The Two Series That Netflix Secretly Filmed in Malaga in 2025

The Málaga Film Office, the film office of the capital's city council, has published its annual report on movies, series, TV shows, and advertising campaigns that last year came to the capital in search of its numerous hours of sunlight and scenic locations. The best part of the data is that the revenues almost doubled compared to the pronounced decrease from the previous year, reaching 7.9 million euros, although the detailed list of titles also brings a couple of surprises. Thus, two Netflix series managed to keep their filming among us in absolute secrecy: the third season of the international production 'The Empress', the story of the rebellious queen Sissi, and the return of Antonio de la Torre to the television format with the comedy 'Grande de España'.

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Regarding the popular German series 'The Empress', Netflix has just filmed the last season of this noble franchise, which was shot in Catalonia, Almería, and our capital thanks to the Málaga-based 'service' company Anima Stillking. According to SUR, the Concepción Botanical Garden was the focus of the scenes of this saga starring Devrim Lingnau as the tormented Sissi, for which they also sought extras with a Mexican look and a mariachi. Although the Austrian queen visited Málaga in 1883 and strolled down Larios Street, the Málaga scenes could also correspond to the close connection of the monarch with her brother-in-law Maximilian, Archduke of Austria and last Emperor of Mexico, and his wife Carlota, Sissi's great rival. This production was also one of the six that last year obtained the sustainable production label, which certifies good practices in filming.

The series about Sissi, 'The Empress', filmed part of its third season at the Concepción Botanical Garden

The other Netflix series that also filmed scenes last year is the comedy 'Grande de España', by Juan Cavestany and Álvaro Fernández Armero, who had previously filmed their franchise 'Sorry for the inconvenience' (2023) on the Costa del Sol. Their new project is led by Málaga native Antonio de la Torre (winner of two Goya awards for 'DarkBlueAlmostBlack' and 'The Realm') who, after 'The Invisible Line', returns to star in a serialized fiction as a marquess in decline who does not know how to pay for his daughter's wedding, while he is obsessed with obtaining the noble title of Grande de España. Alexandra Jiménez joins the actor in the cast.

The sequel to 'Red Queen'

Along with these titles, last year in Málaga, the series 'Red Queen 2: Black Wolf', an adaptation of the novel by Gómez Jurado and directed by Koldo Serra; the second installment of the British docuseries 'Born Racers'; the Swedish 'Fallen', a 'nordic noir' police drama by another Málaga 'service' company, Loslocations; and the Korean 'Maybe Tomorrow' ('Surely tomorrow'), starring Asian stars Park Seo-Joon and Won Ji-An, and which is now available on Prime Video. The 'services' producer Palma Pictures was in charge of this last one, as well as the filming of the second season of 'City Lords' for the BBC. The list is joined by two Málaga productions driven by Ezinema Studio, 'Love in', directed by Silvana Tomeo and starring Elena Martínez, and 'The Fifth Perception', by José Enrique March.

4

million euros were the revenues generated in 2025 by the series in the Málaga capital, just over half of the total audiovisual recordings which amounted to 7.9 million.

Economically, series were once again the biggest investors in filming in the capital, exceeding 4 million euros, followed by advertising with more than one and a half million, and in third place feature films, which reached one million. These figures improve the results from the previous year, when there was a decrease in revenue with a final figure of 5.4 million euros. The 7.9 million with which 2025 closed allows almost to double the revenues (46% increase) and sets the path for recovery after the historic figures of 2023 following the pandemic, when 18.6 million euros were obtained from audiovisual filming in the capital of the province.

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In feature films, Málaga producer Ezekiel Montes (Ezinema Studios) also filmed last year 'In the Stillness of Light', a science fiction story written and directed by Fernando Frater. Film recordings were dominated by documentaries produced from Málaga, such as 'Quartz', the film by Daniel Ortiz Entrambasaguas (Danidog Films) that delves into sexual abuse of minors; 'Aminetu', directed by Lucía Muñoz and produced by Entrefronteras, which portrays the struggle and resistance of the activist in defense of the rights of the Sahrawi people; 'The Inventor of Invisible Cinema', directed by Manuel Jiménez (Yolaperdono), which rescues the life of Guillermo Jiménez Smerdou, journalist and film enthusiast who passed away just a few days ago; and 'Manuel Garvayo', directed by Joaquín Recio and produced by Atrapasueño Cinema, that delves into the work of the Málaga painter who gives the documentary its title.

By districts, the most demanded locations were first the Center of the capital, followed by Carretera de Cádiz and, lastly, the East area

Although series are the ones that bring in the most money, by type of production, the one that registered the most activity in Málaga in 2025, as in previous years, was advertising (photos/ad spots, music videos, and corporate videos) with 85 recordings; followed by short films with 30 and, finally, TV and online programs with 22. By nationality, Spain once again was the country that produced the most in Málaga with 157 titles; followed by Italy, with five, and in third place, the USA, Sweden, and England, with four each.

By districts, the most demanded locations of the capital were first the Center, followed by Carretera de Cádiz and, lastly, the East area, thanks to the decentralization work carried out by this office to harmonize the filming and move it to less crowded areas. Málaga Film Office, the municipal film service attached to Málaga Procultura, attended 492 audiovisual projects in 2025, of which 193 productions were carried out.