hey! could you recommend any Spanish TV shows?
ok, so there are TOO MANY. I’m gonna split them into two categories: historical drama (soap operas, really) and “modern” shows, basically because many soap operas tend to use a Spanish we don’t really use anymore. I’ll also add the TV channel, because most of them have the episodes on their websites. If not, try pordede.
HISTORICAL DRAMA/SOAP OPERAS
I feel like most of our TV shows are soap operas. Here you have a list
Amar en tiempos revueltos/Amar es para siempre (TVE/Antena 3). Ok so this soap opera was produced by Spain’s national television, but now it belongs to Antena 3 and the name has changed to Amar es para siempre. It’s about the lives of a group of neighbours in a working-class neighbourhood in Madrid. It starts in the 40s or so, and currently they’re in the 60s. Many characters change from season to season, and it airs from Monday to Friday, Friday being more “intense”. It deals with the problems people faced during the dictatorship (abortion, forbidden love, poverty, sexism (still happens lmao), LGBT issues, etc.), but it also talks about love and gossip. You don’t have to watch it from the beginning, just start one day and keep watching it.
El secreto de Puente Viejo (Antena 3). So this takes place at the beginning of the XX century in a small village called “Puente Viejo”. There’re many things related to the political situation of the moment and it tells the story of the citizens of the town. I’d recommend this show if you have a really good level, because they use really old-fashioned Spanish. The acting is not that good, tho.
Velvet (Antena 3). This is actually about to end THIS WEEK, and parts of the last episode will be aired LIVE. If you liked Sense8, Miguel Ángel Silvestre is in this show. It’s about a chain of department stores and the lives of those who work there. Takes place in the 50s.
Gran Hotel (Antena 3). Kinda like Downton Abbey but in a hotel
Cuéntame cómo pasó (TVE). The title is a famous song . This has been airing for… 17 years? It’s about the life of a kid from Madrid (he starts as a child, now he’s 18) in fascist Spain. It’s really good to see how Spanish society evolved and became more modern, or the changes in the country in general. I think that now they are in the 80s, but I stopped watching. The language is not difficult since it deals with daily issues, and you might learn slang! You don’t have to watch it from the beginning.
Seis hermanas (TVE). This is quite new. It’s about the life of six sisters in an upper-class family during the Industrial Revolution in Spain. Never seen it.
Águila Roja (TVE). This show had a lot of success, then they stopped. Then they came back. This takes place in medieval Spain, and that’s the only thing I can tell you because I’ve never seen it.
Isabel (TVE). A show about the life of the queen Isabel. It was quite successful.
El caso (TVE). This show is named after a magazine that existed during the dictatorship. They published news about murders, kidnapping, etc. This show talks about the life of the members of the magazine, and also shows the problems they had as people and as journalists during the dictatorship.
Aquí no hay quien viva (Antena 3). A CLASSIC. It’s over now, but it was quite good. It’s all about the lives of a group of neighbours who live in the same building. You have the rich girl, the three old women, the gay couple, the girl that never finds a boyfriend, and a great cast in general. I think that this shows represents modern Spain very well, and the Spanish they use is the one we use when we talk, so you’ll learn slang too. There’s a “sequel” called “La que se avecina” but I don’t really like it.
Aída (Telecinco). This was really good. It’s about the life of a woman called Aída in a working-class neighbourhood. You have other characters, of course, and most of them are quite funny. It’s really good for language learning because they use modern Spanish. They’re also good at showing what Spain is like.
El Ministerio del Tiempo (TVE). Ok so everyone LOVES this show. The writer actually finished the show while he was dying at the hospital. Anyways, this is about the Ministry of Time, a Ministry of the Spanish Government that has agents that travel to the past to solve some problems that would affect our present (most of them are related with Spanish history). You have characters from different historical periods that travel in time together. THIS IS SO GOOD.
Los misterios de Laura (TVE). Have you ever seen the American show “the mysteries of Laura”?. Well, that’s actually the copy of the original one, the Spanish version (which is WAY better). It’s about a woman who is a police officer, and she has to solve crimes. But she’s quite comical and the show is also about her relationship with her colleagues and relatives. There’s humor. Really good to learn vocabulary related with crime.
El Barco (Antena 3). So this show is over, but everyone loved it. It’s about a group of people who are in a ship and land just disappears, and they think they might be the only ones alive in our planet. Lots of drama.
Los Serrano (Telecinco). This show is over, and let me tell you, everyone HATED the ending. It’s about a family, really. This show was quite successful in Finland, lmao.
El Príncipe (Telecinco). This finished last year I believe. It’s about el Príncipe, a real neighbourhood of Celta. The main characters work for the police and you can see how life is like in this neighbourhood. They get to talk about racism and other issues.
Vis a vis (Antena 3). Women in prison. Yes, everyone thought it was a copy of Orange is the new black, but it isn’t. Really good.
Allí abajo (Antena 3). This is a comedy about a guy from the Basque Country that moves to Andalucia. Stereotypes everywhere. Never seen it, but I’m pretty sure you’ll hear a lot of the accent from Andalucia.
And there’re MANY more. If you search “series (TV channel) online” you’ll find the official websites where you can watch the episodes, or even find new shows. Enjoy!
