‘Addictive’ Spanish crime thriller now streaming on Netflix

If you’re looking for a juicy thriller to see you through those dull winter nights, look no further than this.

City of Shadows is a Spanish crime series that’s been highly praised by viewers, with many loving how it kept them ‘hooked’ throughout.

And now you can decide for yourself if it really is as ‘addictive’ as people say, as the six-parter is streaming on Netflix.

Starring Isak Férriz and Verónica Echegui, City of Shadows (Ciudad de Sombras in Spanish) sees a disgraced detective return to the force to crack a grisly mystery.

Barcelona awakens to a body hanging in flames from one of Gaudí’s most iconic buildings, leaving Inspector Milo Malart (Férriz), whose career ended due to scandal and personal woes, and quick-thinking Deputy Inspector Rebeca Garrido (Echegui) to investigate ritualistic killings.

The case is far from simple, of course, and as pressure mounts from both the media and the public, the cops race against time to get answers.

City of Shadows landed on the streaming platform this month, with an official Netflix synopsis explaining further: ‘A macabre crime has taken place at La Pedrera—Casa Milà: a burned body has been discovered on the façade of Gaudí’s iconic building.

‘Inspector Milo Malart, recently suspended from the Mossos d’Esquadra for insubordination, returns to duty in the Catalan capital. Together with Deputy Inspector Rebeca Garrido, he sets out to uncover the culprit behind the crime.’

And audiences can rest assured they’re in safe hands with the lead stars, as neither is a stranger to a Netflix project.

Férriz has starred in several of the platform’s movies and TV shows, including Bank Under Siege (2024), Infiesto (2023), Feria: The Darkest Light (2022), and Below Zero (2021).

As for Echegui, the actress previously appeared in The Patients of Dr. Garcia (2023), Intimacy (2022), and Book of Love (2022).

Sadly, the award-winning Madrid-born film star died in August this year at the age of 42. She had been diagnosed with cancer.

Following her death, the industry paid tribute and honoured her work, with colleagues including Sara Sálamo, Silvia Alonso, Susana Abaitua, Vicky Luengo, and Dafne Fernández visiting as she was lying in the funeral home.

City of Shadows was left by Echegui for a posthumous release, as was the film Hortelana.

Audiences have been lauding her performance in City of Shadows since its premiere, with X user @jackson_SOA calling her work ‘monumental’.

@ArmandVervaeck adds that they stayed up until 3am bingeing the show because they simply ‘couldn’t stop’ watching.

As for critics’ reviews, Heaven of Horror predicts many might come to declare City of Shadows their favourite Spanish drama.

K-Waves and Beyond further compliments the Jorge Torregrossa-directed series on the ‘captivating’ rapport between its main characters.

‘Netflix series City of Shadows prides itself on thematic boldness: it brings forth the issues of abuse, institutional failures, and how society, through active neglect and corruption, not only tolerates the growth of monsters but actually creates them,’ the outlet writes. ‘It does not portray a clear division of black-and-white villains, but rather moves into the realm of moral ambiguity.’

The author adds that while audiences ‘might not agree with the violence’ used on-screen, ‘you have no other option than to explore the system that gave rise to such a tragedy’.

Ready Steady Cut says the location itself is actually the biggest scene-stealer, arguing that the Barcelona architecture creates a ‘strong sense of place [that] is integral to the show’s identity’.

City of Shadows will be hoping to compete with the other successful non-English series gripping millions on Netflix this year, with the current top 10 including Dynamite Kiss, The Price of Confession, Last Samurai Standing, and The Crystal Cuckoo.

As for the most-watched non-English series of all time, Squid Game occupies the full top three, with series 1 specifically streamed 265,200,000 times.

Money Heist and Lupin have also clocked up hundreds of millions of streams.

City of Shadows is now streaming on Netflix.

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