The Best Shows to Learn Spanish

It's not just fun: watching Spanish TV shows is a great way to improve your Spanish.

Learning Spanish will require you spend a lot of time interacting with the language, and platforms like Netflix and YouTube make it possible to hear real Spanish no matter where you are in the world. That's a massive advantage that didn't really exist even just fifteen years ago.

Today, we'll talk about how you can capitalize on that advantage.

Specifically, we'll get into:

Why watching TV shows is one of the best ways to Learn Spanish

Learners around the world find themselves with a frustrating problem: they studied Spanish in school for four years but can't really do anything in it. They spent a lot of time in class learning about Spanish—they memorized some verb conjugations and things like that—but they didn't spend much time actually using Spanish.

Unfortunately, you develop the skills you practice, and most Spanish resources aren't much more than a digital version of this same classroom approach. If your Spanish time is spent doing grammar exercises in a textbook or clicking bubbles on your phone, you'll get good at doing grammar exercises and clicking bubbles, but that alone likely won't amount to much practical Spanish ability.

The skill you practice while watching a Spanish TV show is a very practical one: the ability to understand Spanish when you hear it.

When you watch TV shows in Spanish, you are:

Which brings us to an important point:

How to actually learn from Spanish TV shows

Now, this isn't magic. You haven't become a professional guitarist by listening to a lifetime of music, and you won't become bilingual just by having some telenovela playing in the background.

Now, you don't need to understand absolutely everything, and this won't feel automatic like it does when you watch TV in English. Early on, it'll take all of your effort just to get the gist of what you're hearing... and you'll know that you're missing a lot of things, too.

Know that this is normal and OK.

So long as you can get the gist of what you're watching, you'll naturally acquire some of it and your Spanish will improve. As your Spanish improves, it will take less effort to process information in Spanish and more content will become accessible to you.

This will be tiring. It's work. It's interesting and practical, but it's work.

So, let's get started.

What to do if you're a total beginner and feel lost

You're right: this is hard. If you don't already know some Spanish, you can't really just sit down and follow Spanish television.

To do that, we're going to need a mix of three things:

And now you're going to make a sandwich of these three things:

Our goal here isn't to be perfect. It's simply to build the foundation you need to begin enjoying television shows in Spanish, which is where your real progress will come from.

As you clock more hours studying in this fashion—as you learn more words and get more used to how Spanish sounds—you'll become able to follow a broader variety of Spanish content. Eventually, you'll be able to follow your own interests. At that point, you're home free. So long as you keep it up, you'll learn a lot of Spanish as a byproduct of entertaining yourself.

The article is now going to fork in two directions:

Approachable Spanish shows, even for total beginners

As learners, we find ourselves in a kind of catch 22: you learn Spanish by watching Spanish TV, but you need to have a certain level of Spanish to watch TV.

In 1977, a psychology professor named James Asher developed an approach to teaching languages that he called Total Physical Response (TPR). Whereas traditional language learning methods would have you say in Spanish, "hand" is "mano", in TPR the instructor would simply hold up their hand, say "mano", and never mention the word "hand"—or use English at all.

Over the last few years, a cohort of YouTubers have co-opted this approach. Using the camera, screen sharing technology, and usually some kind of drawing board, they narrate stories or discuss events and then support those things with drawings, images, or animations. You can follow the gist of what's going on with your eyes, and then slowly connect the Spanish you hear to the visuals you see.

The result is that you can hit the ground running—following authentic Spanish—even if you don't really know any Spanish at all.

Creators of this type of content call what they do "comprehensible input".

What you need to do is:

And now, a few recommendations of Spanish content for absolute beginners:

Dreaming Spanish

It'd be hard to talk about comprehensible input without talking about Dreaming Spanish, a group dedicated to teaching Spanish entirely in Spanish, organically, without ever using English or explicitly teaching grammar. You start off by watching videos about simple everyday topics, presented by a variety of hosts from around the Spanish-speaking world, and gradually get more complex as you go.

You can probably get the gist of their "superbeginner" content even if you literally started studying Spanish a few hours ago:

Organic Spanish

Kasia of Organic Spanish practices TPRS (Totally Physical Response – Stories) 2.0, a development on the earlier discussed TPR approach to teaching languages. She believes that input + interaction leads to fluency, and her YouTube videos focus on the input half of that equation.

Fabuladit

I try to be unbiased, but of all the channels on this list, Fabuladit is probably my favorite. He shares all of his content for free, including the transcripts, and he has a knack for telling interesting stories using simple Spanish, gestures, and a whiteboard.

Fabuladit is no longer on YouTube, unfortunately, but he did leave us fifty stories to watch.

Peppa Pig

Peppa Pig is a TV show that follows the daily adventures of a young pig—Peppa. It presents simple scenes through the perspective of Peppa, her brother, and her parents. While the show isn't terribly exciting—it's intended for preschoolers—it does have a elements of humor and a certain quirkiness that may grow on you.

