Elite (Spanish: Élite; stylized as E L I T Ǝ) is a Spanish thriller teen drama web television series created for Netflix by Carlos Montero and Darío Madrona. It follows students at an elite secondary school and their friends. The series stars María Pedraza, Itzan Escamilla, Miguel Bernardeau, Miguel Herrán, Jaime Lorente, Álvaro Rico, Arón Piper, Mina El Hammani, Ester Expósito, Omar Ayuso, and Danna Paola. Jorge López, Claudia Salas and Georgina Amorós joined in season 2, and Sergio Momo and Leïti Sène, in season 3. Many of the cast previously featured in other Netflix works produced or distributed through its Spain and Latin America body.
Elite explores concepts associated with teen dramas, but also features more progressive issues and other sides to its clichés. These include many diverse sexual themes. Structurally, the series employs a flash-forward plot.
| Elite | |
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| Genre |
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| Created by |
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| Starring |
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| Composer(s) | Lucas Vidal |
| Country of origin | Spain |
| Original language(s) | Spanish |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 24 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
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| Producer(s) | Francisco Ramos |
| Production location(s) | Sierra de Guadarrama, Madrid |
| Cinematography |
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| Editor(s) |
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| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 47–56 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Zeta Producciones |
| Distributor | Netflix |
| Release | |
| Original network | Netflix |
| Picture format | 4K (16:9 UHDTV in high dynamic range) |
| Audio format | Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Original release | 5 October 2018 – present |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Premise
Season 1
After their school collapses, three working class friends—Samuel (Itzan Escamilla), Nadia (Mina El Hammani) and Christian (Miguel Herrán)—are given scholarships to Las Encinas, the most exclusive private school in Spain, where the elite send their kids to study. The scholarships are sponsored by the construction company at fault for the collapse.
At Las Encinas, the three are initially ostracized by the wealthy students. However, Samuel soon befriends the rebellious Marina (María Pedraza), whose corrupt father controls the construction company. At the same time, Nadia becomes close to Marina's charismatic but arrogant brother, Guzmán (Miguel Bernardeau). Guzmán's girlfriend, Lu (Danna Paola), dares him to take Nadia's virginity. Meanwhile, Christian becomes involved in a polyamorous relationship with aristocratic couple Polo (Álvaro Rico) and Carla (Ester Expósito).
Outside Las Encinas, Nadia's closeted brother Omar (Omar Ayuso) secretly sells drugs to make enough money to get away from his conservative parents. He soon befriends the son of Las Encinas' principal, Ander (Arón Piper), who is also Guzmán and Polo's best friend. Omar and Ander begin a secret relationship. Marina and Samuel begin to date but she also begins an affair with Nano (Jaime Lorente), Samuel's elder brother who is fresh out of prison and has debts to pay.
As the school year progresses, their lives intertwine in a clash of lifestyles, resentments, envy, and sexual attraction.
Through a series of flash-forward scenes of police interrogations, the audience is shown stories of the character's relationships that somehow lead to a murder.
Season 2
After the revelation of the murder, the second season deals with these relationships and flash forward scenes are shown to find out about the disappearance of a student and how it is linked to the plot of getting the murderer to pay their price.
Season 3
With the shocking revelation and the breaking tension between students in light of the exposed culprit behind Marina's murder, only one question remains. Will there be another incoming tragedy at Las Encinas?
