HBO Max orders Spanish-language version of Australia’s No Activity

Carlos Areces (left) and Arturo Valls will star in the show

Ahead of its launch in Spain, US streamer HBO Max has greenlit a Spanish-language adaptation of Australian comedy format No Activity.

The 6×25’ show, whose episodes revolve around police stakeouts, will be produced by Warner Bros International Television Production in Spain.

The cast is led by some of Spain’s most acclaimed comedians, including Arturo Valls, Carlos Areces, Pilar Castro, Adriana Torrebejano, Toni Acosta and Omar Banana.

It will be directed by Rodrigo Sopeña (LOL, If You Laugh You Lose), who has co-written all the episodes with Álex Mendíbil (Camera Café).

The series follows two detectives on a routine stakeout, two female officers at the station switchboard and a couple of crooks, all waiting for the ‘action’ to unfold. However, when nothing actually happens, they begin to fill the silences with riffs and stories about everything that is going on in their personal lives.

Miguel Salvat and Antonio Trashorras are the executive producers for HBO Max, while Clara Nieto is exec produces for Warner Bros ITVP España.

No Activity was originally created by Trent O’Donnell and Patrick Brammall and produced by Jungle Entertainment. Represented by Tyler Massey from MassMedia International, it was first released in Australia in 2015 on streaming service Stan.

In 2017, CBS All Access (now Paramount+) debuted its US adaptation, featuring actors such as Patrick Brammall (A Moody Christmas), Tim Meadows (Saturday Night Live), Will Ferrell (Anchorman), Bob Odenkirk (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul), JK Simmons (Oz, Spiderman, Burn After Reading) and Sunita Mani (Mr. Robot, Glow).

The format has also been adapted in other territories including the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and the Middle East.

In related news, WarnerMedia-owned HBO Go in Asia has picked up a trio of Singaporean dramas from local broadcaster Mediacorp to air across eight other territories.

The Little Nyonya, Last Madame and Titoudao will be available to audiences in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. This will start with Last Madame and TiTouDao, which will stream on HBO GO starting from August 1, while The Little Nyonya will be available from September 1.