Money Heist Producer Sonia Martínez Joins El Estudio
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- Sonia Martínez has joined Pablo Cruz's El Estudio as Director of Contents in Spain, with oversight of creative strategy, development, production, and corporate consolidation in the market.
- El Estudio, founded in 2020 with offices in Madrid and Mexico City, has placed titles with Netflix ("The Dance of the 41," "Las Crónicas del Taco," "Deseo"), ViX ("Pena Arena," "Al Chile") and Amazon Prime Video, including 2026's "Vengeance" — the first Mexican original from Amazon MGM Studios and a No. 1 across multiple territories.
- Martínez executive produced "Gran Hotel" and "The Time in Between" at Atresmedia (2006–2017), then championed "Money Heist" and "Locked Up," the latter recut by Netflix into its first global non-English-language blockbuster, and later backed Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo's "Veneno," a U.S. hit on HBO.
- El Estudio framed the hire as part of a push to reinforce its local structure in Spain after building in Spanish-language markets for international streamers, with Martínez departing Buendía Estudios — where she had been since 2020 — earlier in February for independent production.
- The source flags a structural shift the appointment lands inside: since Netflix's shock early-2022 results, streamers have prioritized bottom line over subscriber growth, making commissions harder to win and pushing producers toward international co-production and broadcaster licensing deals.
Why it matters: Martínez is one of the few Spanish TV executives with a track record of delivering local hits that broke globally, but the source makes clear the commission environment has hardened since 2022, meaning El Estudio is betting on her ability to package projects for a margin-conscious, co-financed streaming landscape — not just ride peak TV's tailwind. Her move also consolidates creative leadership under one roof at a producer that has already proven cross-border muscle with Amazon's first Mexican original.
