After more than 22 years on the air, Tell me how it happened will say goodbye to viewers next year. The end of the series was in the air, but the Alcántara family has already ended the filming of its 23rd season, the last in its history. The best-known family on television will end its story in the year it began, in 2001, the year of the attack on the Twin Towers.
In this season, the episodes will be set from 1994 to that year that is so decisive in modern history, including such important events as the departure of Felipe González from Moncloa and the arrival of José María Aznar; the murder of Miguel Ángel Blanco, the weddings of the infantas, the deaths of such famous people as Lola and Antonio Flores or the feared ‘Y2K effect’. But what will that first episode be about?
The last season has already started at the San Sebastián Festival, where the long-awaited first chapter was screened at an event at the Victoria Eugenia theater attended by some of its protagonists, such as Ana Duato, María Galiana and the director of the series. , Oscar Aibar. Along with them, José Pastor, director of Film and Fiction at RTVE; and the executive producers of Grupo Ganga, Miguel Ángel Bernardeau and Javier Cuadrado.
A season that is known to have seven episodes, with each of them following a family member through time jumps. Thus, we will see some of the most significant events in the history of our country through the eyes of Antonio (Imanol Arias), Mercedes (Ana Duato), Toni (Pablo Rivero), Inés (Irene Visedo), María (Carmen Climent) , Herminia (María Galiana) and Carlos Alcántara (Carlos Hipólito).
This first episode, which will star Mercedes (Duato) and is titled Mercedes, la Fuerza, is directed by Óscar Aiba, and is dedicated to all the followers of the series. It begins in 2001, when the Alcántaras meet in Sagrillas – it is located in the fiction in the province of Albacete, in the region of Campos de Hellín – for a sad family celebration.
The relationship between Mercedes and Antonio is broken, after the medical examination that makes him rethink his entire life. After talking with Antonio, the two of them make a decision that turns the family “upside down.” According to Aiba, this first episode “is a chapter for fans, for those followers who are almost our family now, it is a season that is going to make them very happy.”
The “grandmother” of the Alcántara family, Herminia, has been played by the veteran María Galiana for all these years. At 88 years old, the actress did not want to miss the premiere of this first episode in San Sebastián, and she wanted to dedicate a few words to this project, which has been part of her life for more than two decades; which won the ovation and unanimous applause of the audience present in the San Sebastian theater.
“It is said that what is not remembered does not exist. I believe that we, Tell me how it happened, exist and we are going to exist because we are in the memory of Spanish society of the last 43 years,” said the Andalusian actress with emotion. “We have collected many awards, gathered large audiences, but the most important thing is that we have won the affection of the people and we have touched many hearts.”
An ending that its interpreters assure is “a perfect ending” to the long-running series, which has earned the affection of people and critics, collecting many awards, making history by being awarded the first National Television Award granted by the Ministry of Culture or being a finalist twice in the Emmy Awards.
