Starting in the mid 1980s in a working-class neighborhood of Madrid, two brothers—Juan (Antonio Velázquez) and Alberto (Álvaro Cervantes)—are in love with the same girl, their friend Virginia (María Valverde).[2] Life takes each character to a singular path: the older brother, the brash Juan, puts aside his childhood dream of becoming a boxer and leaves Madrid for the shipyards of Vigo, becoming a trade union leader.[3][4] Meanwhile, Alberto becomes a priced businessman,[5] whereas Virginia attains her childhood goal of becoming a renowned journalist, entering the elite cultural circles, while also becoming a mother.[3]
The series was entirely shot in Madrid (and the wider Madrid region), Guadalajara and Vigo (primarily location shots of the port and the shipyards).[9][8] A substantial part of the urban outdoor scenes portraying Madrid were shot in the residential area of Fuerte de San Francisco in Guadalajara, whose architecture preserves the aesthetics of the 1980s.[8] Guadalajara also served as set to recreate the shipyards of Vigo as well as the city of Sarajevo.[8]
Salvador Calvo directed episodes 1, 2, 5 and 6, while Joaquín Llamas directed episodes 3 and 4.[10][11]
The miniseries premiered on 16 September 2014 on Telecinco.[12] Broadcast every Tuesday night in prime time, the last episode aired on 21 October 2014.[12]
Starting with "promising" audience scores in the opening episode (2,615,000 viewers; 15.9% share) the series attracted a relatively stable audience during the first 5 episodes.[12] However, the viewership took a substantial dip in the finale, down to a 9.1% share, challenged by the nudist reality show Adán y Eva [es] aired on the sister channel Cuatro and the return of Velvet on Antena 3.[12]