General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20265 min read

Rebelde (2022 TV series)

Rebelde is a Mexican teen drama television series directed by Santiago Limón for Netflix, a reboot of the Mexican telenovela Rebelde (2004–2006), which was itself an adaptation of the Argentine telenovela Rebelde Way created by Cris Morena. It premiered on January 5, 2022, ran for two seasons and 16 episodes, and was canceled after its second season.¹^•²

Key fact	Detail
Premiere / finale	First episode January 5, 2022; last episode July 27, 2022¹
Format	2 seasons, 16 episodes (8 per season), Spanish language, TV-MA¹^•³
Setting	Elite Way School (rebranded EWS), an international boarding school in Mexico City with a prestigious music program⁴
Central plot	A new generation of students competes to win EWS's Battle of the Bands while a secret society, the Lodge, torments freshmen⁴^•⁵
Production	Woo Films and Propagate for Netflix; based on the intellectual property of Cris Morena Group and Dori Media Group, later adapted by Televisa⁶
Reception	Season 1 scored 100% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (6 reviews); IMDb rating 6.4/10⁷^•⁸
Cancellation	Canceled after two seasons, reported in May 2023; season 2 debuted with about half the viewing hours of season 1²

Spoilers

Premise

The series returns to Elite Way School, now shortened to EWS, the international boarding school that was the birthplace of the fictional band RBD in the original show. A new generation of students enrolls with dreams of joining the music program and winning the Battle of the Bands, the contest that can launch their musical careers. Alongside romance and friendship, a mysterious secret society casts a shadow over their ambitions.⁴ Netflix's own synopsis describes that enemy as the Lodge, a secret society that threatens the musical hopes of the first-year students.⁵

The Lodge, a gang of students in letterman jackets and animal masks, terrorizes new students much as it did in the original series. Principal Celina Ferrer believes there have been no hazings at EWS for 18 years, but the Lodge is active from the first scene of the show.⁹

Cast and characters

The main cast announced by Netflix comprised Azul Guaita, Sergio Mayer Mori, Andrea Chaparro, Jerónimo Cantillo, Franco Masini, Lizeth Selene, Alejandro Puente, and Giovanna Grigio, with production by Woo Films and Propagate.⁶ Their roles: Sergio Mayer Mori plays Esteban, Andrea Chaparro plays M.J., Jerónimo Cantillo plays Dixon, Franco Masini plays Luka, Azul Guaita plays Jana, Lizeth Selene plays Andi, Alejandro Puente plays Sebas, Giovanna Grigio plays Emilia, and Estefanía Villarreal plays the principal Celina Ferrer.¹

The students come from across Latin America and beyond: Esteban from Puebla, Emilia from Brazil, Dixon from Colombia, MJ from California, and Luka returning to Mexico after a stay in Argentina.⁹

Relationship to the original series

The 2022 series is a remake and reboot of the original Argentine telenovela of 2002, on which the successful Mexican version of 2004 was also based.¹⁰ The Mexican Rebelde, produced by Pedro Damián, aired from 2004 to 2006 and spawned the pop group RBD, whose members were Dulce María, Anahí, Maite Perroni, Christopher Uckermann, Cristian Chávez, and Alfonso Herrera.¹¹

Continuity with the original. The reboot deliberately connects to its predecessor. Estefanía Villarreal returns as Celina Ferrer, an EWS alumna who is now the school's principal, and Karla Cossío reprises her role as Pilar Gandía, now Jana's mother. Luka Colucci is written as the cousin of Mía Colucci, RBD's lead singer in the original show. The school keeps a display case of RBD's gold records, props, and uniforms, and the Lodge forces the freshmen to wear the old uniforms and sing RBD's hit "Rebelde."⁹

Format differences. The first season is eight episodes, while the original ran 440 episodes over three seasons, a length even by telenovela standards. The shorter run moves through the music, the secret society, and the love triangles much faster than the source material.¹² Televisa's own annual report gives the original's total as 750 half-hour episodes aired on Channel 2 in Mexico through July 2006.¹³

Music. The cast covers RBD classics including "Rebelde," "Solo Quédate En Silencio," and "Sálvame," and also honors Latin music history with covers of Selena, José José, and Jesse y Joy.¹⁴ In the season 1 finale, the central band, previously called Sin Nombre ("Without Name"), renames itself Rebelde, the first song the group played together and the theme of the original show.⁹

Reception and cancellation

Season 1 holds a 100% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes from 6 critics, with an audience Popcornmeter of 96% from more than 500 ratings.⁷ On IMDb the series has a weighted rating of 6.4/10 from about 7,900 users.⁸ A W Magazine review praised the reboot's Latinx and queer representation as an expansion over the original.¹⁴

Netflix's official top 10 data shows season 1 debuting with 33,180,000 hours viewed in its first week at rank 2, falling 28% the next week; season 2 debuted with 15,310,000 hours at rank 7 and fell 43% in its second week. FlixPatrol data cited by What's on Netflix suggests the show performed mainly in Brazil and Mexico and had little impact outside Latin America.² In May 2023, actor Sergio Mayer Mori told Hola! Mexico that Netflix and the producers had told the cast there would be no third season, and that he did not know the reason for the decision.²

References

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026