# Heirs to the Land
**Heirs to the Land** (*Los herederos de la tierra*) is a Spanish historical drama television series released on Netflix on April 15, 2022, adapted from Ildefonso Falcones's 2016 novel of the same name, the sequel to his bestseller *La catedral del mar* ([Cathedral](https://www.edgepedia.org/cathedral) of the Sea)[1](https://www.netflix.com/st/title/81267689) • [2](https://www.rtve.es/play/noticias/20160914/ildefonso-falcones-regresa-a-edad-media-barcelonesa-con-herederos-tierra/1400080.shtml). Its eight episodes follow the resourceful young Hugo Llor as he tries to make a name for himself in 14th-century Barcelona while keeping a vow he made to the Estanyol family[1](https://www.netflix.com/st/title/81267689). Jordi Frades directed, and Diagonal TV, the producer of both *Cathedral of the Sea* and the earlier historical series *Isabel*, made the show[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/heirs_to_the_land) • [4](https://www.banijay.com/blog/2021/07/15/diagonal-tv-develops-epic-series-based-on-spanish-monarchy/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | *Los herederos de la tierra*[5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/heirs-to-the-land) |
| Premiere | April 15, 2022, on Netflix; all 8 episodes released that day[1](https://www.netflix.com/st/title/81267689) • [6](https://usa.newonnetflix.info/info/81267689) |
| Source | Ildefonso Falcones's 2016 novel, sequel to *La catedral del mar* (2006)[2](https://www.rtve.es/play/noticias/20160914/ildefonso-falcones-regresa-a-edad-media-barcelonesa-con-herederos-tierra/1400080.shtml) |
| Setting | 14th-century Barcelona, starting three years after the end of *Cathedral of the Sea*[1](https://www.netflix.com/st/title/81267689) • [2](https://www.rtve.es/play/noticias/20160914/ildefonso-falcones-regresa-a-edad-media-barcelonesa-con-herederos-tierra/1400080.shtml) |
| Lead cast | Yon González (Hugo Llor), Elena Rivera (Caterina Llor), Rodolfo Sancho (Bernat Estanyol), Michelle Jenner (Mar)[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/heirs_to_the_land) |
| Director | Jordi Frades, who also directed *Cathedral of the Sea*[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/heirs_to_the_land) |
| Ratings | IMDb 7.1/10 (about 2,100 votes); Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer 79% from 2 reviews[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13308276/ratings/) • [8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/heirs_to_the_land/s01) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and characters
The protagonist, Hugo Llor, is a humble 12-year-old orphan, the son of an ill-fated sailor, who dreams of becoming a *mestre d'axia*, the craftsman who builds galleys and other vessels[2](https://www.rtve.es/play/noticias/20160914/ildefonso-falcones-regresa-a-edad-media-barcelonesa-con-herederos-tierra/1400080.shtml). He becomes entangled in the world of wine, a major theme in an era when people drank more wine than water because water was almost always infected and a frequent source of disease[2](https://www.rtve.es/play/noticias/20160914/ildefonso-falcones-regresa-a-edad-media-barcelonesa-con-herederos-tierra/1400080.shtml).
The series opens with the previous generation. In the first episode, Arnau and Mar worry about their safety should a new king take the throne, and a tragedy separates Hugo from his family, leading him into an apprenticeship[1](https://www.netflix.com/st/title/81267689). By the second episode the story passes to the children of the earlier protagonists[9](https://www.traveler.es/articulos/los-herederos-de-la-tierra-en-busca-de-la-cataluna-medieval). Rodolfo Sancho plays Bernat Estanyol, the son of Arnau and a friend of Hugo[9](https://www.traveler.es/articulos/los-herederos-de-la-tierra-en-busca-de-la-cataluna-medieval). Later episodes carry Hugo into Roger Puig's palace cellar, where his winemaking gives him a dangerous chance at vengeance, and into the orbit of Regina, who begs for his release when he is taken into custody[1](https://www.netflix.com/st/title/81267689).
One character draws directly on history: Jucef Crescas, played by Nancho Novo, is loosely based on the real-life Jewish philosopher Hasdai Crescas and his pupil Joseph Albo[10](https://www.jta.org/2022/05/06/global/spanish-jews-take-the-spotlight-in-netflix-series-about-the-inquisition). The Jewish Telegraphic Agency noted that, unlike earlier productions about the [Inquisition](https://www.edgepedia.org/inquisition) that depicted Jews briefly and mostly as victims, this series treats Jewish life in more depth; in one scene Regina, played by María Rodríguez Soto, says she is tired of being Jewish[10](https://www.jta.org/2022/05/06/global/spanish-jews-take-the-spotlight-in-netflix-series-about-the-inquisition).
## The novel behind the series
Falcones published *Los herederos de la tierra* in August 2016, ten years after *La catedral del mar*, and he framed it as a continuation with new main characters[2](https://www.rtve.es/play/noticias/20160914/ildefonso-falcones-regresa-a-edad-media-barcelonesa-con-herederos-tierra/1400080.shtml). The novel opens with the bells of Santa María del Mar, the church whose construction drove the first book, and then moves to the Raval, the Barcelona district that was beginning to grow in that period and opening onto the city's commercial world[2](https://www.rtve.es/play/noticias/20160914/ildefonso-falcones-regresa-a-edad-media-barcelonesa-con-herederos-tierra/1400080.shtml). Falcones said the two books can be read independently, though the first supplies some references[2](https://www.rtve.es/play/noticias/20160914/ildefonso-falcones-regresa-a-edad-media-barcelonesa-con-herederos-tierra/1400080.shtml).
