Sky has today released the first-look trailer and key art for Juan Carlos: Downfall of The King, a Sky Original documentary series from Gebrüder Beetz Filmproduktion and Sky Studios.
Charting the rise and fall of former Spanish King Juan Carlos I, the four-part series will be coming to Sky Documentaries and Now on 21st May 2023 and today receives its world premiere in competition at Canneseries.
For many years, King Juan Carlos I was a Spanish hero, celebrated around the world for reforming Spain with his modern, progressive, democratic values. He led his country from the Franco dictatorship to parliamentary monarchy, transforming Spain into a modern European state and becoming the most popular Spanish ruler in history.
King Juan Carlos had a loyal Queen, a loving family, international respect, friends in high places and faithful subjects; he had everything a King could wish for. So, how did this revered Monarch take such a drastic fall from grace that he was forced to abdicate in 2014 and eventually flee into exile in 2020?
The investigate documentary features exclusive interviews with close friends, palace insiders, journalists and supporters of Juan Carlos, along with his former lover, Corinna zu Sayn- Wittgenstein. Documented and brought together on screen for the first time, a varied collective of high-profile figures including former secret service agent José Manuel Villarejo, biographer Jaime Peñafiel, ex-
bank president, Mario Conde and close confidant of Juan Carlos, Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein’s ex- husband, Philip Adkins share their eyewitness accounts of this period in modern Spanish history.
Juan Carlos: Downfall of The King sets out on an international hunt across London, Monaco, Geneva, Abu Dhabi and New York to find out how Juan Carlos came to his enormous fortune and asks long standing questions around his financial affairs, lucrative connections and his alleged involvement in global corruption cases.
Christian Beetz, Co-Author, Producer, Gebrueder beetz Filmproduktion:”When we started producing this investigative series about King Juan Carlos I of Spain, we were unaware of the magnitude, scale and reach of the royal, financial and political scandal. Bit by bit, a web of intrigue, greed and power games unravelled, rooted deep in the highest circles of Spanish society. It’s a remarkable story and one that we have sought to tell without fear or favour.”
The series is produced by Christian Beetz, who created the series with Anne von Petersdorff and Georg Tschurtschenthaler from Gebrüder Beetz Filmproduktion, and author Pedro Barbadillo. Executive Producers at Sky Deutschland are Christian Asanger and Felix Kempter, and for Sky Studios, Barnaby Shingleton. The four-part documentary series is being produced by Gebrüder Beetz Filmproduktion in association with Sky Studios.
The series will be available to stream exclusively on SkyShowtime in Spain, Portugal, the Nordics, the Netherlands, and Central and Eastern Europe in the coming months
Pippa Considine
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