The series 'If it's Tuesday it's Murder', announced today by Disney+, is the first Spanish fiction production by this platform to be made in Portugal, will have seven episodes and has been filmed since April by Abigail Schaaff and Salvador Calvó, with a screenplay by Carlos Vila Sexto.

The story follows a very diverse group of Spanish tourists who have just arrived in Lisbon for a week's vacation. One of them turns up dead, so four others, fans of detective novels and mysteries, decide to investigate what happened.

"It's seven days in Lisbon, exploring the city, discovering the mysteries of the group, but also of the city. Part of the adventure is in the history of Lisbon itself", explained the Spanish screenwriter and writer Carlos Vila Sexto, in an interview with the Lusa agency.

This is an investigation and mystery series, in a genre called "whodunit", which will take the characters to the Coach and Tile museums, to the São Jorge Castle, to the Santa Justa elevator or even to Alfama and Príncipe Real, with a stop in Sintra, at the Quinta da Regaleira.

It was Disney+ who chose Lisbon to make this series, which is only expected to premiere in 2025.

"It's an absolutely beautiful European city. It's one of the most beautiful European places, the weather is good, it's one monument after another, it's the light for photography, it's the tiles. There's a lot of work with filming here and it's a spectacular city", said the vice president of original productions at Disney+ Spain, Sofia Fábregas, to Lusa.

The series is produced by the Spanish La Zona Producciones and the main cast is also mostly Spanish, but the technical work on the ground is done mainly by Portuguese professionals.

"All the means, the studio, everything is rented in Portugal. On a technical and structural level, make-up, hair, wardrobe, construction, electricians, everything is Portuguese", Paulo Guedes, one of the production coordinators on the ground, stressed to Lusa.

One of the people leading the execution of the Spanish series in Lisbon is the Portuguese producer Margarida Adónis, who provides services in the area of film and audiovisual and who ensured, for example, the filming in Portugal of the film 'Heart of Stone' (2023), by Tom Harper for Netflix.

"My job is to attract foreign productions to film in Portugal with Portuguese people. I think my name must have been suggested by Disney in the United States to Spain", Margarida Adónis told Lusa on a filming day between the Padrão dos Descobrimentos and the Belém Tower, next to the Tagus River.

'If it's Tuesday it's Murder' stars Álex García, Inma Cuesta, Ana Wagener, Pedro Casablanc, among others, but the series also includes the Portuguese Paulo Pires, Adriano Carvalho, Elsa Galvão, Romeu Runa or Paula Bárcia.

Questioned about the scarcity of audiovisual productions that bring together Portugal and Spain, Sofia Fábregas replied that the logic of 'streaming' platforms is to be global, with productions designed "to travel the world".

"This is the wonder of platforms: What is done in Spain ends up being seen in South Korea or in the United States and this is the mission of this project. The project has a fan base of the genre. It's a genre that everyone knows", she defended.

Disney+ started operating in Portugal in September 2020, joining other 'streaming' platforms already existing in the Portuguese market, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and HBO Max (now called just Max) which, according to Portuguese legislation that transposes a European directive, have investment obligations in the territory where they operate.

"We are investing whether or not we are in the law. We create industry, we are competitive. With or without a law, we would continue to invest", said the official.

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