Cast and characters
Confirmed cast to leave for season 4:
Mina el Hamanni as Nadia Shanaa
Ester Exposito as Carla Rosón Caleruega
Danna Paola as Lucrecia "Lu" Montesinos Hendrich
Jorge López as Valerio Montesinos Rojas
Álvaro Rico as Leopoldo "Polo" Benavent Villada
Confirmed cast to return in season 4:
Itzan Escamilla as Samuel García Domínguez
Miguel Bernardeau as Guzmán Nunier Osuna
Arón Piper as Ander Muñoz
Omar Ayuso as Omar Shanaa
Claudia Salas as Rebeka "Rebe" de Bormujo Ávalos
Georgina Amorós as Cayetana Grajera Pando
Main
- María Pedraza as Marina Nunier Osuna, Guzmán's sister and love interest of Nano and Samuel. (season 1, guest season 2)
- Itzan Escamilla as Samuel García Domínguez, one of three transfer students, who is the love interest of Marina and later falls for Carla. (seasons 1– present)
- Miguel Bernardeau as Guzmán Nunier Osuna, adopted brother of Marina, and Lu's ex-boyfriend, who falls for Nadia. (seasons 1– present)
- Miguel Herrán as Christian Varela Expósito, one of three transfer students, who gets into a relationship with Polo and Carla. (season 1, guest season 2)
- Jaime Lorente as Fernando "Nano" García Domínguez, Samuel's older brother who just got out of prison, who is also a love interest of Marina. (seasons 1–2)
- Álvaro Rico as Leopoldo "Polo" Benavent Villada, Carla's ex-boyfriend and Cayetana's love interest. (seasons 1–3)
- Arón Piper as Ander Muñoz, son of the principal who falls for Nadia's brother, Omar. (season 1– present)
- Mina El Hammani as Nadia Shanaa, one of three transfer students, the daughter of Palestinian immigrants and the love interest of Guzmán.[2] (seasons 1–3)
- Omar Ayuso as Omar Shanaa, Nadia's brother and a drug dealer who falls for Ander against his father's wishes.[2] (seasons 1– present)
- Ester Expósito as Carla Rosón Caleruega, Polo's ex-girlfriend who later falls in love with Samuel.[2] (seasons 1–3)
- Danna Paola as Lucrecia "Lu" Montesinos Hendrich, Guzmán's ex-girlfriend who shares an incestuous relationship with half-brother, Valerio.[2] (seasons 1–3)
- Jorge López as Valerio Montesinos Rojas, Lu's half-brother. (seasons 2–3)
- Claudia Salas as Rebeka "Rebe" de Bormujo Ávalos, a rebel, wealthy girl, who has a crush on Samuel. (seasons 2– present)
- Georgina Amorós as Cayetana Grajera Pando, the daughter of a cleaning lady who lives a fraudulent lifestyle and is the love interest of Polo. (seasons 2– present)
- Leïti Sène as Malick, a love interest of Nadia's who uses her as a beard and ignites an affair with Omar. (season 3)
- Sergio Momo as Yeray, a rich student with his own start-up who seeks a relationship with Carla. (season 3)
Recurring
- Ramón Esquinas as Ventura Nunier, Guzmán and Marina's father (seasons 1–3)
- Jorge Suquet as Martín, a school teacher (season 1)
- Ainhoa Santamaría as the police interrogator (seasons 1–3)
- Irene Arcos as Pilar Domínguez, Nano and Samuel's mother (seasons 1–2, guest season 3)
- Abdelatif Hwidar as Yusef Shana, Nadia and Omar's father (seasons 1–3)
- Elisabet Gelabert as Azucena de Muñoz, the school principal and Ander's mother (seasons 1–3)
- Rocío Muñoz-Cobo as Laura Osuna, Marina and Guzmán's mother (seasons 1–3)
- Alfredo Villa as Antonio Muñoz, Ander's father and tennis coach (season 1, guest season 2)
- Farah Hamed as Imán Shana, Nadia and Omar's mother (seasons 1–3)
- Lola Marceli as Beatriz Caleruega, a marchioness and Carla's mother (seasons 1–3)
- Rubén Martínez as Teodoro Rosón, Carla's father and Ventura's business partner (seasons 1–3)
- Liz Lobato as Andrea, one of Polo's mothers and CEO of an important magazine (seasons 1–3)
- Marta Aledo as Victoria Pando, Cayetana's mother (season 2)
- Eva Llorach as Sandra Ávalos, Rebeka's mother (seasons 2–3)
- Jorge Clemente as Alexis, Ander's friend (season 3)
Guest
- Alberto Vargas as Pablo Ruiz, Marina's ex-boyfriend (season 1)
- Pilar Martínez as Christian's mother (season 2)
- Fernando Carpintero as Christian's father (season 2)
- Paola Matienzo as Lu's mother (season 2)
- Bruno Lastra as Felipe Montesinos, Lu and Valerio's father (seasons 2–3)
- Kevin McHale as Bill McKinley (season 3)
Production
Development and themes
I am excited at producing Elite at this stage of my career. This is a lot of fun. With the golden age of series, I can now achieve in TV what I wanted to do with movies in the last few years. [...] Producers, directors, and writers can now go back and forth between film and TV, Netflix especially has been very good in this sense in that that they bring together two different media.
