BAJO SOSPECHA - SERIES 2, EPISODES 1 AND 2 (ANTENA 3)

[Spoiler-Free] Series 2 of Bajo Sospecha, the hit Spanish crime/mystery drama, started in a promising way last week on private channel Antena 3

It gets even better with the second episode of this new case.
 

Isabel Freire, head nurse at the Hospital Policlínico Montalbán (a nod to Manuel Vázquez Montalbán?) is kidnapped in the car park of the hospital and later found dead. There could be a link between this murder and the disappearance of Catherine Le Monnier, daughter of a French politician and a Spanish woman, who was completing her medical residency at the hospital. Undercover cop Victor (Yon González) is sent there by Commissioner Casas (Lluís Homar) as a nurse in order to find out who killed Isabel and what happened to Catherine. He must work in conjunction with an old acquaintance as well as with French detectives.  

Another woman, psychiatrist at the Montalbán hospital, disappears. The team arrests a suspect. Adela Valcárcel, the hospital manager, destroys a possible evidence. The first series of Bajo Sospecha was lazily nicknamed "Broadchurch in Spain" (1). Bajo Sospecha 2 (10 x 70-minute instead of 8 x 70-minute for Series 1) confirms that the drama is rather a worthy successor to the beloved mystery drama Grand Hotel (Gran Hotel), created like Bajo Sospecha by Ramón Campos and Gema R. Neira for Bambú, the same prodco. Once again the excellent Yon González, who played Julio in Gran Hotel, investigates in a place full of secrets, mysteries and lies. 

This similarity is reinforced by two other ex-regulars of Grand Hotel in the cast: the talented Lluis Homar (Cisneros in the third series of GH) and, this year, the great Concha Velasco as "Doña Adela" (which sounds like "Doña Angela"). Another common feature is the presence of a cop character who'd deserve its own spin-off. In Grand Hotel it was Inspector Ayala (with of course his deputy Hernando), in Bajo Sospecha it's Rafael Vidal - played by Vicente Romero. 

Sophie Leduc is performed by Mar Sodupe (La famille Bélier), a French actress born in Spain. Alain Juillard is played by the impressive French actor Hugo Becker (A Very Secret Service, Gossip Girl). Gonzalo de Castro, who plays Miguel Manrique, was Mateo Sancristóbal in Doctor Mateo (2009-2011), the Spanish Doc Martin. Other guest actors include Luisa Martin (Lidia Abad), Olivia Molina (Belén Yagüe), Unax Ugalde (Daniel Legarra), etc...

Bajo Sospecha is produced by Bambú Producciones, the company also behind Velvet, for Atresmedia Televisisión. Ramón Campos and Teresa Fernández-Valdés are the producers. Ramón Campos, Teresa Fernández-Valdés and Carlos Portela exec produce. It is distributed by Beta Film. Music composed by Federico Jusid.

(1) See http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2015/03/television-de-rattrapage-february-2015.html

http://www.antena3.com/series/bajo-sospecha/

http://www.lavanguardia.com/series/20160112/301350076958/bajo-sospecha-estreno-segunda-temporada-yon-gonzalez.html

http://www.formulatv.com/videos/10338/hugo-becker-actores-espanoles-imitan-franceses/ (An interview in Spanish with Hugo Becker)

See also: 

http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2016/01/watched-this-week-whodunnit-edition.html