series

Four years after a scene from the biggest TV series of the century was filmed in Girona, much has been forgotten…

In just minutes, tickets to the free screening of HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’ season 6 premiere on the 25^th of April sold out in Girona. Just 40 km away from Barcelona, the walled medieval city of Girona set the scene for some of this season’s episodes based on George R. R. Martin’s internationally acclaimed novels. Some Girona locals were even featured as extras in episodes. High demand for tickets to see the season premiere led Girona officials to include a second screening, but fans looking to buy tickets caused the online system to crash as others waited in line in person to get their tickets. Although some will be unable to attend, negotiations between ‘Game of Thrones’ producers and Girona city officials may bring the show’s cast and crew back to the city to film season 7 of the hit TV series.

The popular drama series by Albert Espinosa, based on his experiences of staying in a children’s hospital, has a pilot episode in development, with scripting by Margaret Nagel (‘Boardwalk Empire’) and supervision from Steven Spielberg. ‘Polseres Vermelles’, known to English-speaking audiences as ‘The Red Band Society’, has received positive feedback from its international distributors. An Italian adaptation, called ‘Braccialetti rossi’, started to be aired by RAI1 on January 26.  ‘Polseres Vermelles’ is an original project from Catalonia’s Public Television Broadcaster.

The series, produced by the Catalan Public Television Broadcaster and Filmax, has been exported to several countries and Steven Spielberg and Marta Kauffman are going to shoot a remake for the ABC network. ‘Polseres vermelles’ – which literally means ‘red bracelets’ in Catalan - describes the life of a group of six teenagers who live in a hospital as patients. It is based on the personal experiences of its creator, Albert Espinosa, who had cancer as a child. The first season was aired in 2011 and it became a huge success with audiences. The second season premiered on Thursday and will be broadcast as from Monday on TV3 at prime time.

Barça Regal win the Liga title in the last match of the Liga Endesa Finals at an at-capacity Palau Blaugrana. The game against Real Madrid was won in the last seconds of the fourth quarter. Pete Mickeal,with 17 points and 9 rebounds, was the best player of the match. Fran Vázquez also had a brilliant performance. Erazem Lorbek was named MVP of the Liga Endesa Final playoff series.

Steven Spielberg has bought the rights to adapt a series produced and broadcast by Catalonia’s public TV station. The American name will be ‘The Red Band Society’ and Marta Kauffman, creator of ‘Friends’, might be in charge of the script. The main characters in the series are a group of teenagers with cancer, who develop a friendship and explore their imagination in hospital. ‘Polseres vermelles’ was a huge success on Catalan television and the second season is in production.

Regal Barça have clinched the ACB League after winning game three of the final series at Bizkaia Bilbao Basket’s arena. Xavi Pascual’s team won a gripping game to win back the crown they lost last year.

Regal Barça got off to a winning start against Bilbao Basket in Spanish Basketball League play offs, the ACB final series. Lorbek (the top scorer with 24 points and 28 evaluation) and Perovic were especially outstanding.