Dhruv Trivedi
From the makers of ‘Money Heist,’ one of Netflix’s highest-watched non-English series, comes ‘Sky Rojo,’ a blistering road trip through Spain by three women on the run from their former pimp (who they’ve seriously injured) and his cronies. The series is described by creators Alex Pina and Esther Martinez Lobato as high action, fast-paced, and visually punchy “Latin Pulp.”
One of the most remarkable aspects of the show is the contrast it explores between the glitzy neon club world that the women are fleeing and the wild open landscape in which they find themselves. Want to know more about the locations the makers use to bring these ideas spectacularly to life? We’ve got you covered!
Sky Rojo Filming Locations
Filming for ‘Sky Rojo’ takes place in various locations in mainland Spain and the Canary Islands. Production on the first season started in November 2019 in Madrid, moving on to the islands in early 2020. Though filming was interrupted in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is one of the first shows with an international cast that Netflix resumed filming. The cast and crew were back at work in Madrid in late June 2020 and then continued on to the island of Tenerife in October. Let’s take a closer look at both these locations.
Madrid, Spain
Initial filming for ‘Sky Rojo’ took place on location in Madrid. Though most of the series takes place on the open road and smaller towns, the initial scenes at the club from where Wendy, Gina, and Coral escape are filmed in the city. Alex Pina’s production company Vancouver Media is also based in Madrid, as is the creator’s hit show ‘Money Heist.’
Located to the south and east of Madrid, Castilla–La Mancha was set to serve as a filming site for four months in early 2020. However, the delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic squashed the plans, and the production team ultimately settled on filming a major portion of the show in Madrid.
Canary Islands, Spain
Since the show is based in Tenerife, the largest and most populous of the eight Canary Islands, a significant portion of the filming takes place there. The showrunners specifically wanted to use Tenerife for the setting as the wild open landscape provides the perfect backdrop for the fleeing trio. Co-creator Esther Martinez Lobato revealed that they needed a color scheme that heavily contrasted the neon lights and glitter aesthetic of the clubs that these girls were trying to escape. Thankfully for them, the open desert and generally natural landscape of Tenerife provided just that.
According to local news outlet Spain’s News, the small municipality of Arico in the southeastern part of the island is where much of the filming for the series will be based. This comes thanks to the efforts of the City Council to promote Arico as a viable destination for productions of this kind. It is also expected to give the municipality an economic boost and increase tourism, as well as give the show’s producers the aesthetic that they are looking for. Filming for ‘Sky Rojo’ season 1 lasted a total of two and a half months on the island of Tenerife.
Read More: Where is Money Heist Filmed?
