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Jul 26, 2024 · This blending of soapy teen drama and tense murder mystery has helped the show run for eight seasons, and by its fourth, “Elite” was ranking in Netflix’s weekly Top 10 chart in more than 70 ...
- Precious Adesina
Season 1 – Elite. When three working-class teens enroll in an exclusive private school in Spain, the clash between them and the wealthy students leads to murder. Netflix. Watch Elite — Season ...
- (14)
- October 5, 2018
- Ramón Salazar, Dani de la Órden
- Netflix's high school drama earns elite status.
- Elite: Season 1 Photos
- Fall TV 2018: 32 Shows We're Excited About
- Verdict
By David Griffin
Updated: Oct 23, 2018 5:40 pm
Posted: Oct 23, 2018 5:35 pm
This is a SPOILER-FREE review for Season 1 of Elite. All 8 episodes are currently available to stream on Netflix.
High school dramas have come a long way since the relatively tame days of the early '90s when Saved By the Bell and the original version of 90210 were still kicking around. Nowadays, teen shows are exploring the darker side of societal norms, with shows like Netflix's 13 Reasons Why addressing issues like sexual assault and mass shootings in graphic detail. Even the Archie comic book-inspired Riverdale and the upcoming Chilling Adventures of Sabrina are tackling drug use, gang violence and bullying in educational institutions, even when juxtaposed with more fantastical elements like musical interludes or a dash of the occult.
Of all the recent additions to the genre, Elite, a Netflix Spanish import, may be the best of the bunch. The series succeeds by creating relatable characters that actually act like kids, not sassy 20-somethings. Sure, the actors are definitely older than their teenage on-screen personas, but the writing is so damn good that it's easy to overlook.
Elite centers on the most exclusive high school in Spain, "Las Encinas," where rich kids go to get noticed by the world's top universities. The story gets interesting when three students from working-class families - Samuel, Nadia, and Christian - join the young wealthy scholars after their old school is destroyed by an earthquake. Oh yeah, and there's also a murder mystery that needs to be solved.
What really makes Elite stand out from its counterparts is the strong character development, expertly handled by co-creators Darío Madrona and Carlos Montero. Take Guzman, for instance, played by the dapper and talented Miguel Bernardeau. At first glance, he's your typical privileged high school bully, hell-bent on making the three new transplants' lives a living nightmare. But the writers smartly provide Guzman with his own unique narrative that hints at redemption as the season progresses.
Bullies usually don't get second chances, and the mysterious outsider is the one who gets the girl at the end of the story - not here. Even the disenfranchised newcomers, like Samuel and Christian, have their darker sides. No one stays the villain or the hero for very long. Much like HBO's popular fantasy series Game of Thrones, Elite loves to explore moral ambiguity while outside forces, like drug dealers and controlling parents, start to prey on the troubled teens.
So, about that murder mystery. Without spoiling anything, let's just say the crime is a focal point of the overall story, but not necessarily a vital one. Several of the episodes begin and end with an interrogation scene between one of the students and the presiding detective, recounting the events leading up to the homicide. The scenes do have moments of suspense, but overall, lack the narrative punch offered by the textured lives of the students before the crime takes place.
But that's what Elite does best - taking what has come before and improving on it. All the hallmarks of a teen drama are here: sex (lots of it), murder, drugs, social climbing, and betrayal, but with a distinct and compelling voice. For lack of a better descriptor, Elite is the high school equivalent of Game of Thrones. Las Encinas may not be as a vast as Westeros, but the multi-layered characters and strong writing are on par with TV's very best shows.
By the time the credits roll, Elite does a solid job of wrapping up its first season, while leaving the door open for many more stories to come. Thankfully, Elite has already been picked up for a second season, coming to Netflix in 2019.
Netflix's Elite doesn't go for style over substance. Unlike most high school dramas, the series tempers its over-the-top plot twists with real human emotion by focusing on the kids and how growing up too fast can have devastating consequences. Elite may be the best high school drama on TV.
Oct 5, 2018 · New York Magazine (Vulture) Oct 26, 2018. Elite is not pushing new boundaries in television, it’s not a self-serious reboot of an old property, and it’s definitely not aiming at airless highbrow experimentation. In spite of that--or more likely because of it!--its commitment to breakneck melodrama is undeniably enjoyable.
- Omar Ayuso
- 8
Myself I would rate elite a 10/10 from season 1 to season 5 and I hope there is plenty more seasons 🙏 Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/09/23 Full Review Audience Member This season ...
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Rated 5/5 Stars • 01/09/23. Elite Season 2 is the newest edition of the one of the best series in this universe- Elite! This season continues the mysteries left by the amazing storyline and plot ...
