Locked Up (TV series)

Macarena Ferreiro is a young naive woman who falls in love with her boss and, because of him, commits several accounting manipulation and misappropriation crimes. She is accused of four tax crimes, and consequently she is imprisoned at the Cruz del Sur Prison as a precautionary measure with very high bail set. She has to face the emotional shock that being in jail means to her, as well as the complicated relationship between the inmates; among them Zulema stands out as the most dangerous prisoner.

In prison Macarena will soon realize the chance to survive the projected seven-year sentence she will likely receive if convicted depends on changing, evolving and becoming a very different person. Meanwhile, in order to pay the bail, her family outside gets involved in finding a large sum of money hidden somewhere, in dispute with Zulema's boyfriend, who will lead the Ferreiros to a terrible situation.

The series reflects the day-to-day life of prisoners and a group of officials in a penitentiary and the transformation of a harmless person, apparently incapable of doing harm, into a survivor who leaves his scruples aside. The fight for survival thus marks the coexistence between the inmates, characterized by alliances, betrayals and revenges both between inmates and between officials.

While the show initially focused on the character of Macarena Ferreiro, portrayed by Maggie Civantos, it eventually evolved into an ensemble show.[7]

When the premise of the series was first announced, it was immediately compared to American television series Orange Is the New Black and some media accused it of being a mere copy. However, when the pilot episode was screened for critics, they noted both series are different in tone as Locked Up is mostly a thriller while Orange Is the New Black is a comedy-drama. Besides the comparisons, the series received favourable to good reviews with Bethanh Wade from Film Daily saying, "the minute you start Locked Up, be prepared for this train to start and never stop."[8]

Critics praised the Cast's acting and fast paced storyline. "The acting is strong throughout, the characters engaging and believable, the script is fast-paced and captivating, and it looks beautiful on screen with some creative and imaginative camerawork."[9] Rebecca Nicholson from the Guardian says that the show is "tremendously silly and fantastically taut thriller that carries itself at a breathless pace."[10]

"This is violent – brutally so – and very graphic in its portrayal of life in a women’s prison. But utterly brilliant at the same time. It’s dark with a constant air of threat and menace running through it. I love it." from Martin Howse of Entertainment Focus.[11]

After two seasons, Antena 3 cancelled the show, however, on 6 July 2017, Fox Spain announced they had picked up the series for a third and fourth season, with fourth as the last of the series. Season 3 premiered on April 23, 2018.[12][13] And the fourth and final season was released in December 2018. The show was shot in Spain.[14]

During its four seasons run, the show collected a total of fourty-four (44) nominations with thirteen (13) wins.

Season 1 was broadcast in the United Kingdom from 17 May 2016 on Channel 4's Walter Presents video-on-demand service.[21] In 2017, Prime Video acquired the first two seasons for the United States, and in 2018, Hulu acquired the first four seasons for Japan.[22] In Greece, the series premiered on 27 November 2018 on ERT.[23] Netflix bought the rights for international distribution in 2017.

The series is also available for a limited amount of time on the online streaming service 'VTMGO' by the Belgian broadcaster VTM (TV channel).

A spin-off series titled Vis a vis: El Oasis premiered in April 2020. The show focused on Maggie Civantos' character, Macarena and Najwa Nimri's character, Zulema, teaming up together. The spin-off served as the last season for the series overall.[6][24]

• Locked Up on IMDb