Familia de medianoche

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.

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.

Responding the the review From below:

"It's too long."

It's a standard format.

"The first episode is over 50 minutes, and there are nine more of the same length, which feels excessive for such a simple story. "

You've only seen the first episode. What do you mean a simple story? You don't know what else it contains.

"The show revolves around a family of four who run a private ambulance service. They face challenges in their work, competition from other ambulances, going from the scene of emergencies to hospitals to save lives, while also dealing with personal issues."

What is this? A ChatGPT description of the trailer?

Anyway first episode was really well done and touches on important societal issues. Excited to keep watching.

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.

Midnight Family is a fascinating, emotional, sometimes riveting series about a semi-dysfunctional family who always have each other's backs, despite enduring a boatload of trials and tribulations. I haven't watched the documentary, so I have nothing to compare with, but the series itself had me hooked after the first few episodes and I looked forward eagerly to watching the whole first season.

As other reviewers have noted, there is a definite "soap opera-ish" feel to the series but, for me, that helps keep up the energy and excitement. The show is very well shot and, even though I don't speak Spanish, the actors all seemed to do an excellent job in their roles.

There are multiple cliffhangers at the end of the first season, so I truly hope that Apple TV+ does the right thing and produces a second season. If not, I'll be disappointed about not being able to find out what happens to all these interesting characters.

I'd rate Midnight Family 8.3 and give it a very positive recommendation for anyone who enjoys a high-energy medical series with plenty of emotion.