So the pandemic is over-ish…. and tourism is returning to Barcelona, slowly but surely. But before I get lost in updating the opening hours to Gaudi’s best buildings and checking whether all my favourite bars are still open or not, I wanted to write a post about something I researched fairly heavily during two winters of discontent. And that was the best Spanish TV shows for practicing your language skills.

Now, there are obviously many considerations when choosing a TV series based on trying to learn a language, such as how fast people speak, what (incomprehensible to foreigners) accents they have, what vocabulary they use (archaic and heavy slang aren’t ideal), etc. etc… but overall the key criteria for me is: do I like this show enough to continue watching it!?

For that reason I’d argue that the best TV shows for learning Spanish are simply the best Spanish TV series full stop!

Here are some I’ve enjoyed over the last couple of years:

8 Best TV Series for Learning Spanish

1. Elite

Is this the sexiest school drama ever made? Probably! Elite really ups the ante (for better or worse!) on this popular genre with gay, intercultural and three way relationships all part of the drama that surrounds the murder mystery of a rebel schoolgirl, found dead in the school’s swimming pool. Three of the students have arrived at the elite Las Encinas academy after their state school was burnt down, adding some great tension between the pijos and the pobres, and ensuring there’s never a dull moment between the protagonists. There’s some great performances in the show, particularly from Miguel Bernardeau as the school bully, Guzman, Mina El Hammani as the muslim outcast, Nadia, and the hilarious Danna Paola as Lu, the female bully who becomes Nadia’s love rival. Casa Papel fans will also enjoy seeing Jaime Llorente and Maria Pedraza back in action, while Ester Esposito goes full ‘Cruel Intentions’ as the ice cold Carla. A Netflix Original you can find it on…. Netflix.

2. La Casa del Papel

As an Englishman, when I picture a bank heist movie or series I typically picture a group of overweight, grizzly middle-aged men trading expletives while getting the effing job done in a professional and efficient manner. The Professor obviously had different ideas when he put his dream team together to rob Spain’s royal minting house. He thought that a group of hormonally charged 20 somethings, some Slavic thugs and a smattering of charismatic, manipulative psychos would be the best possible unit to pull off history’s greatest heist. Then again he also thought that banging the Chief Investigator would be a great ploy. And while it’s safe to say that Ben Kingsley would not be impressed by this group’s professionalism it does make for a glorious rollercoaster ride of sex, love, chicanery and violence, in what essentially amounts to a filmic comic book. The code names are a nice touch, as are the Dali masks, and together with the Hollywood-level production values it’s no surprise this Spanish TV show has taken on a global cult status. I sometimes hear my downstairs neighbour (an elderly lady) banging out Bella Ciao on her piano. There are tonnes of performances to savour, from fan favourites Tokyo (Ursula Corbero) and the Professor (Alvaro Morte), to ‘la puta ama’ herself, Nairobi (Alba Flores). My favourite though is Najwa Nimri as Alicia Sierra (you might know her from Abre los Ojos… arguably the best Spanish film of all time).

3. El Internado: La Laguna Negra

When I saw that Amazon Prime had released a new show called El Internado: Las Cumbres, being a sucker for school dramas, I did a little search for reviews to see if it might be worth watching. That’s when I discovered its predecessor El Internado: La Laguna Negra from 2007. Intrigued by the excellent rating (8.2 on IMDB), and the fact that one of its protagonists, Ana de Armas, has since gone on to become a bona fide Hollywood star (Bladerunner 2049 and Knives Out), I decided to dive in. I’ve been blown away by the sensational writing on the show. Six seasons later and they’ll still unravelling many of the mysteries they laid out in season 1, in what must be one of the most coherent, well-thought out stories I’ve ever seen televised, on Spanish TV or otherwise (naturally, you have to suspend your belief a fair bit, but I figure that’s par for the course). Sure, the production levels are a long way away from the level of the latest Netflix / Amazon releases, there’s some kooky directing and far too many schmaltzy scenes featuring a 4-year-old orphaned protagonist droning on about missing her parents. While the latter might be realistic, it hardly makes for great TV! Thankfully the child actress is fantastic and the part does develop into a really fun character together with her mischievous pint-sized chum Evelyn and their arch-nemesis, the dastardly, hair-pulling, plant-peeing Javier Holgado. Meanwhile, the teen and adult cast get embroiled in all sorts of cross-pollinating love affairs (classic Spanish TV!) and secrets about each and every person at the Boarding School are unveiled one by one as the series progresses – as well as about the Boarding School itself, which hides a dark and storied past. Despite being aimed at teenagers, or maybe because of it, the directors never seem to a miss a chance to feature one of the bromantic leads half naked in the showers or swanning through the dorm rooms with their chiselled abs on full display, while the female leads have a penchant for naked morning swims in the lake or late night sorties in their nighties. More confusing is the sheer number of scenes that start with a package being delivered to the school’s kitchens or offices. At least three a show. I’m convinced it must be some kind of in-joke by the writers!

