Aman Goyal
Prime Video’s ever-expanding literary adaptation catalog has a new addition! The streaming platform has ordered the Eva Longoria-produced series ‘The House of the Spirits,’ which is based on Isabel Allende’s novel of the same name. The production of the show is slated to begin in Chile this month. Francisca Alegría and Fernanda Urrejola pen the episodes, with the former also attached as the director alongside Andres Wood. Alfonso Herrera headlines the cast, which also includes Dolores Fonzi, Nicole Wallace, Juan Pablo Raba, and Fernanda Castillo.
The plot revolves around the triumphs and tragedies of three generations of the Trueba family. The patriarch Esteban is a volatile, proud man whose voracious pursuit of political power is tempered only by his love for his delicate wife, Clara, a woman with a mystical connection to the spirit world. When their daughter, Blanca, embarks on a forbidden love affair in defiance of her implacable father, the result is an unexpected gift to Esteban: his adored granddaughter, Alba, a beautiful and strong-willed child who will lead her family and her country into a revolutionary future.
‘The House of the Spirits’ is the debut novel of Allende, who is widely considered the most successful writer in the Spanish language. The work combines the author’s real-life experiences and magical realism. A fundamental part of Latin American culture, the literary work was previously adapted into a 1993 film of the same name, which featured Winona Ryder as Blanca. The new adaptation was first announced in 2021 and has been in the development stage at FilmNation Entertainment.
Herrera is known for playing Cassius in Zack Snyder’s ‘Rebel Moon,’ Javi Elizonndro in Jason Bateman’s crime drama series ‘Ozark,’ Javier Jimenez in the drug drama ‘Queen of the South,’ and Hernando Fuentes in the science fiction thriller ‘Sense8.’
Longoria was initially supposed to star in the series. However, due to scheduling conflicts, her role remains limited to that of an executive producer. The actress is part of the cast of upcoming projects such as ‘The Pickup’ and ‘Oh. What. Fun.’ In the realm of television, she recently hosted the travel show ‘Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico’ and starred in Apple TV+’s latest comedy ‘Land of Women.’ She also appeared as a fictionalized version of herself in the new season of ‘Only Murders in the Building.’
Alegría recently made her feature-film debut with ‘The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future.’ She has also written, directed, and edited numerous short films. During the original announcement of the project, the screenwriter expressed her admiration for Allende’s writing. “Isabel was ahead of her time, just like the female protagonists of the story, and I feel that today, 40 years later, we can actually understand and integrate the deeply complex threads of their powerful lineage,” she said.
Urrejola, a renowned Chilean actress, collaborated with Alegría on her 2022 feature drama. Her writing career dates back to the 2012 film ‘Bring Me the Head of the Machine Gun Woman,’ in which she also starred in the titular role. The writer-performer is best known for portraying María Elvira in Netflix’s ‘Narcos: Mexico’ and Leta in Clint Eastwood’s ‘Cry Macho.’
Chile, an exotic filming destination in South America, has hosted the shooting of various high-profile productions over the years. Among these are the acclaimed films ‘Society of the Snow‘ and ‘The Tree of Life,’ as well as popular projects such as ‘Knock Knock‘ and ‘Warcraft.’
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