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.

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.

Just watched the first episode, and here's my review:

Positives: The direction is good, the characters are likable, and the concept is interesting. The first episode feels very realistic, with every scene coming across naturally.

Negatives: It's too long. The first episode is over 50 minutes, and there are nine more of the same length, which feels excessive for such a simple story. 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. But, I didn't find anything in this episode that truly hooked me. In this episode, they reached the location of two emergency calls and saved lives. I assume the other episodes will follow a similar format-going to different locations, saving people in various settings and situations. The movie that inspired this series is about as long as just two of this show's episodes, so I don't understand why they stretched it into 10 episodes, each around 50 minutes long.

The overall tone is sad and emotional, but I think they should've added a few light or comedic moments, or at least ended the first episode with a cliffhanger to make it more engaging. The episode didn't have that kind of ending. If you compare it to Netflix's Maid (also based on a real story), Maid was emotional too but had that "what will happen next" element, which is why it became one of my favorite shows. I didn't get that feeling with this show. There's also some abusive language used which wasn't needed.

Overall: Good concept and touching story, but the long episode durations are a huge downside. It's such a big negative that I'm not sure if I'll watch the rest-I'll probably skip it. I haven't watched the documentary, so I can't compare, but I might give that a try. If you're okay with hour-long episodes, liked the trailer, and are interested in the story, you might enjoy it. For me: 2.5/5.

This is a very moving show about a family that runs an "ambulancia pirata"-- an unofficial ambulance -- in Mexico City. There aren't nearly enough of the government-funded official ambulances to service this enormous city of 22 million people. The main characters are a father, daughter and two sons who together operate the ambulance as the family business night after night. They are strong, resourceful and indefatigable. The obstacles they are forced to overcome make me question my own mettle. The cast is great. Veteran actor Joaquín Cosio as the father. Diego Calva as the eldest son. Renata Vaca is the daughter -- who is trying to ride the ambulance at night and attend medical school during the day -- and despite two reviews, I think her performance stands up to those of her co-stars. Finally, Sergio Bautista deftly plays the youngest a boy of perhaps twelve years old. Together they make an authentic family. This show has tremendous heart. One reviewer, who I will comment upon below, trashes the show as soapy, and there is a grain of truth to that -- but just a grain. I suspect that the filmmakers have worked on telenovelas and there are traces of that style -- but just traces -- and they make the show more interesting not less, because while the show appears to emerge from that tradition, the repurpose it to make a very novel drama. It's also a vivid portrait of Mexico City. If you've ever been there, you will feel you are there again. If you haven't you'll know what it's like.

Watch it in its original Spanish with subtitles. A lot is lost in the dubbed version, which is Apple's default. Why Apple? You will have to change the language of both the audio and subtitles (lower right on Apple's player)

Now to review the other reviewers. One pans the show because the hour-long episodes are "too long." They are around an hour long (though some are shorter), but that's the industry standard. They are intense. Can the reviewer not stand the heat? If you don't have the depth to understand something, maybe you shouldn't write a review.

Another panned it as soapy and low-budget. I've already commented on "soapy." This reviewer claims that the injured people in the earthquake episode look as though they'd been slathered with ketchup. Well, not to me. He also complained that there were no "grievous amputation injuries." There was a very grisly compound fracture. But seriously, who watches a show and complains that there aren't enough amputations? I'm going to recommend that this reviewer see a therapist.

Bottom line give this show a chance. You'll be rewarded.

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.