The Gardener, the No1 Netflix non-English language series in the world, is penned by Malaga-born woman

Paco Griñán

Malaga

Monday, 21 April 2025, 18:29

A few weeks ago the adaptation of the novel by Malaga-born writer Sergio Sarria, 'Cuando Nadie Nos Ve' (When No One Sees Us), reached number one in Spain on the HBO Max streaming platform. The script for this series was authored by several Malaga locals, namely Daniel Corpas, Germán Aparicio and Isabel Sánchez. Now Sánchez is doubling up on scriptwriting with Netflix for its latest production that is causing a furore among the streaming platform's audience. 'El Jardinero', an exquisite and hypnotic thriller starring a rather singular murderer - the gardener of the title - has been a global hit since its premiere on 11 April. Currently the series tops the viewing figures for this US company in 21 countries (mainly Europe and Latin America), which has made it the most-watched, non-English language production in the world with over 7.7 million views.

"We thought it could do well, but by this much... it's been tremendous and it's already number one in I don't know how many countries", Isa Sánchez told SUR. The plot was devised by Miguel Sáez, with whom she has already worked on the adaptation of 'Ni Una Más' (Raising Voices, Netflix) and with whom she has repeated the worldwide success achieved by that series with this new production. Set in the green landscapes of Pontevedra, The Gardener tells the story of a Mexican woman, La China Jurado (played by Cecilia Suárez), who runs a plant nursery in Galicia with her son Elmer (Álvaro Rico), a brilliant, albeit fragile, horticulturist with a unique gift for plants. Sadly, Elmer is an emotionally-impaired young man, completely devoid of feeling or expressing any emotions after suffering a childhood accident.

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However, using the gardening company as their cover, the mother and son also run a lucrative business in contract killings, murders done to order that the unfeeling young man carries out neatly, coldly and quietly. That is until the latest contract comes in, when something changes. The elimination of a kindergarten teacher, Violeta, becomes a difficult mission when, for the first time, the assassin begins to have feelings for his target. The latter is played by Catalina Sopelana, who has also starred for Netflix in the recent adaptation of Javier Castillo's novel, The Crystal Cuckoo, on release soon.

"Miguel Sáez is very good at creating plots that hook the viewer," said Sánchez, giving her colleague the credit for this series that mixes intrigue, suspense and romance. "It's an attractive series to watch that takes place in spectacular gardens and landscapes, but the actors are also great, creating two tight pairings, on the one hand Cecilia and Álvaro playing mother and son, and on the other the gardener himself and Catalina as hired assassin and victim", said Isa Sánchez. She then adds what she considers to be further reasons for the initial success of this series: firstly, that it has six episodes instead of the usual eight or ten, and secondly that it has been released "in one go, so people are binging on them, something that Netflix knows how to do very well."

While talking about The Gardener, the scriptwriter from Malaga confessed that she really has her mind set on her next job with Netflix, which has just been announced: the adaptation of A Map of Desires ('El Mapa de los Anhelos'), the acclaimed novel by Spanish writer Alice Kellen. This is a miniseries produced by Brutal Media (known for 'Asalto al Banco Central', Bank Under Siege), in which Isa Sánchez carries all the responsibility as she works alone on this screenplay. "Expectations are high because she [Kellen] is an author with a huge following and her work has never been adapted for the screen until now", said Isa Sánchez, whose earlier screenplays include 321 days in Michigan and Malaka.

Once again, Netflix has knocked on her door for this adaptation, whose plot design is "complex", as the original plot is set in the United States and, as in the case of The Snow Girl with the transfer of the action from New York to Malaga, the story and characters of A Map of Desires will also be translated into "Spanish locations and postcodes." Isa Sánchez has already begun to notice the great interest that this screen adaptation has awakened with just the announcement of its upcoming filming: "I've had readers write to tell me that they are delighted with the project and even actresses have asked me for roles. It has never happened to me before."