid national projects at MIPCOM.

What do you see as your biggest achievement of the past year?

Being able to launch the content we’ll be announcing soon. Series, movies, documentaries and entertainment formats with the participation of great industry talent in North America, actors as well as creators. This year, we also premiered The 47, a film that has been number one at the Spanish box office for three weeks and will soon become the biggest Spanish film release of the year.

Continuing with film, we just got back from the San Sebastián International Film Festival, where we presented Mike Leigh’s film Hard Truths in the official section, which has received great reviews here and at the Toronto Film Festival, where it was screened in early September. At San Sebastián, we also premiered Celeste, a series co-produced with Movistar Plus, which will premiere on the platform in November. We’re also immensely happy to have received an International Emmy nomination for the second consecutive year for Yosi, The Regretful Spy.

At the studio, we’re very proud to have integrated the production company Fresco Film, a leading service company in international fiction with titles like Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, Westworld, The Blacklist, Killing Eve, Narcos: Mexico, the recently-released series Kaos, and films like Uncharted, Terminator: Dark Fate, Spider-Man: Far from Home, and Guy Ritchie’s latest film The Covenant, among many other titles.

The growth of Cimarron [with the Academy Award-nominated film Society of the Snow, the Platino Award-winning series Barrabrava, or the upcoming Ben Affleck and Matt Damon production Kiss of Spider Woman] has also been very important and noteworthy this year.

What needs to be done to improve equality and diversity within the industry?

Although we’ve made significant progress over the past decade, the global audiovisual industry still needs to continue working to include more women in leadership positions, as well as ensuring equal opportunity. We must always respect and protect diversity. Film and television are the most powerful mediums for creating political and cultural archetypes, where the representation of what is “different” has sometimes been mistreated. It’s our responsibility to pay close attention to the stories we choose to tell and think carefully about who writes, directs, acts in or produces them.

At Group Mediapro, we have a diversity committee that develops very interesting initiatives. It works to promote female talent and also raises awareness about functional, generational, cultural and gender diversity. We must continue to actively contribute and provide opportunities. The Studio has very good data regarding parity, and we have found and integrated brilliant women to lead our divisions. But it’s still an effort we all must make, both in front of and behind the camera.

What is or has been the greatest challenge in being a woman in this (still very male-dominated) industry?

I’ve been lucky to work over the last 15 years in an atmosphere like Mediapro, where I’ve felt constant support for my career and growth. Even still, I completely agree it’s still a very male-dominated industry and we still have a lot of progress to make in that sense.

What current industry trend do you hope to soon see the back of?

In recent years, we’ve witnessed numerous changes and seen the emergence of new ways to reach audiences. The industry is evolving very quickly. It’s a huge challenge to create trend-setting content, which is always our goal as creators — not to follow trends, but to contribute to creating them.

What advice would you give young women just entering the industry?

Work hard, get training, never stop learning, and show as much respect as you can for your colleagues, your profession and everything. The harder you work, the more visible you become, and eventually, more opportunities will present themselves.

What show, currently on air, would you love to have made?

[Netflix’s] Ripley.

What do you watch for pleasure?

Priscilla, There Is Still Tomorrow, Past Lives.

What do you do to unwind?

I like to read, listen to music, spend time with my son, walk through the woods, travel and enjoy gastronomy.