Mamen Mendizábal brings together four characters in ‘Unexpected Encounters’ to talk about topics that are out of the ordinary
They are ideologically separated, but they have something more in common than we think. Oriol Junqueras and Mario Vaquerizo did not know each other, they are at opposite poles and coincide in a deep Catholic faith. The journalist Mamen Mendizábal gathered them around a table to share visions about religion and how it helped them overcome some of the most difficult periods of their lives. And so the first installment of ‘Unexpected Encounters’ arose, the new program on La Sexta that opens this Thursday at 10:30 p.m. and aims to generate “new conversations” that are far removed from routine topics.
In the chapter with Junqueras and Vaquerizo, the word Catalonia is only pronounced once. The leader of ERC, according to the presenter, reveals in the talk “how he had attached himself to the faith” during his time in jail for the illegal referendum on October 1, while the singer explains the death of his brother with a different record than we are used to. In the case of the Catalan politician, it was also the first time that he had set foot in Madrid again since he was released from prison. “He came to national television to talk and open up,” thanks Mendizábal.
The actor Antonio San Juan and the writer Ana Iris Simón also participate in this first program, where they also talk about the influence of the Church in today’s world, the scandals of the ecclesiastical institution or the perception, in the case of believers, to feel singled out by a part of society.
«Our challenge is to tackle topics that could be brainy and serious, but are treated with depth and humor. Sometimes you find yourself at dinner or after a meal with people you don’t know and you reach a much higher level of intimacy than with your lifelong friends, with whom you may feel more judged, “says Mendizábal, who returns to the small screen after his departure from ‘Better late’. The journalist reveals that she came up with the idea during the toughest time of the pandemic when she realized that she “needed to introduce new conversations” because “we were in a loop.” «It seems that everything is invented on television, but I think not. There are different ways to generate dialogue and debate », she adds.
And this new format emerged that alternates the conversation around a table with scenes outside the set, in which unexpected encounters between the guests are presented for the first time, allowing them to show their most personal and surprising side. Talking about politics is easier than talking about your privacy. When the subject challenges you, hurts or excites you, you are not always willing to open up on television. They have had to trust me,” confesses the presenter, who has also revealed that there have been “moments of tension and emotion, and even tears and laughter.” “It is what has to be in an after-meal”, she adds.
Aguirre and Bono, among the guests
Produced by Atresmedia Televisión in collaboration with Producciones del Barrio (‘Salvados’ ‘Lo de Évole’), the format brings together four well-known personalities every week who may be at the opposite ideological poles, where there is also a generational contrast and who would never have coincided in a television set so that the conversation started “from scratch”.
To talk about feminism and the challenges of women, ‘Unexpected encounters’ brought together Esperanza Aguirre, Mala Rodríguez, Carolina Iglesias and Luz Sánchez Mellado. There will also be another installment to address the new masculinities with José Bono, Maikel Delacalle, Marc Giró and Santi Cañizares. And with Cristina Cifuentes, Mónica Carrillo, Edu Galán and Eduardo Iturralde, the humanization of pets will be discussed.
“It is a format that is capable of bringing together personalities from different fields and different backgrounds and that has the ability to sustain, in these polarized times, a relaxed and entertaining talk on a subject that is still important,” he says, for her part, the Director of Entertainment at Atresmedia, Carmen Ferreiro on a space that, according to what she says, “adapts” to the DNA of La Sexta.