Getting Spaniards to agree is not easy. We don’t agree on which football team is better, nor on whether Spanish omelette is better with or without onion. But it’s curious, because there’s something we all agree on: a television series that everyone likes. And, because of that, it’s successful on streaming. It’s successful in Spain and not in other countries, so it’s a totally local phenomenon that connects us all.
If we give you an address: Desengaño 21, you will surely recognize it. And not because it exists in the heart of Madrid, next to Gran VÃa (yes, it exists), but because it was the place where, between 2003 and 2006, adventures took place that, today, are part of television history. That was the building where the neighbours of Aquà no hay quien viva lived, the series between series, the Spanish comedy that portrayed the Spain of before, the one of now and possibly the one of tomorrow. Ahead of its time, the series continues to enchant the new generations and serves as a point of connection between parents, children, grandchildren and grandparents. It is a spectacular phenomenon.
It has aged perfectly
It has now become fashionable to recover Spanish comedy series that were successful in their time. They all come to streaming with the intention of seeing if any of them hit the jackpot. Netflix, for example, has hosted productions as varied as Médico de familia, Siete vidas or Farmacia de guardia. But the viewing data is not replicated among all of them in the same way and, without a doubt, they all fall short of Aquà no hay quien viva. Because, although it may seem impossible, the fiction created by Alberto Caballero and Iñaki Ariztimuño continues to be among the most viewed content in the audience reports.
Here No One Lives is so successful that it even ranks ahead of big streaming releases that, logically, should be above it. And that’s taking into account that the series is available on so many platforms that it should be impossible for it to be in the internal top 10 of any of them, in general terms. However, in a totally fabulous way, Here No One Lives achieves it and places itself within those tops, especially on specific platforms such as Netflix and Prime Video.
One of the reasons for its continued success is that Aquà no hay quien viva has aged perfectly. If the other series are not as popular today, it is because they are so old and have been anchored in a specific moment in Spanish history. This is a suitable resource for success on the small screen in the short term, but in the long term, things change. Aquà no hay quien viva has references to everyday life, but they are more isolated and more accurate. Many of the things that worry the protagonists are still relevant today and allow the new generations to reflect on them.
This is greatly helped by the fact that, in its time, Aquà no hay quien viva was a series ahead of its time. It portrayed all the profiles in an accurate and unexaggerated way, with realism and credibility. There were no extremes or approaches far from reality, since all the characters were conceived from the norm of being real and that they could be completely natural. The scriptwriters designed some of these characters taking into account the personalities of the actors who were going to play them and even changed their profiles when they got to know them better. This helped to create a credible cast that, today, is as common as it was then.
Provides calm
We wrote this article in reference to the interview published by El Confidencial, which we have linked to at the end of the article. It is a good reflection of the phenomenon that the universe of Aquà no hay quien viva represents in our country. It mentions something that many of us do and that you may have also done on occasion: watching the series as a moral support. Not only does it help you during a nap, because it is ideal for relaxing and falling asleep on the sofa, but it is also perfect for those moments when you need an emotional lifeline.
The series takes you to a welcoming environment, where it’s not all laughter, of course, but where the scripts accompany you in such a suitable way that each episode helps you without exception. There is talk about the comparison between Aquà no hay quien viva and its successor, La que se avecina, but it is easy to see that, as much as they have points in common, only the first one transmits that kind of peace and serenity. The way in which the series manages to fit perfectly with the Spain in which we live today and how it keeps the spark of each of the episodes alive is something difficult to see in other types of productions.
For this reason, Aquà no hay quien viva is an ideal series that you can share with your children and any other member of the family. In addition, it is widely available, so you will surely have no problem accessing it. You can find it on Prime Video, Netflix, Atresplayer, Movistar Plus+, SkyShowtime, Max and Tivify. Possibly, all that is missing is its debut on Disney+ for it to be, by far, the most accessible Spanish series in history. The only thing left is for someone to finally subtitle it into English so that it can try to succeed abroad as well.
