Whether you’re learning a language or just looking for a great new series, you’ve come to the right place to find the best Spanish series on Netflix.
As a language-learning company, we know there are tons of things you can do to make learning Spanish from home easier and more fun, helping you stay motivated.
One fantastic way to boost your learning is through immersion – listening to music, reading books, and in particular, watching films and TV. Fortunately, there are plenty of excellent shows in Spanish on Netflix (and other streaming services) today!
These series are great for Spanish language learners, but they’re also just totally bingeable shows, regardless of whether or not you’re brushing up on your español.
With genres ranging from period drama to heist thriller to comedy and beyond, get ready to turn on your subtitles and watch some fantastic Spanish series on Netflix.
Note: We include in our descriptions where these Spanish TV shows were produced, since, just as you’ll hear different French accents in the best French movies and French series on Netflix, there are different varieties of Spanish. There’s a big difference, for example, between the Spanish spoken in Latin America and Spain.
Tomatometer: 94%
Genre: Thriller, heist, crime
Country of origin: Spain
This crime heist show is a Netflix original series that was such a big hit from day one that it was renewed almost immediately. They even made a documentary about its popularity, a docuseries following the filmmakers and actors, and Korean and German versions! It’s one of the best Spanish shows on Netflix, period, and is set to return for a sixth season.
Tomatometer: N/A
Genre: Drama
Country of origin: Mexico
Monarca originally received buzz because it’s produced by Salma Hayek’s company Ventanarosa, and it has found an audience, with its second season released in January 2021. The series follows the family of a billionaire tequila magnate operating in a corrupt world. Think Succession in Mexico City.
Tomatometer: 93%
Genre: Teen drama, thriller
Country of origin: Spain
Everyone loves a little teen drama now and then, and Élite does the genre better than just about anyone else. The series follows three working-class teens who enroll at a super exclusive private school. It’s a ‘guilty pleasure’ show with a touch of mystery – and positive reviews just about across the board.
Plus, it’s become so popular that it’s generated a plethora of additional mini-series, so you won’t run out of things to watch anytime soon.
Tomatometer: N/A
Genre: Reality, cooking competition, comedy
Country of origin: Mexico
Nailed It! fans will be delighted by the Mexican iteration of the popular American competition show all about baking mishaps. And, if you fly through the Mexican episodes, you’re in luck – the first season of Nailed it! Spain, aka Niquelao!, is also available on US Netflix now.
Hearing real, modern people talk is a fabulous way to get to know some of the most popular Spanish phrases.
Tomatometer: 83%
Genre: Comedy, drama, millennial telenovela
Country of origin: Mexico
This black comedy-drama follows an upper-class Mexican family who owns a flower shop. Their world is rocked when they discover that their father’s deceased mistress’ family owns a cabaret that shares their business’ name.
The series found enough of an audience that it inspired an accompanying Netflix original short film and a full-length movie, to boot!
Tomatometer: 67%
Genre: Teen drama
Country of origin: Mexico
While 67% may not seem like a glowing critical score, this teen drama about a hacker plaguing a high school in Mexico by revealing secrets of the student body is very fun for fans of the genre.
Introverted, highly observant teen Sofía Herrera has something to hide – so she joins forces with the handsome new boy in school to discover who the hacker might be before her secrets can be revealed.
Tomatometer: Audience score only – 86%
Genre: Drama, political thriller
Country of origin: Mexico
Ingobernable starts with a fictional first lady of Mexico declaring she’s filing for divorce from her husband, the president. She gets knocked out and awakes to find she’s the number one suspect in his murder.
The full story is revealed both through the present storyline and flashbacks. Once a champion of peace, First Lady Emilia had begun to suspect her husband wasn’t as good a man as she once thought. Now she’s on the run, while trying to clear her name and find out the truth.
Tomatometer: Audience score only – 83%
Genre: Telenovela, music
Country of origin: Colombia
This super bingeable dramatic series follows a talented songwriter who, after 17 years of wrongful imprisonment, is given an opportunity to walk free by working with the police to take down the man who framed her and killed her family. She goes undercover as a music producer named Tammy to infiltrate the inner circle of the now-successful reggaeton singer-slash-murderer who got famous using her songs.
Worth noting: La Reina del Flow is a telenovela, which is essentially a kind of Spanish-language soap opera, usually created in Latin America and often with a limited – if not necessarily short – run. So, even though it’s technically only two seasons, it’s actually a whopping 171 episodes.
Tomatometer: 100% (first season)
Genre: Period drama
Country of origin: Spain
This period drama was a critical hit at launch, though admittedly some of the later seasons have been a bit more uneven. Set in Madrid in the late 1920s, Las Chicas del Cable follows four young women whose lives are changed when they get jobs at a new telecommunications company.
The series focuses on their growing friendship, complicated personal lives, and the changing role of women in a male-dominated Spanish society.
Tomatometer: Audience score only – 68%
Genre: Period drama
Country of origin: Spain
While one of the most popular Spanish dramas on Netflix, Gran Hotel, was removed from the platform in 2021, there are still many period dramas filled with romance for fans of the series to enjoy. The most notable example, perhaps, is Galerías Velvet, a series also created by Ramón Campos and Gema R. María and produced by Bambú Producciones.
While the series has suffered a bit from being overshadowed by Gran Hotel’s popularity, it’s a sumptuous period piece with tons of drama and beautiful costuming to enjoy.
Galerías Velvet is a love story set at a fashion house in Spain in the late 1950s, where the heir to the fashion house falls in love with a beautiful seamstress. It also has a spinoff series, Velvet Colleción, that enjoyed two seasons and a movie.
(And if you really want to watch Gran Hotel, while it’s no longer on Netflix, it is available on streaming app ViX, if you’re willing to subscribe!)
Tomatometer: 100%
Genre: Mystery, thriller
Country of origin: Spain
Last but certainly not least, El Inocente is a critically-beloved dramatic miniseries about a man who accidentally killed someone years before, served his time, and is now leading a seemingly normal life. The series is based on a thriller novel by American author Harlan Coben, who has a deal with Netflix to turn a whopping 14 of his books into original series and films.
One final thought – while the Netflix series Narcos and Griselda are both about 50% in English, if you’d rather get used to subtitles a little more gradually, or you just want to watch a fabulous show, they’re both worth a watch. Narcos is a thriller about the life and crimes of Pablo Escobar (and the DEA agents who pursued him). Griselda is a limited biopic crime drama series produced by and starring Sofía Vergara about real life former Miami crime boss Griselda Blanco.
Whether you’re watching a Spanish movie on Netflix or one of these fantastic series, immersing yourself with different media is a fantastic way to start mastering some of the trickier elements of a new language. And, besides, binging an engrossing show is great fun!
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