– Francisco Ramos, producer
On 17 July 2017, it was announced that Netflix had given the production a series order for a first season; it is the second Netflix original series in Spain after Cable Girls. The series is created by Carlos Montero and Darío Madrona who are both credited as executive producers of the series; as Netflix announced the order, The Hollywood Reporter wrote that the series' team "boasts one of the most successful writing teams in Spain's current TV landscape". Montero and Madrona came to develop the series after being told that Netflix was looking for a teenage show and were asked to produce an idea, with Montero coming up with the basic premise; the pair worked on it before presenting to Netflix a month later.
Erik Barmack, Netflix's VP of original series at the time, said that Elite would be "a very different kind of teen thriller that will cross borders and affect audiences globally". Still, the creators said that the series has a lot of Spanish themes and Spanish identity, to give it "a sense of place and time, that it is a series of this moment and of this country", and to prevent it from becoming a "series that could happen anywhere in the world [because if they try to make something] that can be understood everywhere, in the end it is not understood anywhere". In September 2018, it was announced that the series would premiere on 5 October 2018. Producer Francisco Ramos spoke about some of the decisions in creating the show in an interview before it was released. He said that the choice to set the mystery drama in a high school was important because "it is the time of your life when things matter the most", allowing them to explore the pressures of fitting in as an elite alongside the other plot lines.
On 17 October 2018, Netflix renewed the series for a second season. During this period it was increasing production in Spain after having constructed new production facilities in Madrid. As Netflix renewed the show, it announced that there were still discussions on which characters would appear. The second season was released on 6 September 2019; it began production after the viewership for the first season was known, in January 2019, though it had been written before season 1 had been released.
The internal structure of the show uses flash-forwards to advance the plot and the mystery, which Variety compared to that of Big Little Lies. When speaking of the innovation in the second season, co-creator Darío Madrona said that they "wanted to keep the fast-forward formula as a staple of the series, but at the same time be different". Madrona said: "In the first season we were conscious that we were making a series for Netflix, and tried to put everything into it [...] For season 2, we thought that we had the opportunity to explore the characters and the new ones as well. But it was an instinctive decision." Variety wrote that the second season therefore may be similar to Stranger Things season 3 in the way it compares to its more plot-driven predecessor seasons and how it "drives deeper into [the characters'] interaction, in continued coming of age narratives which are deeply inflected by class and economics". The production values and costs were also raised for season 2, to allow the creators more freedom.
The character Cayetana (Georgina Amorós), introduced in season 2, is said to tackle the topic of appearances being everything–a theme of the series–from a different angle. She is a social media influencer and, according to Amorós "isn't at all what she seems". Social media is another theme examined in season 2, with Darío Madrona and actress Mina El Hammani commenting on how it gives a perception of someone being good if people like who they are on the Internet, which can be dangerous.
On 29 August 2019, it was reported that the series was renewed for a third season, before the second season had aired. The third season's logo has been stylized as "ELIT3". Actress Danna Paola stated in an interview that season 3 is to be released before summer in 2020; on 10 January 2020, it was announced that it is scheduled to be released in March 2020; on 18 February 2020, it was reported that the third season would premiere on 13 March 2020.
On 20 January 2020, it was announced that the series had been renewed for a fourth and fifth season.
Casting
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Variety writes that the show's characters all "border stereotypes" but "escape total buttonholing"; director Silvia Quer said that she was attracted to the show because of the well-constructed characters. The series creators have been questioned on their choice to continue with the tradition of casting adult actors for all the teenage roles, reporting that it is "a purely practical matter" based on labor laws, as well as noting that most of the actors were aged between 19 and 22 when filming, whereas American series often use actors closer to 30. The production was involved in casting for the show.
The initial main cast was confirmed before the series' debut, featuring several actors from other Netflix series and films either created or distributed by Netflix España y Latinoamerica,[a] including Itzan Escamilla of Cable Girls, Danna Paola of Lo más sencillo es complicarlo todo, and María Pedraza, Jaime Lorente, and Miguel Herrán of Money Heist. However, acting newcomer Omar Ayuso was also cast, as a character (Omar Shanaa) bearing his own given name. For season two, another actress from a Netflix series, Georgina Amorós of the Catalan Welcome to the Family, was added to the cast. Announced shortly before its release, she was joined by Claudia Salas and Jorge López. Two new members of the cast for season 3, and their characters, were introduced in a short Netflix video shared by actress Ester Expósito, on 4 October 2019. They are also actors from other Netflix series: Leïti Sène of Welcome to the Family and Sergio Momo of The Neighbor.
