30 Coins

30 Coins (30 monedas) is a Spanish mystery horror television series created by Álex de la Iglesia for HBO Europe. Directed and written by De la Iglesia and co-written by Jorge Guerricaechevarría, the series follows Father Vergara, an exorcist who the church exiles to Pedraza, a remote village in Spain, where he hopes his enemies forget him.

The first season premiered on November 29, 2020, on HBO Europe; the second season, whose filming reportedly began in February 2022, premiered on Max on October 23, 2023.

In May 2024, Álex de la Iglesia stated that Max had not renewed the series, but the episodes of what would have been the third and final season were already written, and he intended to find a way to get them produced.

Synopsis
Father Vergara is an exorcist and ex-convict residing in the small Spanish town of Pedraza, attempting to move on from a troubled past. As paranormal phenomena start taking place in the village, he finds help in local mayor Paco and town veterinarian Elena, in figuring out the mystery seemingly related to a coin he owns. This coin might be one of the thirty pieces of silver paid to Judas Iscariot for betraying Jesus and handing him over to the Romans. The three will find themselves caught in a conspiracy involving the Holy See itself, threatening the world as they know it.

Cast

 * Introduced in season 1


 * Introduced in season 2

Production
The series was produced by Pokeepsie Films for HBO Europe, with the participation of HBO Latin America. Álex de la Iglesia and Carolina Bang (on behalf of Pokeepsie Films) and Miguel Salvat, Steve Matthews and Antony Root (on behalf of HBO Europe) were the series' executive producers. The musical score was composed by Roque Baños.

Most of the production occurred in Pedraza, province of Segovia. Production also worked in Sepúlveda (also in the province of Segovia), and the Aldeadávila Dam (province of Salamanca). Other brief shooting locations include New York, Jerusalem, Paris, Geneva, Rome, Campo Real, Madrid, and Alcalá de Henares (including outdoor shots).

Some indoor scenes were shot in the Castle of Calatrava la Nueva in Aldea del Rey and the Palace of the Marquis of Santa Cruz in Viso del Marqués, both in the province of Ciudad Real; the Castle of Guadamur (province of Toledo), the library of the Instituto del Patrimonio Cultural de España and the University of Salamanca's General Historical Library (University of Salamanca).

After months of rumours, social media content published by De la Iglesia regarding a new season and the self-announcement of Najwa Nimri as a cast addition on the red carpet of the 9th Feroz Awards, HBO Max officially confirmed the return of the series for a second season on 11 February 2022, with shooting already underway. Footage for season 2 was shot in the city of Toledo.

Release
The first episode of the eight-part first season premiered on HBO Europe on 29 November 2020. The rest of the episodes were released every week. The series aired in the United States via HBO and HBO Max in 2021 before airing on HBO Latin America.

The first episode was screened at the 77th Venice International Film Festival on September 11, 2020.

Reception
According to the American review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, season 1 of 30 Coins has a 91% approval rating based on 11 reviews from critics, with an average rating of 7.7/10 and a critics' consensus on the site reading: "propulsive action, effective haunts, and just the right amount of absurdity make 30 Coins a twisty terror treat".

Scout Tafoya of RogerEbert.com found the series entertaining, writing that de la Iglesia and Guerricaechevarría "peddle a Catholic version of the Cosmic Horrors of William Hope Hodgson and H.P. Lovecraft"; "their style a crispy plait of Luis Buñuel and Alex Cox". Rosie Knight of IGN considers that "much of the strength of 30 Coins comes from [its] trio of leads" and that "easily the best thing about the show is that, aside from the horror, it also works as an Indiana Jones-style artifact quest," giving it 8 out of 10. Marissa de la Cerda, writing for The A.V. Club, writes, "The grotesqueries that de la Iglesia is known for are on full display in the phantasmagoric visuals and viscera". She grades it a B, concluding that it "successfully lean[s] into its drama-horror hybrid to underscore the characters' humanity."

Reviewing for Cinemanía, Miguel Ángel Romero considered De la Iglesia's creation as an immersion in the Lovecraftian universe and also noted an implicit reference to Nyarlathotep in the season finale. Romero praised Cosimo Fusco's chilling performance and the performances of Eduard Fernández and Manolo Solo in antagonist roles, also welcoming the referential nature of De la Iglesia's work (inspired by the likes of Antonio Mercero, Ridley Scott and John Carpenter). Among the negative aspects to be improved, Romero cited the "particularly calamitous CGI" featured in the last episodes and the disjointed plots.

Accolades

 * rowspan = 7 align = "center" | 2021
 * rowspan= 6 | 8th Feroz Awards
 * Best Drama Series
 * 30 Coins
 * Nominated
 * rowspan = 6 |
 * Best Main Actor in a Series
 * Eduard Fernández
 * Won
 * Best Main Actress in a Series
 * Megan Montaner
 * Nominated
 * Best Supporting Actor in a Series
 * Manolo Solo
 * Nominated
 * rowspan=2|Best Supporting Actress in a Series
 * Macarena Gómez
 * Nominated
 * Carmen Machi
 * Nominated
 * 71st Fotogramas de Plata || Best Television Actor || Eduard Fernández || Won ||
 * align = "center" rowspan = "3" | 2022 || rowspan = "2" | 9th MiM Series Awards || colspan = "2" | Best Drama Series || Won || rowspan = "2" |
 * Best Direction || Álex de la Iglesia || Nominated
 * 30th Actors and Actresses Union Awards || Best TV Actor in a Minor Role || Secun de la Rosa || Nominated || align = "center" |
 * 2023 || 29th Forqué Awards || colspan = "2" | Best TV Series || Nominated ||
 * rowspan = 1 align = "center" | 2024 || 11th Platino Awards || Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or TV series || rowspan = "1" | Manolo Solo || Nominated ||
 * 71st Fotogramas de Plata || Best Television Actor || Eduard Fernández || Won ||
 * align = "center" rowspan = "3" | 2022 || rowspan = "2" | 9th MiM Series Awards || colspan = "2" | Best Drama Series || Won || rowspan = "2" |
 * Best Direction || Álex de la Iglesia || Nominated
 * 30th Actors and Actresses Union Awards || Best TV Actor in a Minor Role || Secun de la Rosa || Nominated || align = "center" |
 * 2023 || 29th Forqué Awards || colspan = "2" | Best TV Series || Nominated ||
 * rowspan = 1 align = "center" | 2024 || 11th Platino Awards || Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or TV series || rowspan = "1" | Manolo Solo || Nominated ||
 * 30th Actors and Actresses Union Awards || Best TV Actor in a Minor Role || Secun de la Rosa || Nominated || align = "center" |
 * 2023 || 29th Forqué Awards || colspan = "2" | Best TV Series || Nominated ||
 * rowspan = 1 align = "center" | 2024 || 11th Platino Awards || Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or TV series || rowspan = "1" | Manolo Solo || Nominated ||
 * 2023 || 29th Forqué Awards || colspan = "2" | Best TV Series || Nominated ||
 * rowspan = 1 align = "center" | 2024 || 11th Platino Awards || Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or TV series || rowspan = "1" | Manolo Solo || Nominated ||
 * rowspan = 1 align = "center" | 2024 || 11th Platino Awards || Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or TV series || rowspan = "1" | Manolo Solo || Nominated ||