La famille Serrano

I loved this show! In 2004 I studied in Spain for a semester and I lived with a family and we would sometimes watch TV together. Now when I first got there, my Spanish was elementary at best, but when I saw this show for the first time I found it hilarious. And I didn't understand majority of the dialog! As my Spanish improved (and with TV subtitles for me to read), the experience of watching the show got even better. I even had my host mom tape an episode for me when I went out on 'Los Serrano' night. (And watching TV in a foreign language can be a great study tool.)

This show has such a universal appeal. At first it brings to mind the 'Brady' Bunch with the blended family, but that's where the similarities end as it's updated for this day and age. The antics of Fiti, Diego, and the sometimes cranky Santiago are reminiscent of Lucy & Ethel of 'I Love Lucy' and the chemistry between Marcos and Eva is hot! Unfortunately, I've only been able to witness the humble beginnings (and confusion LOL)of their relationship. And let's not forget the sweet, but often misguided Raul. Gotta love it.

Who would have thought a African-American girl from Chicago would fall in love with this Spanish gem? I wish it was available on DVD in the US. I read somewhere last year that Mexican/American network Telemundo bought the rights to develop their own version of the series, but I haven't heard any more on that. But it could never beat the original.

I usually don't like telenovelas and soap operas. Still, I accidentally bumped into this one and, to my surprise, I was extremely pleased with it, as it had two major qualities: excellent humor (the kind that you don't get from soaps, telenovelas and this kind of series) and very well played. Previously there have been some attempts to make a telenovela that features real humor, like "Betty la fea" for example, who partially succeeded, and managed to mix telenovela-style acting (which "we", those who don't like that kind of shows, say it's overacting) with really funny situations, characters and gags; still, it wasn't really THAT funny. But I recommend the "Los Serrano" series even to the viewers who don't usually watch telenovelas and generally soaps; they'll love it and may see it as the equivalent of a good family sitcom. The humor is also unexpectedly sexual for a telenovela, but it manages not to be crude or heavy, mostly in the line of questions that kids innocently ask their parents about sex.

Los Serrano is a drama comedy but not an ordinary one. I usually don't watch TV series like these and the spark that I got to start watching was purely out of nostalgia as I watched the series as a kid on summer vacations.

The story itself begins with Diego and his three sons moving together with Diego's new wife, Lucia and her two daughters. There are plenty of other interesting characters through the seasons who are all connected somehow to the family of Serrano-Capdevila (Diego and Lucia). The series contain love stories, funny accidents and complete misunderstandings that the episodes are build up for. This can sound basic for a TV series but for me, it is the acting that makes up the show.

The plot twists are not predictable, the sub stories can last for several episodes and the constant action keeps you keen on to the show. The acting is very convincing whether it's related to comedy or tragedy or anything in between. The episodes last approximately 75 minutes and there are 147 of them so there's much to watch. Maybe a bit too much though.

Would recommend to watch if you have a plenty of time.

Ps. Shoutout to Antonio Resines as he made the series worth watching, what an actor. I've a collection of his meltdowns to have a laugh every now and then.

While it may be true that Los Serrano may not have the best writing of a sitcom ever, it contains some enigmatic element that makes it strangely addictive. The situations may be far-fetched and romances may be overplayed, but after one or two episodes, the viewer finds himself wanting to come back weekly, even for reruns of overplayed episodes.

At this point I'm torn as to whether Los Serrano should hurry up to get off the air before it gets much worse (this fourth season has been a downer in many ways) or to continue to feed my addiction. In any case, buy/rent the DVDs and watch the old ones even if it does go off the air.

After enjoying four seasons I can tell that this is one of the best series ever, though the writers has been slacking of as of recent. The best feature is the use of the language the way it's supposed to be, uncensored. Television rules are different in European countries. If you are a Spanish speaking person you'd have a blast watching this series. The elder actors and actresses are veteran Spanish talents. Closed caption is not available until the third season. Season six finished up, however the first half of season five just became available on DVD in Spain.

By the way, the DVD version of this series is only playable on PAL video. During the first seasons on DVD you could see behind the scenes, bloopers, etc. Seasons three and four only contains the main episodes.