The Last Dove: Spain’s Polo Menárguez boards TV adaptation of Men Marías’ bestseller

The Last Dove, an upcoming Spanish thriller series based on Men Marías' best-selling 2021 crime novel, has finally set Spanish Director Polo Menárguez as its showrunner and screenwriter. Co-produced by Spain’s Capitán Araña and Guion Alto, the upcoming adaptation is produced by Nacho La Casa.

The Last Dove will mark the second collaboration between La Casa and Polo Menárguez, who previously worked together on the latter's first feature film, The Plan.

The thriller series, set in the small town of Rota, will also be pitched to potential co-producers in Spain’s South Series International Festival in Cadiz (from September 12-17). The project is said to be one of the most anticipated Spanish projects for the coming year, which will include an International ensemble of both Spanish and US actors.

More on this in our story.

What is The Last Dove about?

Men Marías’ Spanish bestseller The Last Dove (La última paloma) has finally found its showrunner in the talented Polo Menárguez. The script for the TV series will be written by Menárguez, along with Guión Alto’s Luis Lloret.

The Last Dove, which was first published in May 2021, is a thriller tale of politics and crime, set against the backdrop of a sleepy Andalusian town of Rota. After the protagonist, Sargento Patria Santiago, a part of the Guardia Civil, is assigned to the case of Diana Buffet, a young woman whose mutilated body is found in Rota, a harrowing quest for answers unfolds. What's more? Diana Buffet's mutilated body has two large wings sewn to her back, which makes the case even more harrowing.

The past and the present collide when Santiago discovers that Buffet's gruesome murder is connected to another murder from 60 years ago, when Rota turned into a rare hub of freedom following the arrival of the U.S. military in 1950. The thriller is a gripping tale of crime unfolding in two timelines, with Rota being the centre of attention in both.

The politically charged 1950s setting of Rota gives The Last Dove a unique flavour, which became a melting pot for Spanish locals and the American military. Since the US fleet features in a major chunk of Marías' story, the adaptation will also cast many high-profile US actors (in addition to Spanish actors), making it an exciting International project.

Polo Menárguez is one of the most celebrated Spanish directors

In an interview with Variety, La Casa officially welcomed Polo Menárguez to helm The Last Dove as:

“For this project, we believe Menárguez can contribute, in addition to his great talent as a director, with his ability to infuse the characters with interest and depth. Beyond the thriller, the intention is for the protagonists’ internal conflicts to capture the viewer’s attention.''

Polo Menárguez has quickly risen as one of Spain's most celebrated directors, who is widely known for his first fiction film, The Plan. Additionally, he also directed three episodes of Amazon Prime Video's 2023 Spanish Thriller series Los Farad, starring Miguel Herrán, Susana Abaitua, and Pedro Casablanc.

Polo Menárguez has partnered up with his Los Farad star, Pedro Casablanc, again for his upcoming Spanish drama film The Talent. Ester Expósito, the breakout Spanish actress from Netflix's Elite, leads The Talent's cast as Elsa, a cellist. The movie, based on Arthur Schnitzler's 1924 novella Fräulein Else, is co-written by Menárguez and Fernando León de Aranoa.

With The Last Dove, Polo Menárguez is all set to helm one of the most exciting Spanish titles, which has the potential to tap into International markets.

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Also Read: This Ana de Armas Spanish drama show from 2007 is a hidden gem among high school thrillers

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