25/03/2026 - Three bumbling, comical rogues lead Nacho G Velilla’s entertaining miniseries, which not only recreates a farcical kidnapping, but also paints a portrait of a crisis-riddled Spain

Gabriel Guevara, Vito Sanz and Raúl Arévalo in A 100-million Reward

The titular 100 million are not euros or dollars, but pesetas, that now-defunct currency used in Spain until the early 21st century, when the common European currency was born. That is the amount that three poor lads from Zaragoza demanded as the ransom for footballer Quini, the 1981 league’s top scorer and a forward for FC Barcelona. And this true event is what loosely underpins the 3x50-minute miniseries A 100-million Reward, created and directed by Nacho G Velilla, which the platform Movistar Plus+ is premiering this Thursday, 26 March, after it screened in Berlinale Series Market Selects and in the Official Selection – Series, out of competition, at the 29th Málaga Film Festival.

Powered by a frenetic, nimble and witty script penned by Oriol Capel (the series 7 vidas and Aída, among others), the show is performed with great charm and skill by a glorious quartet, the kind of characters you’d love to grab a beer with, as they wonderfully convey the virtues, flaws, clumsiness, feelings and miseries of any human being. It’s the story of Alfonso (the brains of the outfit, played by Goya winner Raúl Arévalo), Jorge (the ever-brilliant Vito Sanz) and Salva (Gabriel Guevara, who manages to blend the era’s quinqui look with John Travolta’s in Saturday Night Fever), who tried to escape a desperate financial situation with the crazy idea of kidnapping the man of the moment, the country’s most beloved figure: goalscorer Enrique Castro, or Quini (Agustín Otón, who you just want to hug to bits).

But they soon realised that, once they got down to it, things weren’t as easy as they’d thought – not even remotely like in the movies or the gossip magazines… And, above all, that it’s devilishly hard to be a bad person (and a liar) when, deep down, you’re a sweetheart. That’s why this series oozes humanity, good nature and plenty of warmth. With nimble, creative editing that, for instance, matches a high kick in the middle of a disco dance with the one a police officer uses to smash down a door, A 100-million Reward plays like a true-crime recreation dreamed up by the gifted grandchildren of Luis García Berlanga, with the perfect doses of drama, absurdity, comedy and corduroy jackets thrown in for good measure.

Much like the series La canción [+see also:
series review
series profile], this also reconstructs an episode from Spain’s history that will be recognisable to older viewers, one that hogged the headlines and the newscasts. It portrays with humour, affection and tenderness a country that still couldn’t quite get back on its feet, inhabited by a middle class drowning in debt and dreaming of modernity. All of it is seasoned with ingenious pop flourishes, brief cameos and tributes by famous artists from that brilliantly recreated decade (such as singer Teresa Rabal and actress Josele Román), with supporting roles that are as wonderful and tremendously human as the leads, played by the outstanding Aixa Villagrán, Julia de Castro, María de Nati and Natalia Huarte.

A 100-million Reward is a Movistar Plus+ original series, in collaboration with Felicitas Media. Movistar Plus+ International handles its international sales.

(Translated from Spanish)