Paola has said in interviews that she almost lost the chance to audition for the show, as the message was sent over email but landed in her spam messages folder. However, she retrieved it and sent in a video audition; the sides for this involved an early scene where her character (Lu) is having a tense conversation with the character Nadia. In the scene, Paola says that she ad-libbed using the sarcastic term of endearment "darling", which the creators liked and has since become a catchphrase on the series. On 28 January 2020, it was announced that the series will consist of a new main cast for the fourth season.
Filming
Though the school in the series, Las Encinas, is located in mountains, it is filmed in Madrid, including parts filmed in San Lorenzo de El Escorial.
The first two seasons were shot entirely in 4K. In the tweet shared by Expósito in October 2019, the actress revealed that the third season had already completed filming.
Episodes
| Series | Episodes | Originally released | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 08 | 05 October 2018 | |||
| 02 | 08 | 06 September 2019 | |||
| 03 | 08 | 13 March 2020 | |||
Season 1 (2018)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | English title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Bienvenidos" | "Welcome" | Ramón Salazar | Carlos Montero and Darío Madrona | 5 October 2018 | |
| Three working-class students are transferred to an elite private school after their public school collapses due to building issues. Nadia catches Guzmán and Lu together in the showers. Lu dares Guzmán to take Nadia's virginity. Carla seduces Christian. In the future, Marina is revealed to have been murdered, and investigation commences. | |||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Deseo" | "Desire" | Dani de la Orden | Carlos Montero | 5 October 2018 | |
| Marina and Samuel work on a class project together. Guzmán, to Nadia's annoyance at first, does not stop pursuing her. Against her wishes, he attempts to introduce himself to her devoutly Muslim parents, with slight consequences. Nadia gradually lets her guard down with him. Meanwhile- when he becomes concerned about Ander after seeing him with Omar, Guzmán tells Ander's parents that he is doing drugs. Carla and Polo continue their scheme with Christian, who remains oblivious and is under the impression Carla truly likes him. | |||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Sábado noche" | "Saturday Night" | Ramón Salazar | Darío Madrona | 5 October 2018 | |
| Nano, with the help of Christian, decides to use documents regarding the corruption of Marina's father in order to blackmail him and, in the process, get money to pay off his debts. At Samuel's party, Marina and Nano decide to go to her house- although Samuel wanted to admit his feelings for Marina, he gets drunk and throws up on her, never getting the chance. Searching for his sister, Guzmán accompanies Nadia to the party, where she drinks drugged punch and gets high. As a result, she asks Guzmán to swim in his pool with her. Realising her state, he refuses and calls a cab to take her home. At school the next day, Lu sees Nadia and Guzmán being friendly. Jealous, she reveals to Nadia that Guzmán made a bet to take Nadia's virginity. Nadia confronts and slaps him in the face. Meanwhile, Marina tells Samuel she is HIV positive after he admits his feelings to her. Carla and Polo have a threesome with Christian after seducing him. Ander attends Samuel's party, where he gets high with Omar, to Guzmán's anger. They fight. Later, asking for more pills, Ander gets into trouble and gets his hand broken. Samuel tells Nano about Marina's condition, and he confronts her, well aware of Samuel's feelings for her. He asks her to stop toying with his brother. | |||||||
| 4 | 4 | "El amor es una droga" | "Love Is a Drug" | Ramón Salazar | Darío Madrona | 5 October 2018 | |
| To her annoyance, Lu realises that Nadia received the top score on a recent exam, putting Lu in second place overall due to a grading curve. To get the top score, Lu investigates and finds out that her teacher is planning to adopt, but is having a tough time doing so due to financial issues. Using her family influence, she bribes her teacher into giving her the top score on the exam. Meanwhile, Guzmán tries to earn Nadia's forgiveness by buying her gifts. She tells him he must act like a Muslim and beg forgiveness from her parents for trying to take her virginity and disrupting her honour. When Guzmán obliges, she forgives him. The students attend a charity event organised by Marina and Guzmán's parents. Marina invites Samuel, and they finally start a relationship. To his disbelief and anger, Guzmán sees his father doing drugs in the winery, leading to an argument at dinnertime. Samuel and Guzmán also see Omar and Ander making out in the winery. Each confronts his friend, and each friend reveals new information- Ander doesn't really like tennis, and Samuel learns that Omar is a drug dealer. Carla, Christian and Polo step out of the party. Nano is offered a deal- he must shoot someone in the leg, and he won't owe any more money. However, he doesn't, which gets him stabbed and puts him into even more debt than before. Marina finds him and helps him, promising to keep it a secret from Samuel. | |||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Todos mienten" | "Everyone Lies" | Dani de la Orden | Carlos Montero | 5 October 2018 | |
