Life beyond 'Nada' and 'El Gerente': five new Argentine series (that you may not know)

BarcelonaNothing and The manager They are two of the most successful Argentine series of recent times, but they are not the only ones we can find on the platforms.

Argentine television makes a statement with this blockbuster featuring the country's most international star, Ricardo Darín. The six-episode miniseries adapts a science fiction comic by screenwriter Héctor Germán Oesterheld and cartoonist Francisco Solano López. Published in the late 1950s, it is a true benchmark for comics in Argentina and stands out for its political commitment—Oesterheld was kidnapped by the Argentine armed forces during the military dictatorship. Very much in the vein of the dystopian fictions so successful on the small screen, the miniseries begins one summer night when the city of Buenos Aires experiences a deadly snowfall that wipes out part of the population and leaves thousands stranded. Juan Salvo (Darín) and his friends begin a desperate struggle for survival and end up realizing that the storm is the beginning of an invasion of beings from another planet.

The Eternaut It's a monumental project. For years, attempts have been made to bring the story to the screen, but so far, it hasn't materialized. The Argentine series was announced in February 2020, and the creation process has been lengthy: two years of script development; four and a half months of pre-production; 148 days of filming in Buenos Aires; and more than a year and a half of post-production. In Spain, the series has debuted on the right foot, and one day after its premiere, it is already the most-watched fiction on Netflix nationwide.

Griselda Siciliani may not be as internationally known as Darín, but she is one of the most popular actresses in Argentina – the actress has a Catalan connection, as she was one of the protagonists of Sentimental, by Cesc Gay—. The romantic comedy Envious It's a vehicle designed for her brilliance. In the series, the actress plays Vicky, a woman who constantly compares herself to other women and lives in a spiral of envy that drives her to do absurd things. Her greatest aspiration is to get married and start a family, but when she ends a ten-year relationship, she sees her dreams crumble. Although the series sometimes gets a bit bogged down in Vicky's laments, it has glorious and hilarious moments, such as the protagonist's sessions with the psychologist, who has the difficult task of keeping her patient's delusions at bay. Netflix released the second season of the comedy in February, and the team is already filming the third installment.

Behind every great man, there is sometimes another great man. In the case of Diego Armando Maradona, the person pulling the strings was his agent, Guillermo Coppola, as much a character and excessive as the footballer. The series, set during Maradona's playing years in Naples, shows the daily life of Coppola, an almost professional trickster who did whatever it took to grant his client's wishes and, in the process, get some serious heat. Thanks to the makeup and hairstyling—his signature curly white hair was a must—Juan Minujín is almost a carbon copy of the real Coppola, who is currently 76 years old. Initially conceived as a miniseries, the door has been opened to the possibility of a second season, according to the agent himself.

Another of the recent achievements of Argentine comedy is Palermo Division, a series that pokes fun at political correctness. Created by and starring Santiago Korovsky, the series follows a group of Buenos Aires urban police officers who want to be an example of diversity. Its members include a wheelchair-bound woman, a blind man, a trans woman, and an immigrant. The protagonist, Felipe Rozenfeld, joins the team because he is Jewish, since the management of the social initiative considers it a factor in diversity. Being part of this division gives meaning to the life of the young man, who until then was a true coward. The second season has already been filmed and should premiere this year, although Netflix has not yet announced a date.

One of the Argentine series that has just released a new season is The end of love, based on the essay by Tamara Tenenbaum The end of love: wanting and fucking (2019). Lali Espósito plays the fictional Tamara, a young woman born and raised within the Orthodox Jewish community, against which she rebelled. After confronting her culture and upbringing, she decides to leave her partner to confront the traditional concept of love. Catalan director Leticia Dolera directs the first two episodes and also makes a guest appearance.