A few weeks after Elite’s farewell, Carlos Monterocreator of one of the Spanish series of Netflix who, after La Casa de Papel, has had more international projection, is back with a new project. Breathe it’s a Spanish medical drama which draws heavily from its predecessor and whose plot is quickly summarized by saying that it is a kind of Grey’s Anatomy Spanish: If the soap opera set in Seattle Grace Hospital has already been on air for more than twenty seasons, it remains to be seen whether the medical team in this new Spanish series can withstand such a long time on the air.
The other well-known national medical drama was Central Hospital, that tried to be Emergencies The Spanish version of Elite has already had twenty seasons after twelve years on the air in those prehistoric times when Telecinco was the channel for series. Given the success of Elite, there are possibilities with Respira, but we all know that Netflix does not like to exceed six seasons. Elite was one of the cases in which eight episodes were reached. Now the platform’s top brass have given the green light to this new toy so that its creators can continue playing and it is here to stay. During its first week, it has already placed itself in the position of most viewed on the platform.
Among the most famous faces of the cast we have Najwa Nimri, Aitana Sanchez-Gijon and Blanca Suarez. Although the characters of the resident doctors also have a prominent role, played by a cast of young actors willing to count themselves lucky to repeat the success of their colleagues in Élite. The plot takes place in the Fictional Valencian public hospital Joaquín SorollaThe personal dramas of its protagonists alternate with the different medical emergencies they have to face at work.
Throughout this first season we are told the pulse that the medical team maintains with a Generalitat Valenciana committed to to cut public health at the expense of the private sector. At the head of the regional government is President Patricia Segura, played by Najwa Nimri. The actress is already a regular on Spanish Netflix series after the hit La casa de papel and here she plays a political leader with a profile that is very reminiscent of other leaders of the Spanish right. One of the central plots of this season, and here we go to the thorny issue of spoilers, revolves around the fact that she has to undergo surgery for breast cancer in the hospital that her policies are leaving with resources that are not enough to meet the needs of her patients. It is the moment when some doctors take advantage of the opportunity to call for a meeting an indefinite strike and without minimum services.
If in Elite, the atmosphere of the exclusive Las Encimas private school was disturbed by the arrival of students from lower classes, here the situation is the opposite. The life of the medical center is shaken by the arrival of the leader who is putting the scissors to them. The Most Honorable, with the same bad temper as Inspector Alicia Serra from La Casa de papel, far from empathizing with the needs of these professionals who work to save their lives, considers the strike as an intolerable blackmail to which she does not intend to give in.
There are two clearly differentiated sides in the hospital team. On the one hand, Dr. Noa (played by Borja Luna) who, in addition to leading the strikers, is precisely the doctor who was treating the president of the Generalitat; and on the other hand, Dr. Amaro (Aitana Sanchez-Guijon) that is not willing to default andThe Hippocratic Oath and neglect their patients for the political ambitions of others. Along the way, another thorny and topical issue is addressed: the state of mental health among healthcare personnel, especially after the difficult times experienced during the pandemic.
But up to here, the notes of seriousness. This series is not so much a work of denunciation to claim the benefits of public health, but rather a roller coaster full of cliffhangers and unexpected plot twists that aim to keep the viewer biting their nails in front of the screen. Emergency rooms at their limit and energetic patients The protagonists are dragged from one crisis to another, with many moments of oioioioioi that make the eight chapters go by in a flash. We are not dealing with those eternal series of more than an hour per episode. The series ends with a good number of open plots, although the most impatient viewer can rest easy. The wait for the new episodes will not be the two years that fans of other popular series, such as House of the Dragon, have to put up with lately.