| Marina offers Nano a way to make fast money in order to pay his debt. Lucrecia reveals her and Guzmán's bet. Omar and Ander have a disagreement. | |||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Todo va a salir bien" | "Everything Will Be Okay" | Dani de la Orden | Darío Madrona | 5 October 2018 | |
| Nano learns that one of his stolen watches is more valuable than he thought. Marina is caught with drugs at school, and turns in her dealer. The investigators reveal that Marina had been pregnant. | |||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Todo estalla" | "Everything Explodes" | Ramón Salazar | Carlos Montero | 5 October 2018 | |
| Carla grows suspicious of Marina and her potential involvement in the disappearances of the watches. Omar's father hears shocking information about his son. Guzmán goes after Nano. | |||||||
| 8 | 8 | "Assilah" | "Assilah" | Ramón Salazar | Carlos Montero and Darío Madrona | 5 October 2018 | |
| The circumstances surrounding Marina's death are revealed, and the police make an arrest. Polo has in fact murdered Marina inadvertently with the trophy she received after a heated argument about her involvement with Carla's Dad's watches. However, Carla consoles Polo and tells him what to reveal to the police to prevent himself from being suspicious to the police. After interrogations, the police arrest Nano. Samuel begs Christian to help him to which he denies and leaves to see Carla. | |||||||
Season 2 (2019)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | English title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 1 | "20 horas desaparecido" | "20 hours missing" | Ramón Salazar | Darío Madrona | 6 September 2019 | |
| A student goes missing. In flashback to three months earlier, Guzman still grieves the loss of his sister while Christian struggles with his secret about who killed Marina. Three new students arrive: Cayetana, a rich socialite who lives alone; Valerio, Lu‘s half-brother, who shares a incestuous relationship with her; and Rebeca, a nouveaux-riche girl, who says her family won the lottery. Nadia and Omar‘s father has a stroke. Christian leaves a party to confess the murderer to the police, when he‘s hit by a car. He survives but may never walk again. Carla‘s father offers to pay for his therapy. Carla suspects her father to be involved in Christian‘s accident, so does Samuel. In the present day it is shown that Samuel is the missing person. | |||||||
| 10 | 2 | "34 horas desaparecido" | "34 hours missing" | Ramón Salazar | Carlos Montero | 6 September 2019 | |
| Seeking the truth about Marina's death, Samuel attempts to seduce Carla. Lu's new friend, social media guru Cayetana, hosts an impromptu party. In the present, Carla reveals to Lu that Samuel is not missing but is in fact dead. | |||||||
| 11 | 3 | "36 horas desaparecido" | "36 hours missing" | Ramón Salazar | Breixo Corral | 6 September 2019 | |
| Polo and Ander have a heart-to-heart. It is revealed that Cayetana is in fact the daughter of the school's housekeeper and had come on a scholarship. Guzmán and Nadia rekindle their relationship. Omar tells his parents he wants to stop working at the grocery store. Polo reveals to Ander that he in fact killed Marina. | |||||||
| 12 | 4 | "59 horas desaparecido" | "59 hours missing" | Sílvia Quer | Abril Zamora | 6 September 2019 | |
| Pressured by his friends, Polo is overwhelm by his guilt and he tries to commit suicide. Cayetana and Ander rescue him. While on a double date with his boyfriend Omar, Lu, and Guzmán, Ander doesn‘t find the courage to tell Guzmán about Marina‘s murderer. After a party, Guzmán has sex with Nadia at Rebeca‘s house. Samuel starts working for Rebeca‘s mum, who is actually a drug dealer. Cayetana‘s secret is threatend to be revealed. Nano is released from jail. | |||||||
| 13 | 5 | "63 horas desaparecido" | "63 hours missing" | Sílvia Quer | Jaime Vaca | 6 September 2019 | |
