The best Spanish series to learn Spanish
Spanish series are really popular these days.
There have been some excellent ones in recent years and thanks to them Spanish productions are on the top, breaking records of views.
If you want to learn Spanish, there’s no better way of improving your vocabulary and listening skills than watching series and films.
Just select the original version and set English subtitles to start with.
Try to listen carefully to identify words and expressions.
You can even press pause in order to repeat that new expression several times so it stays in your mind.
Be careful not to press pause in the middle of a high-tension moment if you are not watching it alone!
This could mean the end of a relationship 😀
Later on along the line, you can select Spanish subtitles. Doing this will accelerate your leaning process.
Let’s now see which are the best Spanish series available out there and start learning Spanish while having fun!
1. La Casa de Papel (Money Heist)
Thanks to the success of Money Heist, Spanish productions are now watched all around the globe.
The series, created by genius Alex Pina, enjoys a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes as well as the privilege of having a huge percentage of the world’s population who knows who Tokyo, Rio and El Profesor are.
Synopsis: A criminal mastermind who goes by “The Professor” has a plan to pull off the biggest heist in recorded history — to print billions of euros in the Royal Mint of Spain. To help him carry out the ambitious plan, he recruits eight people with certain abilities and who have nothing to lose. The group of thieves take hostages to aid in their negotiations with the authorities, who strategize to come up with a way to capture The Professor. As more time elapses, the robbers prepare for a showdown with the police.
Apart from having an intense storyline, the characters are brilliantly developed, each of them posses background life stories that will come up now and then to help us get to know them better.
All of the actors are great, even the secondary, they make their characters credible and dimensional. The dialogues sound natural and slowly undercover the interpersonal dramas going on among all them.
There’s humour, tension and a lot of passion, something that could not be missing in any Spanish story.
We are a passionate bunch of people and this series is just the expression of a cultural signature.
Part of the success of the series is based on the classic story of David and Goliath: a group of nobodies fooling an entire government.
The series hasn’t concluded yet and a 5th season is awaited with much expectation.
2. Vis a Vis (Locked Up)
Some said Vis a Vis was the Spanish replica of Orange is the New Black. But the truth is that a lot of people prefer the former.
Personally, I couldn’t watch beyond episode 4th of Orange, it just bored the hell out of me, meanwhile, when I started Vis a Vis I had to control myself not to watch the entire thing in a weekend.
Vis a Vis has much more developed side stories that happen alongside the main plot, characters are extreme but human and the plot is just a master piece.
Synopsis: Set up by her lover to take the blame for corporate fraud, Macarena Ferreiro, a naive young woman, finds herself locked up in a high-security women’s prison surrounded by tough, ruthless criminals.
It’s not a series for easily shocked audiences.
There aren’t any filters and the violence (both physical and psychological) is constant.
But somehow because the screenplay has been masterly developed around the characters, you can really feel with them and even understand some of the most extreme behaviours.
Audiences like the series because there’s no sugar with it.
Also because of the great relationship between the hero and the antihero, whose interactions are masterly intertwined to keep people helplessly glued to their screens.
Don’t watch this series if you are of a sensitive nature.
Absolutely watch it if you love series that accelerate your heart beat.
The series finished in February 2019 after the final episode of its 5th season.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJ8S-vGjV2g3. White Lines
Also created by Alex Pina (La Casa de Papel) this brand-new Spanish-British production will make you dream about flying to Ibiza (again).
An ode to the island and to the Manchester electronic music scene, you will fall in love with the photography and the nostalgic atmosphere.
There are a mix of opinions among the audiences, some people have been disappointed due to the fact that Money Heist put the bar really high and they consider that White Lines doesn’t meet expectations.
But a large part of the audience have been totally captivated by its quirky characters and its nostalgia mood, especially for those born in the 70s and early 80s.
Synopsis: Zoe Walker leaves her quiet life in Manchester behind to investigate her brother’s disappearance in Ibiza, where she quickly heads down a decadent and dangerous path.
A well chosen casting of British and Spanish actors give the plot an interesting multi-cultural perspective, for some the plot is a bit slow, but what’s definitely a consensus is that you want to continue watching to find out what happened to Axel.
Sex, drugs and nightlife form the setting but love and family relationships are there as well to remind us of what’s important in life.
Watch if you want to have fun with an easy going series and you feel a bit nostalgic about your long gone clubbing years.
4. El Ministerio del Tiempo (The Ministry of Time)
Spanish entertainment creators can also make sci-fi productions.
You just have to remember Alejandro Amenabar’s masterpiece The Others.
I still have nightmares with that fricking scary scene where the little girl was dressed in white and was humming a creepy song.
Although, The Ministry of Time has nothing to do with the horror film apart from being fantasy.
The series is a journey into the history and culture of Spain with an intelligent plot and big doses of humour and entertainment.
Synopsis: Three officers from different eras work for a secret government agency, guarding Spain’s past from time-travelling intruders trying to manipulate history for their own ends.
The Ministry of Time is a series for history buffs and culture lovers. It has it all; tension, history, violence (not too much), a love interest and humour. The characters are credible and altogether well cast.
Creators have worked far and hard to find actors that look like the historical characters and a lot of research has taken place in order to tell us interesting historical anecdotes of these important “personajes” which will surprise and delight the audience.
A fan explained it magnetically in this review: Inventive, clever, engaging and edifying. Also, the Spanish humour is integral to the show. A serious show that never takes itself too seriously. Complex characters and engrossing stories. What’s not to like?
Watch if you want to learn more about Spanish history and culture. Also if you are a fan of time travel fantasy.
Meet the heroes and villains of Spanish history!
The series has released its 4th season.
5. Las chicas del Cable (The Cable Girls)
No other Netflix original series made outside the U.S. has yet made it to five seasons, and only a few have been so popular. “Cable Girls’” season five, part one, proved the third most-binged series in the world over its first week of release, according to TV Time.
That’s quite some statement, especially in a country like the U.S. where foreign productions aren’t usually so popular.
Synopsis: It’s the 1920s and Spain has just gotten its first national telephone company, located in Madrid. For four young women who get jobs there, it’s more than just work. It represents progress that is being made at the time as women are gaining more equality with men. This drama series follows the ladies, known as “cable girls,” who feel attached in different ways — to their families, their partners and their memories.
It’s a great story to remind us of the struggles women had to live in those times in order to be able to be independent.
Many of those struggles are still relevant today, which makes it easy to identify ourselves with the characters.
Don’t be fooled by its looks, it’s not a corny series only for girls who melt with love stories.
There’s much more than that, there is nudity, sex scenes and social issues that might be difficult for some.
A cocktail of romantic love with a bit of murder and corporate intrigue, as well as strong feminist (and sexual freedom) statements.
There are many more great Spanish series for you to discover like Cathedral of the Sea, Gran Hotel, Elite, etc. but those 5 are our favourites.
You have quite a lot of hours to watch so you better start…
Learning Spanish having fun, that’s the goal!
And that’s my focus during my online classes too.
If you want to speak fluent Spanish in no time, try me with a free online lesson.
