HBO reinvents the traditional melodrama with ‘Colisión,’ its first Spanish-language telenovela

HBO is entering the Spanish-language telenovela world with a drama that refuses to idealize the mother-daughter bond. In “Colisión,” Macarena Achaga and Margarita Rosa de Francisco play women battling for control of a family empire while confronting a relationship portrayed as openly painful and conflicted.

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much more dignity

The production keeps the familiar force of melodrama but pushes it toward what de Francisco calls a more honest depiction of family tension. She said the format retains its traditional elements while giving them “much more dignity.” Three filmmakers directed the series.

Power struggles drive the plot, but the story also takes on mental health, grief and the panic attacks experienced by Achaga’s character. De Francisco welcomed the decision to create space for those conversations, saying that although mental health has become less taboo, it is “still a topic that is not talked about enough.”

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still a topic that is not talked about enough

The series also shifts the balance of power between its male and female characters. Achaga described the focus on two wealthy, influential women as a form of justice, saying, “It is a story between women, and it is not all about romantic love.” Christian Vázquez and Juan Pablo Castañeda play the men around them, but both actors praised the decision to give women the central narrative role.

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It is a story between women, and it is not all about romantic love

Vázquez called female empowerment “a good starting point.” Castañeda put the contrast more bluntly: “For starters, how tiring it is to watch two men fighting over power. Enough already.” The 39 episodes will arrive in weekly blocks, beginning with four episodes on Sept. 7, followed by five each Monday and ending with the final batch on Oct. 26.

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For starters, how tiring it is to watch two men fighting over power. Enough already