| Rebeca arranges a Halloween party at her house where she finds out Cayetana is the school cleaner's daughter. At the party, Nano threatens Rebeca to stop involving Samuel in her family‘s drug dealing business. While searching for Samuel, Nano sees Samuel making out with Carla. Samuel walks in on Lu making out with her brother. | |||||||
| 14 | 6 | "66 horas desaparecido" | "66 hours missing" | Sílvia Quer | Carlos C. Tomé | 6 September 2019 | |
| Lu blackmails Nadia to fail her exam or she will tell her parents about the relationship. When Nadia tells Valerio, he tells her to not worry and rather blackmail her about the "Valerio thing". Lu suspects Samuel to have told Nadia. After the exam, Valerio then tells Nadia that he‘s in love with his sister, which disgusts her. In the future, Guzmán is interrogated about Samuel's disappearance. Carla warns Samuel he will be in the same state as Christian, if he gets further into the murder mystery. | |||||||
| 15 | 7 | "84 horas desaparecido" | "84 hours missing" | Dani de la Orden | Abril Zamora | 6 September 2019 | |
| Cayetana and Lu work together to start a fundraiser. Valerio films Nadia and Guzmán having sex in the boy‘s locker and sends it to Lu, who then sends it to the whole school. During the fundraiser, Lu finds out about Cayetana‘s secret and tells the whole party. Carla tries to warn Samuel about her father. The scene ends with Samuel running away on his bike from a speedy vehicle. | |||||||
| 16 | 8 | "0 horas desaparecido" | "0 hours missing" | Dani de la Orden | Breixo Corral | 6 September 2019 | |
| Lu and Valerio's father catches them in an explicit situation. It is revealed that Samuel did not disappear but was hiding in Guzmán‘s grandparents house to trap Carla into confessing about Marina‘s murderer. Polo gets arrested. Guzmán breaks his friendship with Ander for hiding the fact about Polo. Ander and Omar reconcile. After two weeks, Polo reappears to everyone‘s surprise. | |||||||
Season 3 (2020)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | English title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | 1 | "Carla" | "Carla" | Jorge Torregrossa | Darío Madrona | 13 March 2020 | |
| Carla takes back her testimony against Polo, dropping the charges, under pressure from her father threatening Samuel. Ander learns he has cancer. Nadia meets new student Malik, a Muslim boy from Africa, who charms her parents with his values. Lu’s dad cuts her off financially after coming clean about her situation with Valerio. In the present, Polo is found dead in the club with the students looking on. Carla takes a broken bottleneck, and hides it in her purse. | |||||||
| 18 | 2 | "Samuel y Guzmán" | "Samuel and Guzmán" | Jorge Torregrossa | Jaime Vaca | 13 March 2020 | |
| Nadia and Lu compete for the same scholarship, and Nadia threatens Lu to tell the entire school about her secret with Valerio, if she does not withdraw from the scholarship. However, they decide to compete fairly. Rebecca finds out about Ander’s cancer diagnosis, and later Ander tells his mom and Omar. Samuel tries to get close with Carla, but is pushed away when Carla is scared of her dad. A new student, Yeray, who used to attend the school returns. He is smitten by Carla, when she stood up for him to bullies before he left. Guzman holds Polo hostage in his house, asking him to confess in court, but Samuel lets Polo go when things go out of hand. Valerio goes to Rebecca’s house to get more cocaine. Rebecca reveals her feelings for Samuel. | |||||||
| 19 | 3 | "Cayetana y Valerio" | "Cayetana and Valerio" | Dani de la Orden | Almudena Ocaña | 13 March 2020 | |
| The inspector gives Samuel a deal: plant a bug in Rebecca’s house to gather evidence against her mom’s drug business, in return for letting his brother return harm free. Samuel follows through. Polo continues to be harassed at school. Samuel and Guzmán start putting out tweets as Polo from a fake account about Marina’s murder. When Nadia’s parents are against her studying at Columbia, Malik supports her and says he’ll be studying there too. Yeray takes Carla out, and later invites her dad to his IPO celebration party. Her dad forces her to attend, in order to convince Yeray to invest in his company. Cayetana is revealed as one of the fake account users. | |||||||
| 20 | 4 | "Lu" | "Lu" | Dani de la Orden | Carlos C. Tomé | 13 March 2020 | |
| When Nadia fails a report, Guzmán goes to her shop to convince her dad to let her spend time studying. When her mom is arrested, Rebecca falls short on money, and considers selling drugs to help pay for school. Without money, Lu throws an opposite Valentine’s Party. Malik kisses Omar, and they later hookup at Lu’s party. Malik takes Nadia’s family to dinner where Omar also comes, but Omar and his dad fight about Ander, causing Omar to leave. Ander continues to struggle with chemo. Cayetana, Polo, and Valerio engage in a threesome. In the present, Lu tells the cops she knows who killed Polo. | |||||||
