Familia de Medianoche

I'm a UK viewer who watched in original version soundtrack with English subtitles.

This felt a little weak to start with in Episode 1 and was quite gritty and gory and I was questioning whether to stick with it. However, it quickly developed into a really excellent show.

The characters and the individual challenges that each of the 4 family members quickly became the focus of the drama with the life as paramedics / ambulance crew providing the backdrop to their stories.

Episode 3 to the backdrop of real life earthquake events was a very strong episode as were the final 3 episodes where the stories of each of the main characters reached climaxes. The ending was perhaps a little weak leaving lots of openings for a further season although I felt satisfied if there are any more episodes.

The social backdrop of the ambulance and medical services in Mexico is another interesting aspect of the show.

The series is a pale and simplistic version that utterly fails to capture the authenticity and depth of the marvelous documentary "Midnight Family" by Luke Lorentzen, which it supposedly draws inspiration from. With an overly contrived language and a clumsy attempt to replicate a "chilango" idiosyncrasy that feels superficial and almost naïve, the production comes across as a prefabricated spectacle rather than a genuine portrayal of the life it aims to depict.

One of the most striking aspects of the documentary is its masterful use of the camera, which is always on, capturing the raw, unfiltered life of this family. The director skillfully removes any visible influence, allowing the viewer to experience one of the most compelling documentaries I've ever seen. In contrast, the series lacks this authenticity and instead delivers an artificial narrative.

It's particularly revealing that the series' director admitted to never watching the documentary to "avoid influencing his version." That statement alone explains the enormous gap between the two works and the resounding failure of the series. What we get instead is mediocre casting, highlighted by the youngest character's performance, which is devoid of charm, grace, or the basic talent needed for the role.

The real drama, spontaneous humor, and authenticity that make the documentary an unmissable masterpiece are completely absent here. It's a shame that such rich material was reduced to a commercialized version that betrays its essence. My recommendation is simple: skip the series and watch the documentary, where reality far surpasses this poor attempt at fiction.

I watched the "earthquake" episode to get a sense of what this series could do if the drama is amped up. My conclusion: middling.

The earthquake isn't very realistically portrayed. The injured people look like someone slathered them with ketchup and left them lying on mats on the street. Where are the grievous amputation injuries? I guess the CGI budget didn't extend that far.

The overall tone is smarmy and soapy. Lots of weepy characters and implied romantic entanglements. The kid gets to play doctor (illegally) and the patient doesn't croak. How nice for him but that kind of thing is a bore for the audience.

We have some iconic medical dramas like Dr. House, some once upon a time good ones like Grey's Anatomy (no shade, but it should have ended like by the tenth season)... and a bunch from mediocre to very bad medical tv shows, so to find one different was a nice surprise.

Midnight family focus on the point of view of a paramedical family (based on a true family from the awarded documentary of the same name).

The cast is great in their roles, and the characteres deeper, everyone figthing their own individual problems.

Production is good, and the story keeps interesting without overreacting where many tv shows have failed on.

This serie follows the principal idea of the.2019 Documentary "Familia de Medianoche", but with some interesting but simple sub-plots that are not difficult to follow.

The cast does a great job, Joaquín Cosio is a very gifted actor, and the promising Golden Globe nominee Diego Calva lives up his reputation.

The leading role, portrayed by Renata Vaca, is sometimes outshined by her talented co-stars, but overall, all of them deliver.

There are, and will be some incredible guest appearences, including the acclaimed Dolores Heredia, Óscar Jaenada and Academy Award nominee Yalitza Aparicio, so I can't wait for the following episodes.