4. Isabel

Isabel was the first ever Spanish TV series that I deemed enjoyable enough to stick with (before the likes of Casa de Papel and Elite came along and raised the game). It’s a quality historical drama with easily as much intrigue and machinations as Game of Thrones itself – even if the show’s budget doesn’t stretch to convincing action scenes and epic sets like GoT. Michelle Jenner (who is Barcelona born by the way!) gives a charming, strong-willed performance as the eponymous Spanish Queen whose duty often conflicts with her feelings (have fun counting the number of times she refers to herself como reina and como mujer!). Her constantly philandering husband needs a good slapping if you ask me, and I’m all about Team Gonzalo when it comes to the Queen’s affection. For Spanish learners there’s a lot of the archaic second person forms and fairly redundant military and historical vocab to get to grips with, but the show has the boon of teaching you some Spanish history (one imagines a fair bit of artistic license it used!), and the role of Moors and Jews in medieval Spain is interesting to contemplate in these more enlightened times. Thankfully they don’t make the mistake of giving Isabel modern values, and our heroine is realistically zealous in her furthering of the Christian faith, as well as being utterly obsessed with her right to rule. You can watch Isabel on both Amazon Prime and on the RTVE website (Spain’s version of the BBC).

5. El Desorden Que Dejas

It seems like an age since I recommended a school drama, so let’s crack on with El Desorden Que Dejas. In fact, EDQD was written by the same geezer who penned Elite, but, unlike Elite, this time it’s the teachers who are the main protagonists, starting with Inma Cuesta as Raquel Valero. Raquel arrives at an isolated school in Galicia, not knowing that she’s replacing a teacher who died under mysterious circumstances in the previous term. The hostile reception of her new pupils, the fecklessness of her cocaine-addict boyfriend and the untrustworthiness of the local authorities combine to create plenty of tension as Raquel attempts to solve the mystery of her predecessor’s death. Overall an atmospheric thriller that leverages the moody gloom of the Galician countryside to great effect.

6. White Lines

White Lines is the show I wish I had written. Sometime in dance music’s heyday, an English lad from Manchester rocks up on Ibiza with his buddies with dreams of becoming a superstar DJ… fast forward 20 years, to current time, and his lil’ sister arrives on the legendary party island to uncover the truth behind his mysterious death. Penned by Alex Pina, of Casa de Papel fame, White Lines is another over-the-top offering that throws sex, drugs, violence, music, love, jealousy, incest – and some more drugs – into the mix and then serves up the resulting rollercoaster over a single series of 10 episodes. I should probably point out that only about a quarter of the dialogue is in Spanish (most is in English), but every little helps right? While we’re being pedantic, it’s worth pointing out that the majority of the series was shot in Mallorca, not Ibiza.

7. El Cid

I hesitate to recommend this one, because it’s pretty averagely written, poorly paced and with a rather pedestrian storyline, but the high production values and the charisma of Jaime Llorente in the main role kept me engaged for the entirety of season 1. If you like historical dramas with plenty of sword-swishing action then its worth the watch. The politics and personal relationships of Isabel are certainly superior though. Props to Alicia Sanz who plays her bitchy princess role to perfection.

Si Fueras Tu

It feels like the only way to finish this list is with a school drama! Released one year before Black Mirror’s famous ‘choose your own adventure’ Bandersnatch episode, Si Fueras Tu pioneered a similar concept, inviting its audience to decide what happened next in the series. You’re obviously too late to vote on that, but the show remains a compelling mini-series, one in which Maria Pedraza (Elite, Casa de Papel) rocks up to a new school only to discover she’s the exact doppelganger of an emo school kid who was murdered the year before. Creepy, tense and worth a watch… which you can do on RTV.es.

So there you go… plenty to keep you busy during quiet weekends, cold winters or (god forbid!) the next pandemic. Let me know your own favourite Spanish TV shows… including any South American offerings you know about. I’d be particularly interested in knowing about great shows from the 80s, 90s and 00s, and I’m sure there must be a few gems that have been obscured by the mists of time.

Learning Spanish Abroad

Watching TV is a great way to get used to the cadence of a foreign language, to hear common phrases and, for more advanced speakers, to pick up new vocabulary (I tend to have the Spanish subtitles on and pause the show to look up new words), but the best way to learn is by mixing lessons with immersion. If you’ve never considered a language learning holiday, I can thoroughly recommend them. Yes, there’s a back-to-school vibe when you step in the classroom that might bring back some painful memories, but learning for fun is much more relaxed than learning because society is forcing you to, and when you sign up to a few weeks course at a Spanish language academy you’re not only going to learn, but you’re going to make some new drinking buddies and have a great time exploring the local culture with them. In fact, whenever I solo travel for an extended period I often try to sign up somewhere for at least two weeks of classes to help me get orientated and to meet some people. I’ve done it in Valencia, Krakow and Rio de Janeiro and they’ve been some of the best experiences of my life!

Learning Spanish in Barcelona

Learning Spanish in Barcelona is a particularly good idea, because the city is such a great place to come on holiday anyway that you’re never going to be bored outside of the classroom, and you can spend your downtime doing anything from sunbathing on the city beaches to wandering around the sights of the Old Town or heading out on various day trips, to the likes of Sitges, Montserrat and Tossa de Mar. The first step to booking a language learning holiday would be to book a Spanish course… to that end, do check out our list of Barcelona schools right here. Most of them can help you find reasonably priced accommodation (including family homestays if you fancy the full Spanish immersion!), plus nearly all run a series of extra-curricular cultural activities to help you get under the skin of the city.