The fact that Peppa Pig is intended for native-speaking children means that it's a step up in difficulty from the comprehensible input YouTubers listed above, but it's still a good choice for early Spanish learners for three reasons:

Dora la exploradora

Another show aimed at preschoolers, each episode of Dora the Explorer has Dora going on some sort of adventure with her friends. They solve puzzles, overcome obstacles, and butt heads with the villain—Swiper.

Two things make Dora the Explorer great for learners:

Best TV shows for beginners learning Spanish

And now we get into the real Spanish television shows.

We'll start with a few shows that are intended for learners and then move onto a few that are aimed at a native-speaking Spanish audience but are nevertheless quite accessible.

While these are "beginner" shows, that doesn't necessarily mean they're easy. They're a definite step up in difficulty from the absolute-beginner content.

(Remember to watch these with Spanish subtitles!)

Destinos

Originally released in the 90s, Destinos is a telenovela (Spanish soap opera) that was designed to help learners acquire Spanish. The first few episodes include some English narration to help learners keep up with the show. Each subsequent episode uses a bit less English until it's entirely gone.

Something of a rarity amongst this sort of content is that Destinos actually has a relatively interesting plot. Don Fernando, an elderly widower in poor health, receives a letter: his first wife (he had another wife!) did not die in the Spanish civil war, as he expected. Don Fernando hires an investigator who ends up on going on something of a wild goose chase spanning several countries in search of the potential missing half of Don Fernando's family.

Extr@ en Español

A Friends-style sitcom, Extr@ sees Sam, an American who doesn't speak Spanish very well, moving to Spain to live with his penpal, Lola—who has a roommate, Ana. Sam's lackluster Spanish leads to a number of embarrassing adventures. The neighbor, Pablo, finds the situation entertaining and goes out of his way to create problems. Mishaps ensue and the four become friends—or, perhaps, something more.

While the acting isn't great, the show has its funny moments. By virtue of Sam speaking very little Spanish, all of the characters in the series are forced to speak in very simple Spanish, and this makes the show quite accessible for learners.

El secreto del río

Two young boys at a wedding are being harassed by an adult. They run, he follows. Tragedy strikes: the man falls into a river and dies. The boys, stunned and worried that what happened is their fault, decide to keep their mouths shut. Chaos ensues, and their mutual secret leads the two to develop a close friendship—until Manuel runs away to live in the United States.

Decades later, the two cross paths again. Erik discovers that Manuel now goes by the name Sicarú and is dressed like a woman. Manuel/Sicarú is a muxe, a "third gender". Erik is put off and wants nothing to do with his old friend.

And then things get complicated.

The series has received stunning reviews and—as you'll see if you check out the trailer—features quite clear, accessible dialogue.

Casa de mi padre

"Yo soy... Armando Alvarez" says... Will Ferrell?

Yeah, that Will Ferrell.

Casa de Mi Padre is a comical Mexican take on the classic American Western genre. Armando grew up on his father's ranch, works there, and would like to continue working there, but there's a problem—it doesn't make much money. Just as things are looking bleakest, Raúl, the younger brother, returns home—married and wealthy. Armando falls in love with Sonia, Raul's wealth turns out to be connected to drugs, there's generally overly dramatic chaos, and Armando finds himself waging war with the most feared drug lord in Mexico to save his father's ranch.

The story is ridiculous and takes itself too seriously—and, if you go into it with that expectation, you'll probably like it. It's a native show, but Will Ferrell is not a native speaker of Spanish. Somehow, that makes the show quite accessible.

Kipo y la era de los magnimales

Are you kind to animals?

In a post-apocalypytic future, the animals of the world change—some gain human-like intelligence and become capable of communicating, while others, called "mutes", become gigantic and powerful. The mutes rise up against humans to take over the world, and humans are left with no choice but to seek refuge underground.

One day, a giant monkey attacks the burrow Kipo calls home. In the chaos, Kipo ends up above-ground, separated from her father.

It turns out that some people (and weaker animals) survive above ground.

The rest of the series is about Kipo finding her way home—but it's also so much more.

If you enjoy Kipo, there are actually many animated series with Spanish dubs on Netflix.

Spanish TV shows for intermediate learners and beyond

At this stage, the entire world of Spanish television begins to open up to you. While you can (and should) explore anything you want, we recommend initially sticking to a single genre. Your first crime procedural will be difficult, but a lot of the themes and technical vocabulary will reappear in all such shows, making your next watches comparatively easier.

La casa de papel (Money Heist)

This heist/thriller follows a meticulously planned and audacious heist orchestrated by a mysterious mastermind known as "The Professor." He recruits a group of skilled criminals, each with their own unique talents and troubled pasts, to walk into the Royal Mint of Spain (a bank) and walk out with nearly a billion euros. The series depicts the heist.

Sounding simple on the surface, La casa de papel is about much more than just stealing a bunch of money. The show explores many moral grey zones that foster discussion and challenge societal norms. The mix works well: it's one of Netflix's best known Spanish-language shows for a reason.

