Who said that only the great series have the stamp of North American production companies?
This long-lasting television format (now also online) has given rise to products that come from borders far removed from the big industry. For this reason, and as a revival , we have collected what we believe to be the best Spanish series of the last decades.
The 12 best Spanish series of yesterday and today
If you are a series-loving person, we suggest you write down some of the best Spanish series on your ‘to do’ list.
We guarantee that you will have a great time and that they have nothing to envy to the great works coming from the giant Hollywood.
12. Red Eagle
This imaginative proposal takes us to the Spain of the Golden Age (18th century), during the reign of Philip IV. In the Madrid of that time, a masked hero who calls himself ‘Aguila Roja’ is dedicated to imparting justice, while trying to disrupt the plans of a secret society that seems to be behind the murder of his wife.
For nine seasons, this production with a Spanish denomination of origin captivated more and more viewers, even being broadcast in neighboring countries such as France or the United Kingdom.
11. Polseres vermelles
One of the best Spanish series in recent years has come out of the Catalan regional network. Polseres vermelles (‘Red Bracelets’) were so popular, that Americans, en an incredible display of originality, they created their own version called The Red Band Society.
The plot revolves around a group of children and adolescents who suffer from all kinds of diseases, who meet in the Pediatrics area of a hospital. A beautiful hymn to life that praises friendship above all things.
10. The paper house
It has entered with force in the heart of the audience, and that its beginnings in the chain Antena 3 did not predict but another resounding failure . Even so, La casa de papel is already preparing its third season to the delight of the public.
Movie buffs will find references to great movies, not at all subtle by the way (Reservoir Dogs and Hidden Plan without going any further), in the plot of this fiction about a bank robbery that is not quite what it seems and that, thanks to the digital platform Netflix, has risen from its ashes as one of the best Spanish series today.
9. The ministry of time
The directors of this magnificent fiction got rid of the cliche that in Spain only dramatic or period series are shot. And boy did they succeed! With El Ministerio del Tiempo they showed that Iberian filmmakers also have a great imagination, by devising a secret society that is dedicated to traveling through time to prevent the history of Spain from changing in the slightest and staying as it is told in the books.
A magnificent opportunity to refresh school lessons in an unusual way.
- You may be interested: The 10 best Netflix series of all time.
8. Family doctor
From 1995 to 1999, the Telecinco network kept several million viewers aware of the adventures of the Martin family, headed by Nacho, the head of the clan who has just become a widower and must take care of his three children, along with to his old father.
Such was the success of Medico de familia, that the format was immediately adapted in Italy, Germany and Portugal , among other countries; eager to take advantage of the pull of what was for many nineties one of the best Spanish series of that time.
7. Summer Blue
We are approaching the halfway point of our selection with an accompanying series that, like good wine, must be savored calmly in order to be fully enjoyed. We travel to 1981, to an uncertain location on the Costa del Sol, to meet a gang of seven kids who are there on vacation. In just 1 season divided into 19 episodes , it was enough for us to take a tremendous affection for Quique, Bea, Pirana and company; in addition to the secondary cast that accompanied them.
If anyone has any doubt that it is one of the most beloved Spanish series by the public of that time, we have to add that, every time Spanish Television reruns what is one of its flagships, it becomes Trending Topic.
6. Elizabeth
Once again, a series of historical themes, this time without fiction, to tell us about the reign of Isabel I of Castile, better known as ‘“la Catolica”. For three seasons we are witnesses of the plots that were lived in the palace , where betrayals, marriages of convenience and alliances of power were not lacking.
Isabel is considered by many historians to be one of the most faithful recreations of the period in which the Catholic Monarchs ruled the Iberian Peninsula, thanks to the performances, the impeccable technical workmanship and the careful recreation of the settings and costumes.
5. Pharmacy on duty
If you are at least 25 years old you will remember this series, set in a small duty pharmacy in a working-class neighborhood of the capital. Throughout 4 years we became one more of the motley cocktail of characters who daily visited Lourdes Cano’s apothecary , who had to support her three children after having separated from her husband.
Had someone forgotten about the absent-minded Commissioner Romerales and his companion on patrol, Maria de la Encarnacion, with that “Go inside, Romerales!”
By the way, Farmacia de Guardia currently holds the record for being the most watched Spanish series of all programming, so one more reason to add it.
4. There is no one living here
Anyone who lives in a community of neighbors will feel identified with the premise of No one lives here: the day to day of a group of nosy neighbors, each one more picturesque than the previous one, who live at number 21 of the street Disillusion.
Rarely has a choral series kept us as hooked on the screen as this fun (and surreal at times) series did, which would be nothing without its endearing goalkeeper Emilio; the devout president of the community Juan Cuesta and his manipulative wife Paloma , as well as the nosy old ladies of 1st A, Marisa and Vicenta. One of the best Spanish series to watch and review without fear of getting tired.
3. 7 lives
“Who could have imagined that I would return from this trip
”. This is how the refrain of the header of 7 lives said, the funny comedy that emulated the classic North American situation comedies , but seasoned with a Spanish touch that gave it its own identity and made it a benchmark.
No less than 15 seasons and 7 years on the air almost made the series by creator Victor Garcia become the longest on the grid, but soon another competitor that we will find a few places higher snatched the honor. Be that as it may, the laughs with the acting cast of 7 lives are guaranteed from the first to the last season, maintaining Amparo Baro’s slaps as the main feature, whose character was one of the few that remained throughout the entire fiction.
2. Stories to keep you awake
If we talk about directors who have had an exceptional weight on Spanish television, we cannot ignore the masterpiece of Narciso ‘Chicho’ Ibanez Serrador, Stories for not sleeping, a kind of “Alfred Hitchcock presents the Spanish”.
This renowned director and screenwriter terrified us with a series of short-lived independent episodes, many of which adapted great horror works by mythical writers such as Poe or Bradbury. We still get a shiver every time we review: The Asphalt (1966), The House (1968) or The Television (1974).
1. Tell me how it happened
And finally we reach the climax of this nostalgic television revival. Since its premiere, the success of Cuentame como paso predicted that we were facing the best Spanish series in the entire history of national television. And that is what it is about: a reliable account of what was the last stage of Francoism (beginning in April 1968) and the no less turbulent time of the Transition.
The Alcantara family, whose members we have seen grow and evolve in equal parts each season , become fictitious witnesses that have allowed us to know how people lived in Spain at the end of the 70s until who knows when, well, the last season It ended with the Hipercor attack in 1987. Will they continue to this day?
For us, let it not be said.
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- A list of the best series you can watch on HBO.
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