Spanish actors Itziar Ituño (“Money Heist”) and Vito Sanz (“The Other Way Around”) have landed leading roles in “Numana,” a science fiction drama series created by Argentine-Spanish directors and screenwriters Jesica Arán (“Pájaros Negros”) and Soledad Velasco (“Cross Dreamers”).

The series will be produced by Chilean-Spanish production company Clara Films and Unbound Hub, a senior VFX production and strategy consultancy based in Barcelona.

“Numana” is set in the near future, where the multinational corporation Numana has taken control of society and exchanged democracy for a surveillance state led by Aurora, a pervasive artificial intelligence system that tracks what people buy, feel and want.

The story follows two genetically identical women who change identities and consequently expose a hierarchical world based on genetic selection, exploitation and obedience.

“’Numana’ uses gender to speak directly to the present,” said producer Clara Larraín Zegers. “It’s a story about genetic privilege, corporate power, surveillance, social mobility and the lives that systems choose to discard. Jesica and Soledad have built a world that right now feels very real, disturbing and emotionally accurate. Having actors of the caliber and emotional complexity of Itziar Ituño and Vito Sanz attached to the project helps us ground this dystopian universe in something deeply human.”

Currently in the packaging and financing stage, the series will be a European-Latin American co-production, combining studio work and real locations in Bilbao, Chile and other territories. Producers are currently looking for strategic co-production partners, broadcasters, platforms and European financial partners.

Variety I had the opportunity to speak briefly with the creators of the program, Jesica Arán and Soledad Velasco:

How did you come up with the concept for the series?

Velasco: One afternoon, in a cafe in Madrid, Jesica and I met to think about what we wanted to tell. We were attracted by the possibility of using the science fiction genre to address current issues. We got goosebumps when we talked about the idea of ​​defective products that we currently return through online platforms because we don’t like this or that, or because they don’t work properly… and we thought, if in the future we can order for our children through an app, surely we can return them if they work poorly, like any other product. That’s when we understood that there was something powerful about the idea of ​​discarding a product associated with a personalized baby. Of course, the series is much broader than that, but that’s the initial spark that inspired us.

Congratulations on getting Itziar Ituño and Vito Sanz for the series.

Aran: We are excited because we believe that stories are characters, and characters are embodied in the bodies and souls of real people. In the early stages of writing, the series was constantly evolving and changing, so we weren’t entirely sure who could play the roles, especially since it’s a project that could take place in Latin America, Europe or the United States. So, we approached it with a very open mind.

For us it is a significant step to know that figures of the caliber of Itziar and Vito have placed their trust in this story. They are two figures that we admire, but above all we know that they have the dramatic depth to embody complex characters full of contradictions, fears and desires.

How do you approach casting the rest of the characters?

Velasco: We will definitely incorporate Spanish-speaking actors since the universe of the series does not use the concept of national borders as we are used to; On the other hand, territorial divisions operate according to a different logic. This allows us to organically add talent from other parts of the world and also enrich the story by bringing together a combination of actors we don’t normally see together on screen.

Do you think the world you create in “Numana” could become a reality?

Aran: The series was created based on technological projections for the coming decades and reading about genetic intervention in DNA enhancement, in vitro fertilization outside the mother’s body and the increasing control over human life: being recorded, listened to and monitored 24/7. While the series is a work of fiction based on all of these elements, we believe that watching “Numana” is a way to start processing some things that could very well happen. Perhaps it will serve as a form of therapy, helping us understand the world we will live in, a world for which we are not psychologically prepared. The contradictions inherent in any technological advance are inevitable and, as witnesses of this era, we will have to be able to adapt to survive.