Merlí (TV series)

Merlí (Catalan pronunciation: [məɾˈli]) is a Spanish television series produced by the Catalan channel TV3 about a philosophy teacher of the same name who encourages students to think freely using philosophy.
The series, created and written by Hector Lozano and directed by Eduard Cortés, premiered on 14 September 2015 in prime time and reached a share of 17.7% with 566,000 viewers. The second season of the series premiered on TV3 on 19 September 2016 and ended on 12 December 2016, and the series' third and final season began airing on 18 September 2017 and ended on 15 January 2018.
Each episode is named after a different philosopher or school of thought. Influenced by films like Dead Poets Society, Merlí attempts to bring philosophy to the public. Each episode includes the approaches of a great thinker or school, such as the Peripatetics, Nietzsche or Schopenhauer, linking their teachings with fictional events and characters. The theme song is a version of "Flight of the Bumblebee".
The first season was dubbed into Castilian Spanish by the company Atresmedia and broadcast on the television channel La Sexta from April to June 2016. In November 2016, the American company Netflix bought the rights for the distribution of the series. The three seasons of the series are available on Netflix in Spain, the United States, and Latin America (although Netflix lost the license in December 2020).
A spinoff entitled Merlí: Sapere Aude premiered on Movistar+ on 5 December 2019.
The main character of the series is Merlí Bergeron, an unemployed philosophy teacher who after being evicted from his apartment is forced to live with his mother. He also will have to take care of his son Bruno, who until then was living with his mother, Merlí's ex-wife. After Bruno arrives, Merlí is hired in Àngel Guimerà High School. There, with his unpredictable and unorthodox methods, Merlí will make the students think and express their opinions, and also will help them with their problems, even in a censurable way. He will not only explain about Socrates, Schopenhauer, Hume or Nietzsche, but also will apply their ideas and teachings to solve the problems he finds.
His students, whom he dubs "peripatetics", are a very diverse group that must face all kinds of situations: Pol, a repeater that soon gets along with Merlí; Berta, a student who does not like Merlí at first; Marc, a friendly, nice guy; Ivan, a boy who suffers from agoraphobia and does not dare to leave home; Tània, an extroverted girl and Bruno's best friend; Gerard, a boy who is prone to fall in love and will ask Merlí for advice; Joan, a studious, shy boy with a very strict family; Monica, a new, very mature student; Oliver, another new boy; and finally, Bruno, Merlí's son and his most difficult student.
The second year of Batxillerat begins at Àngel Guimerà High School. The students happily welcome Merlí as he enters the school full of energy. The "peripatetics" have matured a bit, but in essence they are still the same happy, insecure teenagers we met in the first season. There is also a new student, Oksana, who will create new relationships inside the group.
In the teachers' room, however, Merlí is not so warmly welcomed. Although Eugeni is waiting for him and wishing to quarrel, both find a common adversary, Coralina, the new History teacher and Head of Studies. This strict, disciplinarian, 60-year-old professor is determined to impose her standards and will clash with the entire staff. Meanwhile, Merlí teaches in ways even more unorthodox than during the first season. He even takes the class outside of school. Any setting, even the mall, can help him explain the Cynic philosophers, the Stoics, Descartes, Hobbes or the Presocratics. New philosophers are featured this season, such as Hipparchia of Maroneia.
After the Christmas holidays, the students return to class. The second year of Batxillerat (last year of high school before university) continues for Merlí and the "peripatetics". Everyone is aware high school is ending and the Selectivitat exam (necessary to enter university) and university are approaching.
In the classroom, some of the plots from the previous season continue: Pol and Tània will have to define their relationship, Joan and Gerard have become close friends, Marc must decide whether his father can return home, and Óscar, Pol's elder brother, will become involved in Oksana's motherhood.
In the teacher's room, there will be changes. Eugeni is the new director, and new teachers arrive. Gabi is the new Spanish literature teacher, but Merlí is more interested in Silvana, the new history teacher, who is very well received by the staff. Merlí is thrilled by the arrival of the new teacher, who is as creative as he is, but after he sees that his students think highly of her, he becomes jealous. Nevertheless, Merlí will continue to teach philosophy with his peculiar style, gaining the esteem of the "peripatetics". The philosophers featured in this season include Hannah Arendt, Kierkegaard, Albert Camus, Karl Marx and Augustine of Hippo.
The characters in the series can be divided into three groups: students, teachers and family.
A spin-off series titled Merlí: Sapere Aude, centering on Carlos Cuevas' character Pol Rubio attending university, premiered on Movistar+ on 5 December 2019.