The historical moment is the turn from the 14th to the 15th century, a period Falcones described as especially turbulent, with the succession of the [Crown of Aragon](https://www.edgepedia.org/crown-of-aragon) and the persecution of the Jews[2](https://www.rtve.es/play/noticias/20160914/ildefonso-falcones-regresa-a-edad-media-barcelonesa-con-herederos-tierra/1400080.shtml). Slavery and the buying and selling of people's freedom, along with conflict between civil and ecclesiastical authority, are other threads of the story[2](https://www.rtve.es/play/noticias/20160914/ildefonso-falcones-regresa-a-edad-media-barcelonesa-con-herederos-tierra/1400080.shtml).
## Production and filming
Frades directed both adaptations for Diagonal TV, which bought the rights to both novels[9](https://www.traveler.es/articulos/los-herederos-de-la-tierra-en-busca-de-la-cataluna-medieval). He described the two stories as structurally similar, the account of a boy who grows into a man in Barcelona, but marked by different trades: where the first was shaped by the building of Santa María del Mar, this one is shaped by the land, the vineyards, and wine production, elements of the commerce of the period[11](https://elpais.com/television/2022-04-14/los-herederos-de-la-tierra-conspiraciones-palaciegas-romances-de-epoca-y-mucha-vina.html).
The crew spent four months traveling through [Catalonia](https://www.edgepedia.org/catalonia) looking for locations and shot about 70 percent of the series in natural settings, including Terrasa, Molins del Rei, Peralada, Monells, Peratallada, Santa Coloma, Badalona, Tortosa, the old town of Girona, and Gothic Barcelona[9](https://www.traveler.es/articulos/los-herederos-de-la-tierra-en-busca-de-la-cataluna-medieval). This differed from *Cathedral of the Sea*, which was largely shot in Madrid[9](https://www.traveler.es/articulos/los-herederos-de-la-tierra-en-busca-de-la-cataluna-medieval). The vineyards of Sant Sadurní d'Anoia stood in for the vineyards that existed in 14th- and 15th-century Barcelona itself, on land to the left of the [Ramblas](https://www.edgepedia.org/la-rambla-barcelona) near today's El Raval, where residents walked to vines because everything around the Gothic Quarter was farmland[9](https://www.traveler.es/articulos/los-herederos-de-la-tierra-en-busca-de-la-cataluna-medieval). Frades said the adaptation stays close to the book, summarizing its extensive political narrative and customs to keep the main plot[9](https://www.traveler.es/articulos/los-herederos-de-la-tierra-en-busca-de-la-cataluna-medieval).
## Context and reception
The series followed a television success. *La catedral del mar* premiered on Antena 3 in 2018 with more than four million viewers, and the sequel's move to Netflix four years later continued the story of the Estanyol family[11](https://elpais.com/television/2022-04-14/los-herederos-de-la-tierra-conspiraciones-palaciegas-romances-de-epoca-y-mucha-vina.html). Netflix classifies the show as a Spanish period drama based on a bestseller, rated 16+ on its own platform and TV-MA in the United States[1](https://www.netflix.com/st/title/81267689) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/heirs_to_the_land).
Audience response was moderate. The show holds an IMDb rating of 7.1/10 from about 2,100 users, with individual episode ratings rising from 7.7 for the premiere to 8.2 for the finale[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13308276/ratings/). Rotten Tomatoes recorded a 79% Tomatometer from only two critics and fewer than 50 audience ratings; one review found it a period drama that stands on its own with beats of ambition, vows, revenge, bloodshed, and belief, while another called the overarching plot an unfocused, soapy saga[8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/heirs_to_the_land/s01). The series ran as a single season of eight episodes, with the final episode airing on April 15, 2022[6](https://usa.newonnetflix.info/info/81267689).
## References
1. [Heirs to the Land, Netflix Official Site](https://www.netflix.com/st/title/81267689)
2. [Ildefonso Falcones regresa a la edad media barcelonesa con 'Los Herederos de la Tierra', RTVE](https://www.rtve.es/play/noticias/20160914/ildefonso-falcones-regresa-a-edad-media-barcelonesa-con-herederos-tierra/1400080.shtml)
3. [Heirs to the Land, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/heirs_to_the_land)
4. [Diagonal TV Develops Epic Series based on Spanish Monarchy, Banijay](https://www.banijay.com/blog/2021/07/15/diagonal-tv-develops-epic-series-based-on-spanish-monarchy/)
5. [Los herederos de la tierra, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/heirs-to-the-land)
6. [Heirs to the Land on Netflix USA, New On Netflix](https://usa.newonnetflix.info/info/81267689)
7. [Heirs to the Land (2022) Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13308276/ratings/)
8. [Heirs to the Land: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/heirs_to_the_land/s01)
9. ['Los herederos de la tierra': en busca de la Cataluña medieval, Traveler](https://www.traveler.es/articulos/los-herederos-de-la-tierra-en-busca-de-la-cataluna-medieval)
10. [Spanish Jews take the spotlight in 'Heirs to the Land,' a Netflix series set pre-Inquisition, Jewish Telegraphic Agency](https://www.jta.org/2022/05/06/global/spanish-jews-take-the-spotlight-in-netflix-series-about-the-inquisition)
11. ['Los herederos de la tierra': conspiraciones palaciegas, romances de época y mucha viña, El País](https://elpais.com/television/2022-04-14/los-herederos-de-la-tierra-conspiraciones-palaciegas-romances-de-epoca-y-mucha-vina.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › Telenovelas and Latin American/Iberian serials › Spanish serial dramas*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license