A Espia
A Espia (transl. 'The Spy') is a Portuguese historical drama television miniseries starring Daniela Ruah, Diogo Morgado and Maria João Bastos. It originally aired in 2020 on RTP1.
| A Espia | |
|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Created by | Pandora da Cunha Telles | 
| Developed by | 
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| Directed by | 
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| Starring | 
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| Country of origin | 
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| Original languages | 
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| No. of seasons | 1 | 
| No. of episodes | 8 | 
| Production | |
| Production companies | 
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| Release | |
| Original network | RTP1 | 
| Original release | 8 April – 27 May 2020  | 
Premise
    
The fiction, taking place in between Lisbon, Porto and Galicia, starts in 1941, during World War II.[1] It tracks the maze of espionage in 1940s Portugal by focusing on the Shell network, dealing with developments such as the provision of tungsten (a critical mineral in war time).[2]
Cast
    
- Daniela Ruah as Maria João Mascarenhas.[3]
 - Diogo Morgado as Siegfried Brenner.[3][4]
 - Maria João Bastos as Rose Lawson.[3]
 - António Capelo as Nicolau Mascarenhas.[5]
 - Luís Eusébio as Agent Paulo Santos.[4][5]
 - Adriano Carvalho as William Larenz.[4]
 - Marco D'Almeida as Richard Thompson.[4]
 - Pedro Lamares as Major Jack Beevor.[3][4]
 - Sisley Dias as Cândido de Oliveira.[3]
 - Patrícia Tavares as Alice.[5]
 - Adriano Luz as Agostinho Lourenço.[3]
 - Joaquim Nicolau as Captain Ribeiro Casais.[3]
 
Production and release
    
Produced by Ukbar Filmes together with RTP, Ficción Producciones and with the support from ICA and PIC Portugal, it is a joint co-production by Portugal and Spain.[6] Developed by José de Pina and Rui Cardoso Martins based on an original idea from Pandora da Cunha Telles,[7] the writing team was formed by Raquel Palermo, Cláudia Clemente, Martim Baginha, Snir Wein, Pablo Iraola, Pandora da Cunha Telles, Rui Cardoso Martins and José de Pina.[4]
Consisting of 8 episodes,[4] shooting took place from May to July 2019 in Lisbon, Porto, Curia, Tomar, Figueira da Foz and Santiago de Compostela.[4]
Directors included Jorge Paixão da Costa, Edgar Pêra and João Maia.[6] Historian Margarida de Magalhães Ramalho worked as historical advisor.[6]
Awards and nominations
    
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 10th Sophia Awards | Best Series or TV Movie | Nominated | [9][10] | |
References
    
- Sobral, Cláudia (8 April 2020). "A Espia. Os alemães, os ingleses e duas espias portuguesas no país de Salazar durante a II Guerra". i.
 - "'A Espia'. RTP1 estreia série que tem Daniela Ruah como protagonista". atelevisao.com. 2 April 2020.
 - Almeida, Sebastião (8 April 2020). "'A Espia' é a nova série da RTP passada durante a II Guerra Mundial". Timeout.
 - ""A Espia" estreia hoje: traições e segredos dos espiões em Portugal revelados na nova série da RTP1". mag.sapo.pt. 8 April 2020.
 - ""A Espia" – Estreia dia 8 na RTP1". voxpoptv. 31 March 2020.
 - Tendinha, Rui Pedro (8 April 2020). "Maria João Bastos, uma espia feminista em estreia na RTP". dn.pt.
 - Calheiros, Sónia (8 April 2020). ""A Espia": O xadrez da espionagem na nova série da RTP1". Visao.
 - "A Espia". TV Time. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
 - ""Mosquito" de João Nuno Pinto lidera nomeados dos prémios de cinema Sophia". Observador. 19 May 2021.
 - Gonçalves, João (20 September 2021). "Conheça os vencedores da 10ª edição dos Prémios Sophia". Cinevisao.pt.