Prime Video is expanding Mercedes Ron’s screen universe with Drawn Together, a new YA romantic thriller from Banijay’s Pokeepsie Films that premiered Wednesday in more than 240 countries and territories.
The film is the first of two planned movies based on another of Ron’s novels, continuing the rapid buildout of what has been described as the “House of Ron” around the bestselling Argentine-born Spanish author’s romance stories. Directed by Óscar Pedraza, Drawn Together stars Ester Expósito and Hugo Diego Garcia in a story that moves Ron’s signature romantic intensity into darker, more action-driven territory.
Expósito plays Marfil Cortés, the New York City-based daughter of a wealthy Spanish businessman. After Marfil is kidnapped, her father brings in Sebastián Moore, played by Garcia, to serve as her bodyguard. As the two face multiple threats back in Spain, a strong attraction develops between them.
Ron said the new adaptation gives her readers something noticeably different from the Culpables world that has helped drive her growing screen presence at Prime Video. “Drawn Together was the second story that I published, and I really wanted to bring something different to the table,” Ron said. “I think this story is more mature, more adult. It has a lot of action in it, and the story is more complex.”
She added that the book’s thriller elements made it especially appealing for adaptation. “I think it was the best book to take to screen because of all the action components, all the thriller [elements] and the darkness and everything else,” Ron said.
Inside the “House of Ron”
The launch of Drawn Together comes after Prime Video and Pokeepsie Films found major traction with Ron’s Culpables romance trilogy: Culpa Mía, Culpa Tuya and Culpa Nuestra. The film adaptations became Prime Video’s most-watched Spanish original and its most-watched international original ever, with a combined 100 million views worldwide as of the summer.
Prime Video has also made and premiered the English-language versions My Fault: London and Your Fault: London. The third and final installment, Our Fault: London, has been announced for a 2027 premiere exclusively on Prime Video. Ron’s Dímelo trilogy has also moved to screen, with Tell Me Softly (Dímelo Bajito) premiering on Prime Video last year. This summer, Ron signed a first-look deal with Amazon MGM Studios.
Pokeepsie, founded by Spanish director Álex de la Iglesia and actress-producer Carolina Bang, also produced the Culpables trilogy adaptations. Ron said her working relationship with de la Iglesia and Bang began six years ago after they were the first to show interest in acquiring the rights to My Fault. She later learned that de la Iglesia’s daughters were fans of her books.
“Working with them has been amazing, and they understood completely how this whole world works,” Ron said. “And I wanted to repeat that with Drawn Together.”
Bang said Mercedes Ron’s books were familiar in her household because the family spent time around teenagers. She recalled Culpables being widely discussed, then reading the books herself and seeing their screen potential. Drawn Together, she said, also immediately stood out to her as cinematic, combining romance with action.
Casting Marfil and Sebastián
Ron said she is “very involved” in the adaptation process, especially in casting and script, where she feels she can offer the most input. For Drawn Together, Expósito was at the top of her list for Marfil.
“I knew that I wanted Ester in the movie to play Marfil,” Ron said. “She was amazing.” Ron said she asked Prime Video whether the actor might be interested, noting that Expósito had been doing “completely different movies.” When Expósito agreed, Ron called it “a huge achievement.”
Garcia was later chosen for Sebastián. Ron described him as “an amazing actor” and noted that he “knows how to fight in real life,” which she said was a strong fit for the role. The chemistry between Garcia and Expósito sealed the decision, according to Ron: “When we saw that, we knew straight away that he was Sebastián.”
Ron said she writes for everyone, even though she estimates that her audience is mostly female — “85 percent or 90 percent.” She added that men also enjoy her stories, and that the action element in Drawn Together may help broaden its appeal.
Bang sees Drawn Together as a project that evolves with the audience that first embraced Culpables. “It still has everything they love about Mercedes’ world — the passion, the impossible love, the intensity — but the characters are at a different stage in their lives, and the story is told from a more adult perspective,” Bang said.
What Happens Next?
The second Drawn Together film has already been shot. Ron said both films were made together and that the second movie is “already finished” and “already wrapped up,” though she does not yet know when it will be released.
Bang said filming both installments together allowed the production to treat the movies as “one story told in two parts,” while maintaining the same cast, crew, tone and character connection. She also said the approach helped from a production standpoint by making stronger use of crews, locations and resources.
Ron’s pipeline is continuing beyond Drawn Together. She said Tell Me With Kisses, the third film in the Tell Me series, was finished about a month ago. She also pointed to 30 Sunsets to Fall in Love (30 Sunsets Para Enamorarte), from her Bali duology, as the first U.S. adaptation of her work.
Ron said a fourth Culpables book was released a few months ago as “a gift” to readers, nearly 10 years after the first book. There is no movie based on that book currently in the works, she said, though she left the door open to the possibility someday.
For now, Ron said she wants to keep working with Prime Video, bring new ideas forward and possibly work with material from other authors. She also said she would “love” to write a film or story directly for the screen.
The English-language edition of the Drawn Together book was released three weeks ago, Ron said, giving new readers another entry point as the film arrives on Prime Video.