# El Continental

El Continental is a Spanish drama television series about organised crime set in 1920s Spain. Created, written and directed by Frank Ariza, it aired from September to November 2018 on La 1. Harshly criticised during its pre-screening at the FesTVal and with dismal ratings during its free-to-air broadcasting run, the series was described as "the biggest fiasco of national (Spanish) fiction in recent times".

## Premises

The series, set in the 1920s Madrid, is titled after a fictional club in which illegal businesses take place. The fiction tracks both the struggle over clandestine businesses in the city and the relationship between Andrea Abascal (Michelle Jenner) and Ricardo León (Álex García).

## Cast

* Michelle Jenner as Andrea Abascal.
* Álex García as Ricardo León.
* Roberto Álamo as Juan Baena
* Christian Sánchez [es] as Perico
* Fernando Tejero as Ramiro
* Secun de la Rosa as Francisco
* Paz Vega as Belice
* Estefanía de los Santos as Gloria
* María Isabel Díaz as Lisette
* Mariola Fuentes as Clara
* Franky Martín as Chano.
* Raúl Tejón as Julián.
* María Hinojosa as Rosa.
* Chanel Terrero as Julieta.
* Patxi Freytez [es] as Ramón.
* Mario Plágaro as Lope.
* Eloy Azorín as El Rubio.
* Lucía Guerrero [es] as Cristina.
* Manu Vega as Jorge.
* Carmina Barrios [es] as Celeste.
* José Lamuño [es] as Cristóbal.
* Ruth Gabriel as Maribel.
* Manuel Bandera as Comisario.

### With the special collaboration of

* María Alfonsa Rosso as Mami.
* Raúl Arévalo as Andrés.
* Juan José Ballesta as Pablo.
* Manolo Solo as Alfonso.
* Luis Callejo as Benítez.
* Alexandra Jiménez as Ángela.
* Antonio de la Torre as Juan.

## Production and release

Created, written and directed by Frank Ariza, El Continental was produced by RTVE in collaboration with Gossip Events. Consisting of 10 episodes with a running time of around 70 minutes, the series was shot in a film set in San Sebastián de los Reyes and in the Príncipe Pío train station in Madrid.
Derided in social media already since the release of the first images as a knock-off of Peaky Blinders, the series also received harsh reviews by professional critics after its pre-screening at the FesTVal in Vitoria. It premiered on La 1 on 17 September 2018 with a "correct" 10.4% audience share in prime time, only to sink down to a 2.8% audience share in the season finale aired on 20 November 2018, when the series had been already moved to the late night slot. At the time of its closure, the series was described as "the biggest fiasco of national (Spanish) fiction in recent times".
| Series | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released | Originally released | Viewers | Share (%) | Ref. |
| Series | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released | Network | Viewers | Share (%) | Ref. |
| 1 | 10 | 10 | 17 September 2018 (2018-09-17) | 20 November 2018 (2018-11-20) | tve | 507,000 | 4.6 | |
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| No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Viewers | Original release date | Share (%) |
| 1 | "O pagas o cobras" | Frank Ariza [es] | Frank Ariza | 1,523,000 | 17 September 2018 (2018-09-17) | 10.4 |
| 2 | "Primer paso aprender, segundo superar" | Frank Ariza | Frank Ariza | 793,000 | 24 September 2018 (2018-09-24) | 5.7 |
| 3 | "Y ¿por qué?... Por todo" | Frank Ariza | Frank Ariza | 906,000 | 1 October 2018 (2018-10-01) | 5.8 |
| 4 | "Por todo... O por nada" | Frank Ariza | Frank Ariza | 778,000 | 8 October 2018 (2018-10-08) | 4.9 |
| 5 | "Magia" | Frank Ariza | Frank Ariza | 174,000 | 16 October 2018 (2018-10-16) | 3.5 |
| 6 | "Matar al mensajero" | Frank Ariza | Frank Ariza | 164,000 | 23 October 2018 (2018-10-23) | 3.0 |
| 7 | "Réquiem... mami" | Frank Ariza | Frank Ariza | 153,000 | 30 October 2018 (2018-10-30) | 3.0 |
| 8 | "Truco o trato" | Frank Ariza | Frank Ariza | 224,000 | 6 November 2018 (2018-11-06) | 3.5 |
| 9 | "Pactos de sangre" | Frank Ariza | Frank Ariza | 171,000 | 13 November 2018 (2018-11-13) | 3.4 |
| 10 | "La guerra por una doncella" | Frank Ariza | Frank Ariza | 189,000 | 20 November 2018 (2018-11-20) | 2.8 |