I've written about my soft spot for guilty-pleasure European TV—The Chalet! Suburra! Witnesses!—so it was no surprise that the trailer for Élite, a new Netflix Original from Spain, caught my eye when it appeared a month ago. The vibe: The OC by way of Riverdale by way of Cruel Intentions. Three working-class Spanish kids crash a top prep school on scholarships. Sex and murder ensue. Silly? Sí. But now that I've had an early look at the first episode—all eight segments debut on October 5th—I'm clearing time this weekend for a good old-fashioned binge. Netflix has a talent for this kind of thing—airing global TV shows that slavishly borrow television tropes (by which I mean, clichés). A murder procedural like Deadwind, a Euro noir that recently popped up on the streaming service, would be utterly forgettable as an American production. But set in Finland? I'm in! Élite exerts a similar pull. If it were a CW show I'd hardly give it a second look. But a Spanish prep school is seductive terra incognita. A few tidbits (and some mild spoilers) from the first episode so you know what you're getting into. We begin with a handsome young man, gaping at a poolside murder scene. In dramatic slow motion, he touches a pane of glass—and smears blood across its surface. Where did the blood come from? "I've done nothing. I want a lawyer," he whispers to a detective. Flashback. Las Encinas, Spain's top private school, looks like the headquarters for a multinational conglomerate—all marble and glass, green lawns, glittering lake. The students, raffish blue bloods, wear a uniform of chic navy with scarlet piping. The curriculum is in English and Spanish, and the top-achieving student, we're told, will get a transfer to a sister school in Florida "which will give you access to an Ivy League university." Our three scholarship kids, Samuel, Christian and Nadia, are made to understand that Las Encinas is a place "where manners and respect are paramount." Nope. Nadia (Mina El Hammani) is Palestinian and wears a head scarf, but she is ordered to remove it by the principal or she'll be expelled. Samuel (Itzan Escamilla) is made fun of as a "waiter" by the ringleader of the popular kids, and has a troublemaking brother who threatens to drag him into criminality. Christian—the show's live wire, played by Miguel Herrán—is hazed in the locker room, his clothes stolen. He walks naked down the school hall to retrieve them from the trash. "Enjoy the view," he declares to any and all. Meanwhile there's a rich girl, Marina, whose parents are planning her debutante party, who is harboring a secret. Actually never mind: It's revealed! "You've spent a fortune on psychologists to tell me nothing happened," she declares to mom and dad. "I fell in love with a boy. He infected me. Say it, mother! 'My 16 year old daughter is HIV positive!'" Delightful! There's more: sex, blackmail, drugs, class anxiety, and of course, that murder looming. An hour in I'll admit that I really don't care who did it. But I'm here for Élite nevertheless. It goes down like a cold glass of verdejo. Read More Culture Stories:<doc-sep>From first glance, Netflix's upcoming show Elite looks like a crossover between Gossip Girl and How to Get Away With Murder. Prep school uniforms and unsolved murders aside Elite is guaranteed to bring the drama — just in time for Halloween. The Spanish-language series is set inside the exclusive private school Las Encinas, where the children of the wealthy roam the halls. When three “working class” teens are permitted to attend the school, tensions rise, leading to a murder and eight episodes of non-stop thrills in this criminal mystery. Move over Riverdale and hello, Las Encinas. Like any good student, don't you want to be prepared? Ahead of the season premiere on October 5, get to know the cast of Elite and the characters they play ahead below. Itzan Escamilla as Samuel Elite Manuel Fernandez-Valdes/Netflix Set to star in Elite as Samuel, Itzan is most well known for his portrayal of Francisco in the Netflix period drama Las chicas del cable, also known as Cable Girls in English. Teasing the show on his Instagram, it seems that Itzan’s Elite character might be romantically connected to María Pedraza’s. Could they be the next Serena van der Woodsen and Dan Humphrey? María Pedraza as Marina<doc-sep>
Over the past few years, Netflix has been expanding its original programming more and more. Now, they've even begun expanding into foreign-language original series. The first was Cable Girls, a historical drama about 1920s phone operators which is headed into its fourth season. For its second Spanish-language original drama, Netflix has produced Elite, a Gossip Girl-esque teen soap. Set in one of the most exclusive private schools in Spain, the contemporary drama follows a handful of working-class scholarship students who are thrown into this privileged, high-drama milieu. The series debuted on Friday, Oct. 5 with an eight-episode first season. But as we all know, it can be frustrating to fall in love with a show, only to have it never see a second season. So will Netflix be producing another season of Elite? At first Netflix didn't want to comment one way or another, likely because the streaming giant wanted to wait until the reviews and numbers come in for season one. According to The Hollywood Reporter, however, the drama is officially returning for a twisted second season! If you've been paying attention to buzz surrounding the show, early signs definitely seemed to bode well for a season two renewal. Spanish programming has done well for Netflix: Cable Girls is definitely the most buzzed-about (and is a Netflix original like Elite), but it's also hosted popular period dramas such as Juana Ines and The Time in Between. Teen-oriented programming has also been a hit for Netflix recently: To All The Boys I've Loved Before was one of the hottest titles of the Summer, and even the controversial teen dramedy Insatiable snagged a season two order. Elite overlaps in several markets that are doing well for Netflix right now, so you can look forward to another season at Las Encinas — and possibly even a third, if everything goes well!