Havana go at colourful noir
Cuban writer Leonardo Padura brings his own novels to the small screen in eight-part crime series Four Seasons in Havana. He tells DQ how he adapted the Cuba-set books and why his iconic detective Mario Conde stands out in a sea of television cops. Bleak Scandinavian landscapes helped to put Nordic noir on the map, while UK series Marcella – penned by The Bridge’s Hans Rosenfeldt – recently introduced London Noir to the small screen. But crime dramas are going to look a little brighter from now on, thanks to the introduction of Caribbean noir and new drama Four Seasons in Havana. As the tagline states, “noir has never been so colourful.” The eight-part series sees Cuban author Leonardo Padura bring his police lieutenant Mario Conde to television, based on his Havana Quartet novels (Past Perfect, Winds of Lent, Masks and Autumn Landscape). The series, produced by Tornasol Films and Nadcon in association with distributor Wild Bunch TV with the participation of Spanish broadcaster TVE, has been sold to more than 20 territories worldwide, including Netflix in the US, though no airdates have been confirmed. Four Seasons in Havana is not to be confused with another adaptation of Padura’s novels, called Havana Quartet, which has been commissioned by US premium cable network Starz and will be produced by Entertainment One. With Antonio Banderas starring as Conde, the Starz series will be based on the books Havana Blue, Havana Gold, Havana Red and Havana Black. Here, Padura tells DQ about the … Continue reading Havana go at colourful noir
