Netflix aims to replicate the success of 'The Snow Girl' with another release from Javier Castillo, 'The Crystal Cuckoo'

The universe of writer Javier Castillo (Málaga, 1987) is expanding on Netflix. Following the success of the saga 'La chica de nieve', which ... also became number 1 in Spain and achieved the status of the most-watched series globally on the platform during its first season, the streaming operator's schedule has now released the series 'El cuco de cristal', also based on the editorial success published by the author in 2023. Six episodes that are already available to binge-watch, especially over this past rainy weekend which invites a movie and blanket plan, as Castillo himself commented. The new adaptation also coincides with the publication just a month and a half ago of the latest novel by the Malaga native, 'El susurro del fuego', his first mystery set in Spain (Canary Islands) and which since its arrival in bookstores also leads the lists of the best-selling fiction titles.

If the 'Nieve' series found the original setting of the novels in New York by moving the action to the capital of Malaga, in the case of the adaptation of 'El cuco de cristal' the plot of the novel in deep America found its counterpart in the rural landscapes of Hervás and the Valle del Ambroz (Cáceres), which give an autumnal personality to this story that, from the point of view of the script, also had to overcome a plot premise that occurs in the US and not in Spain in cases of transplants: the knowledge of the donor's identity.

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Precisely, that was one of the reasons why Javier Castillo set his novel in the United States, narrating how a first-year resident doctor, Cora Merlo (played by Catalina Sopelana), suffers a sudden heart attack from which she only recovers after receiving the organ from an enigmatic young man. Until there, the original novel and adaptation coincide although the series differs in the way of contact between the donor's family and the recipient. A plot twist with respect to the book that is resolved in the first episode -no spoilers- and that will take the protagonist to the small Extremaduran town of her deceased benefactor, where she will be involved in a mystery with deaths and disappearances.

Catalina Sopelana, Itziar Ituño, and Álex García star in the adaptation of 'El cuco de cristal', which was filmed in Extremadura

The intrigue, the surprising twists, and the emotion are once again the fundamental elements of this adaptation by Javier Castillo which, according to the Malaga native, retains the spirit of his original story. In addition to the uniqueness of the rural landscapes of the plot. "This plot is a story about a dying heart that becomes something bigger when it comes to Hervás and connects with the mystery that this place hides," says the writer who is also delighted with the cast led by Sopelana ('El jardinero'), accompanied by Itziar Ituño ('La casa de papel'), Iván Massagué ('El hoyo'), Alex García ('El inmortal'), Alfons Nieto ('El cuerpo en llamas'), Tomás del Estal ('Clanes') and the Malaga native Adelfa Calvo, in an episodic role.

"I have not written"

In addition to as the author of the original novel, the credits of 'El cuco de cristal' present Javier Castillo as "advisor", a role that the writer himself explains. "I participated in the adaptation, the scripts, the plots, but I have not written, instead, it was done by the scriptwriters Jesús Mesas and Javier Andrés, who are a team. With them, I have a balance that works very well," states the author of 'El susurro del fuego' and 'El día que se perdió la cordura', who also shows complete complicity with the producer Atípica Films and Netflix, also responsible for the adaptation of 'La chica de nieve' which, in his opinion, they produce in an "amazing" way.

Although not yet confirmed, the next step would be for the Spanish division of the streaming platform to announce the third and final installment of the 'Nieve' saga, which will culminate with a new filming in Malaga of this plot of disappearances starring two investigative journalists from the SUR newspaper played by Milena Smit and Mike Esperbé. For now, Javier Castillo invites to watch the adaptation of 'El cuco de cristal' which he describes as "wonderful", while his publisher has taken the opportunity to reissue the novel with a new cover featuring the face of the series' protagonist, Catalina Sopelana. A title that aspires to return to the list of bestsellers, where the latest novel by the Malaga native, 'El susurro del fuego', continues. Also making merits to become a series in the future.