| 21 | 5 | "Ander" | "Ander" | Jorge Torregrossa | Almudena Ocaña | 13 March 2020 | |
| Rebecca realizes someone planted a bug causing her mom to go to jail, causing Samuel to rush to cover up his steps. Rebecca and Valerio start selling drugs at the school. Yeray and Carla continue their relationship, but Carla,unhappy, resorts to drugs. Cayetana, Polo, and Valerio decide to go to London together. At a blackout party, Rebecca finds out Samuel placed the bug, and Nadia finds out Malik is gay and was using her as a beard for his own parents. In the present, Ander considers confessing, but is talked out of it by Omar. | |||||||
| 22 | 6 | "Rebeca" | "Rebeca" | Jorge Torregrossa | Carlos C. Tomé and Andrés Seara | 13 March 2020 | |
| Nadia wins the scholarship, but backs out when Malik gives her an engagement ring to please their parents. But, she’s talked back into it by Lu; she decides to split the scholarship with Lu. Ander finds out about Omar and Malik and breaks up with Omar, lying that he was cheating on him. Samuel tells Valerio to not sell her drugs when he sees Carla’s state. Polo later breaks off their relationship when he finds out Valerio made money for their school fees by selling drugs. Yeray throws a pool party where Rebecca sells Carla drugs out of spite, and Carla overdoses and collapses. Yeray finds out about the truth of their relationship. Polo fights with Valerio about giving Carla drugs, causing the principal to find their stash. | |||||||
| 23 | 7 | "Nadia y Omar" | "Nadia and Omar" | Dani de la Orden | Jaime Vaca | 13 March 2020 | |
| Valerio and Rebecca are expelled over their drugs, while Samuel and Guzmán are expelled when Polo’s mom complains about bullying. Omar decides to go to New York with Nadia. Ander decides not to graduate. Rebecca’s mom is released from jail, and Rebecca asks her to quit. Carla apologizes to Yeray about their relationship and they make amends. At graduation, Nadia and Lu refer to their friends being expelled and Polo’s hand in Marina’s death, causing their scholarships to be cancelled. Samuel finds out his deal with the police was a trap to find his brother’s location. Yeray invests in the wineries, but makes Carla the owner. Polo convinces his moms to go through with the scholarship and reveals to them that he indeed killed Marina. At the graduation party, Carla tries to make amends with Samuel, in time for Polo’s arrival. | |||||||
| 24 | 8 | "Polo" | "Polo" | Dani de la Orden | Darío Madrona | 13 March 2020 | |
| The interactions between Polo and the characters over the season play out. It is revealed the Lu killed Polo with the bottleneck by accident. All the characters cover for Lu, by touching the bottle to put their fingerprints on them. They get Polo’s fingerprints, so it is deemed a suicide. Months later, Carla leaves the wineries to Valerio to take care of, so she can study abroad. Omar decides not to go to New York, reconciling with Ander. Samuel, Guzmán, Rebecca, Valerio, Ander, and Omar return to Las Encinas for their final year. Cayetana accepts her family status and becomes the cleaning lady at the school. | |||||||
Reception
Critical response
Elite was met with critical acclaim. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has a 100% rating with 10 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Elite is highly digestible, technically strong trash TV for anyone with a guilty pleasure palate." Other reviewers also refer to the show as a guilty pleasure. Natalie Winkelman from The Daily Beast gave the first season a positive review, saying that "with Euro-cool style and compelling characters, Elite is trashy, diverting fun." John Doyle from The Globe and Mail likewise complimented the first season in his review, adding that "Elite is no masterpiece but is one of those oddly satisfying, binge-worthy curiosities." Taylor Antrim of Vogue also said that is worth a binge-watch and "goes down like a cold glass of verdejo". Antrim wrote that the series is an example of Netflix "airing global TV shows that slavishly borrow television tropes", saying that "If it were a CW show I'd hardly give it a second look. But a Spanish prep school is seductive terra incognita" in the positive review.
Élite does indeed include countless teen show clichés, but it also relishes the opportunity to dig a bit deeper and twist them into more interesting shapes. It interrogates the very tropes it indulges by finding new gears in old plot engines. And with the addition of a smart flashback structure keeping its central murder mystery afloat, Darío Madrona and Carlos Montero's drama quickly proves addictive.
