Based on the popular historical novel by Spanish author Ildefonso Falcones and formed by 7 episodes and filmed in numerous places Extremadura , Castilla La Mancha , Castilla León , Madrid , Aragon and Cataluña . The action takes place in 14th century , Barcelona under Aragon Crown , in a world marked by segregation, religious intolerance , social stratum , material ambition , betrayal , revenge and violent riots with deaths and damage to property. Dealing with the social segregation in Medieval Barcelona and the impressive construction of Cathedral Santa Maria del Mar , the greatest Mariano temple ever built and serving as background to the story starred by Arnau. The book and film is set in Barcelona and its main character is Arnau Estnyiol, Aitor Luna , the son of a fugitive serf : Daniel Grao, one of the catedral's workers , as he becomes one of the porters , known as Baxtaisos who contributed to the construction of the church by carrying stones . As the inhabitants of humble slums of fisher decide to built with large efforts here and there the biggest temple dedicated to Virgen Maria . Arnau gradually obtains freedom and eventually achieves a high status in Society , enjoying an enviable positivo .But his enemies to be green with envy and to carry out a conspiracy to be condemned by Inquisition .

An absorbing as well as ambitious recreation of Middle Age with an interesting script in which mingles nasty feudal lords, religious conflict , loyalty , faithfullness , treason , vengeance , war , love and plague . Big budget series , the shooting started summer 2016 with 2500 players and extras , 220 animals , 2000 suits and almost 80% was shot in exterior. Cast is pretty good such as Aitor Luna as the unfortunate young who'll work as livery stable cleaner , bastaixo, docker, merchant , subsequently to become himself a notorious noble full of healthiness and richness ,meanwhile he falls in love for twomgorgeous damsels , Andrea Duro , Michelle Jenner . He is son of Bernart Estanyiol well played by Daniel Grao as a fugitive serf who flees to Barcelona when his wife , Natalia De Molina , is raped by a maliciously ruthless feudal lord using his Right of Pernada. Other essential secondary actors giving fine acting are the followings : Gines García Millán as the cruel merchant, his mistreated wife played by Nora Navas and the good priest performed by Tristan Ulloa , among others .

Well adapted from La Catedral Del Mar , a nice historical novel by lawyer and writer Ildefonso Falcones, set in 14th century at the height of the Inquisition , this book became surprisingly and quickly an important best seller in 2006 as Spanish as Catalan language . This novel has been translated into 15 languages, at least , and has been sold in 32 countries , the novel has won several literary awards including : Euskadi De Plata , Que Leer Award and Giovanni Boccaccio Award . It has a sequel titled " Los Herederos de la tierra" , published in 2016. This cool TV adaptation was lavishly produced by Antena 3 TV . It displays an evocative and imaginative musical score by the great composer Federico Jusid . It contains a colorful and brilliant cinematography by Teo Delgado , shot on location in several Spanish locations as Caceres, Extremadura ; Aldea Del Fresno , La Pedriza, El Álamo , Park Peñalara, Madrid ; El Espinar , Torreiglesias, Guadamur , Toledo ; Montalban Teruel; Oropesa De Mar, Castellón , Vilanova La Gertru and Barcelona. The great TV series was well directed by Jordi Frades

I truly enjoyed this. Right from the opening minutes to the very end. Lots of plot twist and turns. Great actors and character development. I would love to see another season but if it didn't happen, at least I'm not walking away from a cliffhanger. A very well put together stand alone season. Well done as usual Netflix!

Discovered this show on netflix and wow, what a surprise this has been, this is really really good, if you like medieval world you are gonna absolute love this one

Before I watched this mini series it was being compared to a stop gap for Game of Thrones. Where they got that idea I don't know but if you ever watched Pillars of the Earth then watch this. This is a most enjoyable production from start to finish. A period drama at its best.

I'm normally bored by films of this genre but decided to give it a shot for lack of finding anything else. It turns out that this series is really well done. The story is interesting, well written, and the pacing advances the story pretty fast without stagnation. The acting is excellent across well developed characters.

It reminds me how Noble and beautiful Barcelona is, I visited the cathedral of the sea but ignored all of it. This program will bring a lot of tourism in wonderful Barcelona.... I need to come back in this majestic city very soon...

I binged watched this movie. Great actors who really played their roles well. So much hate, love, stupidly, arrogance. I don't think the writer left out any human emotions. I loved the ending, it would have been evening better if his evil wife died screaming as she burnt to death. Hope there is a part two.

