Top 5 Shows to Watch on Netflix to Learn Spanish
Hola Amigos. After being burned out by watching the same type of TV shows again and again, I embarked on a journey to find something new, something unique. In my quest to find a show that gets me hooked, I found myself exploring the Spanish side of Netflix. Turns out, these are some of the best shows being made lately.
The Hispanic culture is already something that I find fascinating. Mainly because my girlfriend is a Latino. So, this was a perfect opportunity for me to immerse myself in her culture, and learn a bit of Spanish. And learned I did.
I’m someone who could only say a few Spanish words like Buenas tardes and Gracias. After three months of Spanish classes and watching countless shows on Netflix, I can finally say that I can (somewhat) speak Spanish.
Most of it was just me speaking broken words to my girlfriend, but the real breakthrough happened when I had to call Spectrum to upgrade my internet plan to watch 4K content. My girlfriend, being the prankster that she is, dialed the Spectrum en español support number, instead of the English one. There was a lot of mumbling, a lot of “¿Perdón?”s. But, in the end, I finally did what I set out to do. I was finally able to have a conversation with a Spanish native!
And, all of this happened because I delved into the world of Spanish shows on Netflix. Now, without further ado, here are some of the shows I loved watching when learning Spanish:
Narcos
- Release Date: 2015
- Genre: Biographical, Crime Drama
- Cast: Pedro Pascal, Wagner Moura, Boyd Holbrook, Alberto Ammann, Paulina Gaitan
It wouldn’t be a list about top Spanish shows if we didn’t have Narcos on it.
The show is a true crime drama about the rise of the infamous Pablo Escobar, starting in the rural Colombia area, to becoming a drug kingpin. Narcos provides a brutal look into the Latin American drug trade, the politics and corruption around it, and how the authorities became involved during the war on drugs.
Narcos, like other shows on this list, uses accurate subtitles, making it a great way to pick up on some Spanish phrases, while being entertained.
La Casa De Papel
- Release Date: 2017
- Genre: Heist, Thriller, Crime Drama
- Cast: Úrsula Corberó, Itziar Ituño, Álvaro Morte, Pedro Alonso, Alba Flores, Paco Tous
La Casa De Papel, or Money Heist, is another great show to watch if you’re looking to learn the Spanish language.
The show is a heist thriller, one like you’ve never seen before. A gang of criminals trains and plans to rob the Royal Mint of Spain. There are three fundamental rules: No bloodshed, no relationships in the team and don’t reveal personal information.
Gradually, the plan falls into chaos, and the team finds out that keeping up with the rules isn’t as easy as it sounds.
The main series focuses on two parts of the same storyline. However, La Casa de Papel: Berlín focuses on another beloved character in the main show. So, you’re sure to have something to satiate your appetite once you’re done watching the original show.
Paquita Salas
- Release Date: 2016
- Genre: Comedy
- Cast: Brays Efe, Lidia San José, Belén Cuesta, Mariona Terés, Álex de Lucas
You’re going to love this show if you’re a fan of The Office (the U.S. version specifically).
The story follows the journey of Paquita Salas, an influential talent agent a few years back before she loses her biggest client, which makes everything go wrong. A major factor for her downfall is also her sense of style which is inspired by the 90s.
The episodes are bite-sized, with each of them being 20 minutes long, perfect to watch while you eat. Characters talk in a funny, conversational way, which is a great way to learn simple Spanish phrases. This show gets a little absurd sometimes, but also has a few moments that might make you emotional. That just shows how good the writing is in this show.
Currently, the show only has three seasons, but a fourth season was also confirmed, but doesn’t have a release date yet.
Elite
- Release Date: 2018
- Genre: Teen Drama, Thriller
- Cast: Carla Rosón Caleruega, Samuel García Domínguez, Guzmán Nunier Osuna, Omar Ayuso, Itzan Escamilia, Miguel Bernardeau, Valentina Zenere
If you’re a fan of thrillers and teen dramas, Elite is one of the best shows to watch on Netflix.
With a huge cast of fleshed-out characters, the storyline has a lot of suspense and thrills. In the first ten minutes of Elite, someone is murdered and the main story is a cat-and-mouse chase, where the group tries to find out who the killer is.
The characters are fleshed out and you’ll often find yourself rooting for the good, and sometimes the bad characters. These characters aren’t one-dimensional, you’ll see a lot of great character development throughout the storyline.
Elite has been a very successful show worldwide and has become one of the best Spanish Netflix shows. While the Spanish spoken in it can be a little hard to follow if you’re someone who just started learning the language, it’s an amazing show to watch nonetheless.
Vis A Vis
- Release Date: 2015
- Genre: Thriller, Crime, Serial Drama
- Cast: Maggie Civantos, Carlos Hipólito, Najwa Nimri, Roberto Enríquez, Alba Flores, Berta Vázquez
The show is set in a women’s prison, where the main character, Macarena, finds herself after committing fraudulent crimes.
It sounds just like the plot of Orange is the New Black, right? It does!
There, she comes across a diverse cast of characters, each with their own storylines and character development. While the story is mostly serious, there are some points where not all is doom and gloom, and you can see a few moments where you see a different side of the characters.
You’re going to find a lot of variations of the Spanish language in this show, which makes it a great way to experience the different cadences and styles of the languages.
The five shows we mentioned are nowhere near the only Spanish shows you’ll find on Netflix. There are a ton of them on there, some of which I have yet to see. So, do you have any suggestions for me? Feel free to share them in the comments below.