– Caroline Framke, Variety
Writing for Variety, Caroline Framke also comments on the series' use of tropes. She notes that being introduced to the show as a combination of many other teen dramas, she was concerned that taking on so many tropes would make it "an overstuffed Frankenstein of a show", but that she was quickly proven wrong when watching it.
Framke compares many of the characters' individual plots to other high school series and films. Of these, she finds the "love triangle between Marina, Samuel, and his brother Nano [to be] one of the show's only duller features". She concludes by saying that "Even given a million other options on Netflix alone, this tantalizing and whipsmart entry to the teen show pantheon proves itself worthy of the spotlight". David Griffin of IGN also identifies the series in the same way. He gave the first season an 8.8/10, highlighting that it sets a "new standard for how a high school drama series should be done" and "may be the best high school drama on TV."
In a similar take, Lena Finkel of Femestella looked at how the series was different to many of its counterparts by how it tackled contentious issues. Finkel lists explicitly examples, including that when Elite has sex scenes, they are often about the woman's pleasure; that a character who believes abortion is murder is still pro-choice; that when a male character is come onto by a drunk girl that he likes, he sends her home; that it explores social and class differences when young people come out; that the gay male sex scene is sensual as well as explicit; and that it features characters including a young man unashamedly nervous to lose his virginity and a straight, white, wealthy, woman who is HIV-positive. She writes that the series "absolutely lives up to the height", congratulating it both on including these features and for "a great job depicting each issue, no matter how complex". However, she does note that the trailers "made it seem like yet another cheesy, over-acted teen drama".
Also looking at how the series addresses diverse issues and modern society, Grazia Middle East wrote about the representation of Nadia. Writer Olivia Adams says that the show explores some of the more everyday struggles of racial discrimination towards Muslims by having Nadia be forced to remove her headscarf in school, something that has been considered at some real schools in Europe. She also notes how the home life of the Muslim family is explored, not just the teenagers' interrelations, giving a fuller view.
Genevieve van Voorhis of Bustle notes that the series can feel aesthetically more like a horror than a teen drama as it pairs "wide shots of the school [that] are almost Wes Anderson-like in their color coordination and perfect 90 degree angles" with eerie music.
Kathryn VanArendonk of Vulture stated in a positive review of the series that though "Elite is not pushing new boundaries in television, it’s not a self-serious reboot of an old property" and that "in spite of that — or more likely because of it! — its commitment to breakneck melodrama is undeniably enjoyable." Kemi Alemoru of Dazed recommends watching the show because it is "extra", relishing in showing the excessive world of the elite students with extravagant parties and the means to escalate small fights to high-expense drama, and also for its positive representation of topics. Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya from Thrillist recommended the first season in their review of the series by stating that "Elite might be the only show that could give Riverdale a run for its money when it comes to excessive slow-motion shots." Decider's Joel Keller also compares the show to Riverdale, saying that it is "trashy and scandalous, but no moreso than anything you might see coming from American producers" and the latest of the "dark high school dramas" that became popular; Keller recommends to stream it.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season has an approval rating of 88% based on 8 reviews.
Framke also notes that Netflix in the United States[b] automatically defaults to the show with an English dub, and suggests changing the audio back to its original Castilian Spanish for the best experience.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the third season has an approval rating of 100% based on 5 reviews.
Popular response
On 17 January 2019, Netflix announced that the series (the first season) had been streamed by over 20 million accounts within its first month of release.
After Netflix posted an image of gay characters Omar and Ander to Instagram, it received homophobic comments. The streaming service responded to one with rainbow emojis.
Accolades
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Premios Feroz | Best Drama Series | Elite | Nominated | [50] |
| GLAAD Media Awards | Outstanding Scripted Television Series (Spanish-Language) | Elite | Won | [51] |
Notes
- ^ Of the various works, Cable Girls and The Neighbor are the only Netflix originals. Lo más sencillo es complicarlo todo is a Mexican film that streams on Netflix; Money Heist is a Spanish television series from channel Antena 3 that was distributed on Netflix, with more seasons later produced by Netflix as an original; and Welcome to the Family is a Catalan series from channel TV3, its first season streams on Netflix.
- ^ Netflix in the United Kingdom automatically defaults to the original language with American English subtitles (Netflix does not produce British English subtitles).
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