Between Aída and Siete Vidas, Carmen Machi starred in 202 television episodes. Her effort was such that, after abandoning the spin-off focused on her character, she never wanted to be the protagonist of a series again. You just have to see that in Arde Madrid, Las de la Última Fila, Cites, 30 Monedas or La Mesías she played secondary, episodic or recurring roles. Now, however, she has found a series for which she is willing to monopolize the spotlight again: Celeste, Diego San José’s series inspired by Shakira.
It must be said that the statements from Movistar Plus, which produces the series, do not include any reference to the Colombian singer who lived in Barcelona after falling in love with soccer player Gerard Piqué at the World Cup in South Africa. But the plot written by San José, screenwriter of Eight Basque Surnames and the television trilogy that began with Vota Juan, bears such a reasonable resemblance to Shakira’s legal situation that it is impossible not to mention it. Pay attention to the argument:
Celeste is the big star of Latin music. Her songs are a global phenomenon. Her concerts fill stadiums. She has her own perfume, her own brand of lingerie and a long mane of hair promoting her own shampoo. But this series is not about her.
The real protagonist of Celeste is Sara Santano, a tax inspector who has dedicated her entire life to collecting taxes. That is the only thing she has done since she took her exams as a twenty-something until today, after more than thirty years dedicated to the Tax Agency, the time has come to retire early. Or so she thought.
Because on the last day he receives the most important assignment of his career: to prove that Celeste, the great Latin star, resides in Spain and has to pay her taxes here. A mission on which twenty million euros depend for the Spanish coffers. To do this, Sara will have to put her life aside to go through Celeste’s and prove that she spent 184 days here. Half the year plus one.
Machi, of course, will be Sara Santano, this gray character who, while thinking about retirement, finds herself involved in a case opposite to her personality. “When Diego called me to tell me that he had written something thinking of me, I was very excited. He has created a character full of silences and with a lot of tomato, which is also surrounded by fantastic casting,” the Goya-winning actress recognized precisely for Eight Basque surnames, who has also clarified that he “broke out laughing” when hearing the story from its creator but that it is not a comedy.
Diego San José, in fact, already announced after presenting the work that, in reality, he had written a “Zodiac but with personal income tax”, in reference to David Fincher’s film: “Celeste was born from the challenge of creating a dizzying thriller around the grayest character that I can think of: a sixty-year-old tax inspector who lives alone and has no special skills.”
Elena Trapé, winner of the Gaudí award for best film for The Distances, will direct the six episodes.