Really one of the best tv series what I have seen.

Must watch.

Not really what I was expecting. I was really surprised. It's a really good story. Good acting. A series of drama, romance, excitement and revenge. Highly recommended!

I was worried that this was going to be a boring tv show. But my god was I wrong, the show has become another of my favourites. Eagerly waiting a second season from Netflix hopefully this year.

Ranks right up there as one of the best. Highly recommend!

Pablo Derqui as Joan, the main characters priest brother went from nice guy to foaming at the mouth mad man in an episode and a half, great actor - almost stole the show. I liked it that the Inquisition got its own in the end and of course, the wife. Been to Barcelona many times and it has a much richer history that it presents itself as in modern times. Good show. Some great characters and acting. I enjoyed it a lot.

This series is one of the best I've watched in Netflix. The story is moving and the drama is grippingly intense. The setting and the era is so classic with its characters taking you to a voyage of passion,suffering, power, hatred and love. A truly phenomenal thriller which will surely keep you moved and engrossed which I strongly recommend you watch!

I love spanish and period piece dramas so i was down for this combination and i loved the visuals and the earlier episodes, however there did seem to be some unfinished plots/ characters with confusing motivations, the violence in the first several episodes was jarring yet well done as a base for the characters developement- until i got around episode 5, is NOONE bothered by the fact that the relationship we're supposed to root for is GODFATHER and GODDAUGHTER? I've looked up reviews trying to find someone mention this but no one has, I know it's a different time and all but am i really supposed to root for them?! It's sick! I confess i haven't made it past episode 6 because this turned me off the show so much

Muy buena la serie. Mucha crueldad q me hace reflexionar sobre la vida.

What a gem this movie is. Great way to spend my Labor Day.

I read the book and loved it. It is a very good combination of well documented historic background and gripping fiction. However, I find the show very disappointing. The acting is very poor. Most of the actors are not versed in period drama and the old-style Spanish does not come naturally to them. Also the acting is extremely one-dimensional. The characters are either complete villains who will not even say hello without a sneer or complete naïve morons. This starchy bipolarity makes the crude scenes look more unreal.

I liked this series. Part Count of Monte Cristo, part Pillars of the Earth. It takes place in Spain in a time of lingering fuedalism and rise of the Spanish Inquisition, a young man escapes the evil powers that be with his infant son. The story tells of his life and follows his son's life and ups and downs. There is drama and action, heartbreak and sadness. The only things I didn't like it nearly every woman in the series is raped. It seemed to be a cheap way to tell you if a person was a good guy or bad guy was if they raped or not. Then to show you how good the protagonist is he is nearly celibate. That could have been cleaned up. I would have like more naunced bad guys. Also I had a little difficulty distinguishing between who was who. Alot of characters looked alike and they would do the scenes in a way that you kinda forget who this person is or what they have done. They could have had a little more distinct different looking cast or simply spelled out better who this was and what was goinf on. You definitely have to pay attention. If all else fails you van always tell the good guys from the bad by their proclivity for rape or not. Overall an 8 or 9 for me.

Don't miss the series. Lots of twist and turns. Awesome casting. Loved Bernard Estanyol his character replicates true father love. A Must watch series.

I only started watching this because my boss was bugging me and insisting it was such a wonderful show. Now I can't stop. The acting, the scenery, the plot, I love everything about it. I do think it may have lost something in translation, I'm not sure. I'm really looking forward to reading the book.

Real acting and exciting plot. A true image of the XIVth century Spanish life.

Simply horrible. Acting, characters, storyline. Everything is quite terrible.

This production is poor, plot is poor and the story telling is poor...acting seems fair so I do not blame the actors...but opportunity lost..story could have been great but missed the mark 100%...

I found this while browsing on Netflix. Wha ta great series. It's super good, if you are into Medieval type of shows this is the one for you.

10 stars.

I enjoyed the movie. It's set in the infamous Spanish dark ages, with a supposed very strong God pathway, but missing the most elementary ethic and moral human rights. The movie catches just well plenty of stupidities characteristic to Spanish dark ages. Inquisition like, Inquisition soaked in, Inquisition breathing to all its pores. Absolutely no moral compass of the rulers, who relied on fear of the masses and military power to rule despotically. Welcome to dark ages! If you don't have the strength to accept immoral actions without repercussions, stay away of it!