El Ministerio del Tiempo

What would happen if it were possible to travel through time?

Worried about precisely this question, the Spanish government opens up a new branch—the Ministry of Time—tasked with preserving what you might call the "integrity" of history. Agents make use of hidden portals to travel through time and make sure that historical events unfold as they're supposed to. They also patrol these portals to ensure that bad actors from other eras aren't able to bend history to their own benefit.

This series follows the story of the ministry's newest team: a student from the 1800's and a modern-day paramedic.

Club de Cuervos

The Cuervos F.C. football (soccer) team is facing an identity crisis: its owner has just died, and his son, Chava, was selected to be the team's new leader, despite it being clear that his daughter, Isabel, was the better fit. The daughter is (understandably) unhappy about this. The series captures the chaotic sibling rivalry between Chava, an ambitious but reckless playboy, and Isabel, who is sharp and capable, as he strives to build the team and she strives to take it from him.

Oh, and this is also a comedy. Did you see that coming?

Narcos

Narcos is a series that follows the story of Pablo Escobar, founder of the Medellín cartel who was known as the "king of cocaine". Not content just to sell drugs, Pablo was also heavily involved in politics. Narcos depicts the inner workings of drug cartels, the lives of their members, and the efforts of law enforcement agencies to dismantle them.

What's special about Narcos is that it's a dual-language show: if you watch it in Spanish, the narrator will speak English. While this choice was actually made for artistic reasons, it also makes Narcos a good choice for your first "real" Spanish TV show, as the regular bits of English will help you to keep up with the plot.

If you like Narcos, you might also be interested in Pablo Escobar, el patrón del mal, a more authentic account of Escobar's life. There's actually quite a lot of content about this topic, so if two series aren't enough, you're well set to practice Spanish while learning about an important geopolitical issue.

Some tips to help you learn Spanish on Netflix (or YouTube, or Disney+...)

You've now got a game plan and hopefully have found a show that's close to your level and at least somewhat interesting.

Before we wrap up, here's a quick grab bag of tips to help you get the most out of the time you spend watching Netflix shows.

What to do with subtitles

When you turn on a Spanish TV show, you've actually got several subtitle options:

But which approach is the best?

Well, research has given us a little bit of guidance here:

With this in mind, I think it makes sense to set subtitles according to your mood/energy level:

If you use Migaku, you also get a few more nuanced subtitle options. For example, I have mine set up to normally only show Spanish subtitles, but to show secondary subtitles in Portuguese if there is a word I don't know.

There are also some complementary settings that let you do things like rewind by one line of dialogue, rather than for a fixed amount of seconds, making it easy to re-listen to lines you didn't quite catch.

... What if the only content I can understand is boring?

I'll be the first to admit it: the beginning stages of learning a language kind of suck. You can't understand much, everything is frustrating, and most of the things you can understand feel like they were made for learners or children.

The key here is balance.

I personally make heavy use of a technique called "time boxing" in the early stages of a new language:

The amount of Spanish you're going to learn this year dwarfs the amount of Spanish you'll learn today or this month, so it's important to go about learning Spanish in a way that ensures you'll still be at it in a year.

Just know that this "boring" stage will eventually end, and from that point on, you'll be learning Spanish basically as a byproduct of entertaining yourself.

Use tools like Migaku that add functionality to subtitles

Migaku works with all major streaming platforms—Netflix, YouTube, Disney+, and more—and makes subtitles interactive. If you see a word you don't know, you can simply click on it to see an explanation of what it means:

Make flashcards out of useful new words

As humans, we're constantly forgetting. If we don't review what we learn, we're bound to remember very little of it.

Now, "review" leaves a sour taste in many peoples' mouths, but we don't mean "review" like you would review in school: cramming for three hours the night before a test.

When it comes to languages, it's much more efficient to review information (a) periodically and (b) in small pockets of time throughout the day.

And this is a big part of the reason we made Migaku. Check this out:

You've seen how Migaku enhances Spanish subtitles. From there, with the press of a button, you create a flashcard that consists of:

Migaku then employs a spaced-repetition algorithm to schedule these flashcards for review in the future, ensuring that you eventually commit them to memory.

This entire process takes less than a second, so you can focus on enjoying your show, bookmarking useful words as they come up to learn later.

In other words:

Yes: it's a good idea to watch shows to learn Spanish, and you can learn Spanish on Netflix. As you log more hours watching TV, you'll gradually improve your listening comprehension, your Spanish vocabulary, and generally internalize Spanish—and it'll be fun.

Having said that, the fact that watching TV in Spanish is effective doesn't mean that it's easy. The best Spanish shows were made with native speakers in mind, not learners. If you're a total beginner, you can start with very simple content and slowly work your way up—or try Migaku free for ten days. You might just find that the functionality we add to subtitles opens up more interesting content to you.

Suerte!