HBO Max Teams With Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi for Pyrenees Crime Drama

HBO Max is developing a new Spanish drama series inspired by the unresolved tragedy at Tor, a remote mountain hamlet in the high Pyrenees, with "La Bola Negra" writer-director-producers Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi on board as executive producers.

Fran Araújo and Eduard Sola, two of Spain's most decorated screenwriters, created the series. The project was announced Wednesday by HBO Max and is set up at Calvo and Ambrossi's Suma Content.

"Blending mystery, suspense and human drama, the project will revisit the events and legends surrounding a case that continues to captivate Spain to this day," HBO Max said in its announcement, describing the series as an "ambitious adaptation inspired by real events." The down-the-decades drama is freely inspired by tragic events at Tor that still remain unresolved.

Araújo co-wrote Alberto Rodríguez's "The Anatomy of a Moment," nominated for an International Emmy last week. He won a screenplay Goya for "One Year, One Night" and co-wrote Movistar Plus' crime hits "Hierro" and "Rapa." He also served as executive producer on some of Movistar Plus' most daring series, including Calvo and Ambrossi's "La Mesías," Rodrigo Sorogoyen's "The New Years" and Alauda Ruiz de Azua's "Querer."

Sola co-created "Querer," which won the top prize at Series Mania 2025. He wrote the Catalan film breakout "A House on Fire" and HBO Max's anti-gentrification series "Ravalear: Not for Sale," selected for the Berlinale.

The writers framed Tor as far more than a crime scene. "Tor is so much more than a crime. So much more than 2,300 hectares of forest. Tor is a universe itself, extraordinarily rich in characters and landscapes. A place of passage between two countries, shaped by historical events that have left their mark on the landscape and on the few people who inhabit it. A place imbued with an ancient magic," Araújo and Sola said.

"As screenwriters, it is a privilege to start from a world so fertile for storytelling, and even more so to do it alongside Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, two of the most stimulating creative minds in this country," they added. "We begin this challenge deeply grateful to HBO Max for their trust, and eager to immerse ourselves in a mountain that we know has a way of drawing in everyone who ventures into it."

Suma Content developed "La Mesías," widely acclaimed as one of the greatest recent Spanish series, and "La Bola Negra," which earned Calvo and Ambrossi a shared Best Director award at Cannes and a TIFF People's Choice Award — often a bellwether for a Best Picture nomination at the Academy Awards.

"It is incredibly exciting to open this new chapter at Suma Content, and we feel that this series could become one of its flagship productions because of its scale and vision. Working with Fran Araújo and Eduard Sola, two of the great creators and screenwriters in our country, is a privilege," Calvo and Ambrossi said in a joint statement.

The producing pair outlined an unusual artistic ambition for the project. "The mystery surrounding the mountain of Tor has always intrigued us, and we believe we have a story in our hands with enormous poetic and entertainment potential. We want to create something we haven't seen before: a series in which nature, landscapes and spaces are protagonists in their own right, while never losing the voices of its characters across decades, within an addictive narrative," they said. "We are deeply grateful to HBO Max for believing in this project."

Guillermo Farré, head of local original production at HBO Max in Spain, framed the series as a priority for the platform. "This project brings together some of the most exciting creative voices working in Spain today. Fran Araújo and Eduard Sola have an exceptional ability to create rich, character-driven stories, while Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi continue to push boundaries with their distinctive vision and ambition," Farré said.

"Inspired by the extraordinary world of Tor, this series has all the elements of a powerful HBO drama, and we are proud to support these creators in bringing it to life," he added.

The series is being developed in collaboration with Carles Porta, author of "Tor: tretze cases i tres morts," a book on the Tor tragedy. With development now underway in Spain, the project signals HBO Max's continued investment in local original production drawing on the country's top-tier writing and directing talent.