When your bilingual family is looking for something to watch together, you have options, whether you want to watch in Spanish with English subtitles or vice versa. A political drama with a juicy murder mystery at the center? Check. A dark comedy about a family that operates a secret cabaret? Check. A heist thriller about a group of master thieves who are laser focused on the ultimate payday? Check.
The titles below — including Narcos, La Reina del Sur, and Elite — are some of the most-loved Spanish-language series on Netflix. So if you’re looking for something to watch that will bring the whole family together, keep reading.
The year is 1928 and freedom still seems like an unattainable goal for many women. So getting a job as a “cable girl” at Spain’s first national telephone company feels like a step in the right direction for a group of young women — Alba Romero (Blanca Suárez), Ángeles Vidal (Maggie Civantos), Carlota Senillosa (Ana Fernández), and Marga Suárez (Nadia de Santiago) — who become fast and loyal friends while navigating the ups and downs of their newfound corporate life in Madrid. Empowered and ambitious, these women rise through the ranks, defy convention, and find solace in the arms of lovers past and present. But from the jump, things aren’t as they seem: Alba is undercover, assuming the name Lidia Aguilar, in order to pay off a debt, while the others are looking to escape their controlling families or start anew. The five-season Spanish period drama Cable Girls, aka Las chicas del cable, created by Ramón Campos and Gema R. Neira (High Seas), also stars Yon González (Heirs to the Land), Ana Polvorosa (A Man of Action), and Nico Romero (The Idhun Chronicles).
Created by Carlos Montero (Breathless) and Darío Madrona (In Family I Trust), the eight-season Spanish drama Elite follows a group of students at the fictional Las Encinas, a high school that caters to the privileged youth of wealthy families. The first season follows three working-class students — Samuel (Itzan Escamilla), Nadia (Mina El Hammani), and Christian (Miguel Herrán) — who receive scholarships in the wake of a deadly accident, becoming ensconced in this elite world. But they soon discover that money and power come with (potentially fatal) consequences, especially when your heart is on the line.
The dark dramedy The House of Flowers, aka La casa de las flores, follows the dysfunctional de la Mora family, whose patriarch, Ernesto (Arturo Ríos), is arrested after his mistress, Roberta (Claudette Maillé), dies by suicide at his birthday party. The scandal slowly reveals the existing cracks in the family’s foundation. As matriarch Virginia (Verónica Castro) struggles with her husband’s infidelity and the black mark it leaves on the family’s reputation, her adult children — high-strung eldest daughter Paulina (Cecilia Suárez); ambitious middle child Elena (Aislinn Derbez); and free-spirited only son Julián (Darío Yazbek) — work to keep the family’s flower shop — and secret cabaret — afloat while grappling with their own complicated personal lives. Paco León (My Dearest Señorita) and Juan Pablo Medina (Bandidos) co-star in this telenovela, created by Manolo Caro (Down the Rabbit Hole).
Kate del Castillo (La Reina del Sur) stars in the two-season political drama Ingobernable as Emilia Urquiza, the first lady of Mexico, whose imperfect marriage to President Diego Nava (Erik Hayser) is on the brink of collapse. When she files for divorce, it results in an epic blowout — and Diego is soon found dead. As the only other person in the room when he died, Emilia is suspected of his murder and forced to go on the run. Can she disprove the Secret Service’s theory, or is her shoddy memory of that night hiding a truth darker than anyone could have predicted? Eréndira Ibarra (Sense8), Alberto Guerra (Griselda), and Luis Roberto Guzmán (Who Killed Sara?) also star.
In the series Money Heist, aka La casa de papel, created by Álex Pina, a mysterious criminal mastermind known as the Professor (Álvaro Morte) has a plan to carry out the world’s most daring heist: he intends to enter the Royal Mint of Spain and hold the people inside hostage while his team prints and steals millions of euros. He recruits eight skilled thieves known only by their city-inspired code names — Tokyo (Úrsula Corberó), Rio (Miguel Herrán), Berlin (Pedro Alonso), Nairobi (Alba Flores), Denver (Jaime Lorente), Moscow (Paco Tous), Oslo (Roberto García Ruiz), and Helsinki (Darko Perić) — who wear red jumpsuits and Salvador Dalí masks to see the mission through. As the Professor manipulates the local police, the team rushes to carry out his meticulously crafted crime. But even the best laid plans have their weak points, and the group’s evolving dynamics could mean trouble for their big pay day.
After watching all five seasons, you can dive into the series’ spin-offs: Money Heist: From Tokyo to Berlin; Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area; Berlin and the Jewels of Paris; and Berlin and the Lady with an Ermine.
One of the most infamous drug kingpins in modern history, Pablo Escobar (portrayed by Wagner Moura), gets his story told in Narcos. While the first season tracks Escobar’s journey to become the world’s most prolific cocaine distributor, it also focuses on the urgent mission to track him down, spearheaded by two DEA agents, Javier Peña and Steve Murphy, played by Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian and Grogu) and Boyd Holbrook (In the Shadow of the Moon). Similarly, its spin-off series, Narcos: Mexico — led by Diego Luna (Mexico 86) as the ruthless Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo — explores the creation of the Mexican drug trade and the Guadalajara Cartel, as well as the DEA’s attempts to take down Gallardo’s growing empire.
Another series led by Ingobernable’s del Castillo, La Reina del Sur is based on Spanish author Arturo Pérez-Reverte’s 2002 novel and follows Teresa Mendoza (del Castillo), a young Mexican woman who becomes entrenched in the world of international drug trafficking. Season 1 kicks off with Teresa being forced to go on the run after learning that her husband, a charming pilot who worked for the Mexican cartels, has been killed. As a ruthless kingpin and his men hunt her down, Teresa flees the country. She starts anew, and, after years of blood, sweat, and tears, becomes the most powerful drug lord in Spain. Raoul Bova (Under the Tuscan Sun), Humberto Zurita (I Am Not Mendoza), and Isabelle Sierra (The Sacrifice) also star in this crime drama created by Roberto Stopello (Señora Acero), and Lina Uribe and Darío Vanegas (The Guest).
Nearly two decades ago, Sara Guzmán (Ximena Lamadrid) was killed during a drunken boating accident. Her boyfriend, Rodolfo Lazcano (Alejandro Nones), was responsible, but his ultra-wealthy father, César (Ginés García Millán), got him off scot-free — and tricked Sara’s brother, Álex (Manolo Cardona), into taking the fall. After serving 18 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, Álex is released early for good behavior. Now free, he returns home to enact his long-gestating plan: no-holds-barred revenge against the Lazcano family, no matter the cost. The three-season mystery thriller Who Killed Sara? — aka ¿Quién mató a Sara? — created by José Ignacio Valenzuela (Sisters’ Feud), also stars Carolina Miranda (Fake Profile), Eugenio Siller (Unspeakable Sins), Claudia Ramírez (Sólo con tu pareja), and Jean Reno (Family Pack).
