# Someone Has To Die
**Someone Has To Die** (*Alguien tiene que morir*) is a three-episode Spanish-language thriller miniseries created, directed, and co-written by the Mexican filmmaker Manolo Caro for Netflix, released globally on October 16, 2020. A co-production between Spain and Mexico, it is set in 1950s Spain under the Franco dictatorship and follows the upheaval caused when a young man returns from Mexico accompanied by a male ballet dancer.[1](https://about.netflix.com/es/news/someone-has-to-die) • [2](https://www.heavenofhorror.com/reviews/someone-has-to-die-netflix-series/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | *Alguien tiene que morir*; the English title is a direct translation[2](https://www.heavenofhorror.com/reviews/someone-has-to-die-netflix-series/) |
| Format | Limited series, 3 episodes of about 50 minutes each[3](https://www.madrid.org/filmmadrid/descargas/Rodajes-Series-CM-2020.pdf) |
| Release | Netflix, worldwide, October 16, 2020[3](https://www.madrid.org/filmmadrid/descargas/Rodajes-Series-CM-2020.pdf) |
| Creator | Manolo Caro, creator of *La casa de las flores* (*The House of Flowers*); co-writers Fernando Pérez and Monika Revilla[1](https://about.netflix.com/es/news/someone-has-to-die) |
| Setting | Conservative 1950s Spain under Franco, centered on the wealthy Falcón family of Madrid[4](https://www.lavanguardia.com/series/netflix/20201019/484169046511/alguien-tiene-que-morir-netflix-critica.html?facet=amp) |
| Lead cast | Carmen Maura, Cecilia Suárez, Ernesto Alterio, Alejandro Speitzer, Ester Expósito, Carlos Cuevas, Isaac Hernández[1](https://about.netflix.com/es/news/someone-has-to-die) |
| Production | Noc Noc Cinema; Netflix (Spain/Mexico); filmed in Madrid and province, Toledo, and Segovia[1](https://about.netflix.com/es/news/someone-has-to-die) • [3](https://www.madrid.org/filmmadrid/descargas/Rodajes-Series-CM-2020.pdf) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and plot
The story begins when Gabino Falcón (Alejandro Speitzer), the youngest member of a wealthy Madrid family, is summoned home after a decade in Mexico to meet his arranged fiancée, Cayetana Aldama ([Ester Expósito](https://www.edgepedia.org/ester-exposito)). To the family's alarm he arrives with Lázaro (Isaac Hernández), a Mexican ballet dancer with whom he shares a close bond, and those around Gabino begin questioning the nature of their friendship.[1](https://about.netflix.com/es/news/someone-has-to-die) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/someone_has_to_die/s01)
The household into which he returns is oppressive. His grandmother Amparo (Carmen Maura) rules the home through fear; his father Gregorio (Ernesto Alterio) holds a position in the dictatorship's administration and, according to one review, is in charge of incarcerating and torturing homosexuals in his district; his mother Mina ([Cecilia Suárez](https://www.edgepedia.org/cecilia-suarez)) is so cowed that she has lost her natural Mexican accent.[4](https://www.lavanguardia.com/series/netflix/20201019/484169046511/alguien-tiene-que-morir-netflix-critica.html?facet=amp) • [6](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/reviews/english/2020/Nov/01/someone-has-to-die-netflix-reviewengaging-investments-middling-returns-21076.html) The suspicion that falls on Gabino and Lázaro lets the series address the racism and classism of a society that considered itself privileged, as well as the homophobia of an era in which homosexuality was a crime punishable by imprisonment or worse, and in which society often condemned the accused before the authorities acted.[4](https://www.lavanguardia.com/series/netflix/20201019/484169046511/alguien-tiene-que-morir-netflix-critica.html?facet=amp)
The three episodes are titled after the stages of a pigeon shoot: "Soltar la presa" (Release the Prey), "Tomar puntería" (Take Aim), and "Apretar el gatillo" (Pull the Trigger). In the first, Gabino discovers he is expected to marry Cayetana; in the second, Cayetana fuels rumors about Gabino and Lázaro's alleged relationship while Mina tries to help them escape; in the third, Amparo and Gregorio take extreme measures to quell the scandal, and long-hidden truths turn the Falcón family members against each other.[7](https://www.sensacine.com/noticias/series/noticia-18585034/) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/someone_has_to_die/s01)
## Production
The project grew out of Caro's relationship with Netflix. After the international success of *La casa de las flores*, which premiered in 2018, Netflix signed him to a multi-year overall deal in May 2019, making him the second showrunner from Spain or Latin America, after *Money Heist*'s Alex Pina, to sign such a pact; *Alguien tiene que morir* was the first project under the agreement.[8](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/netflix-strikes-overall-deal-house-130003076.html) • [9](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/netflix-spanish-original-someone-die-133002446.html)
**Format as an accident.** Caro said the three-episode shape was not planned. He had written the story as a feature film and saw no way to stretch it into eight or ten episodes; inspired by the three-part British miniseries *A Very English Scandal*, he realized he could fragment the screenplay into three movements.[7](https://www.sensacine.com/noticias/series/noticia-18585034/) He described the result as "the dark cousin of *La casa de las flores*", his first project in Spain and his first outside comedy.[7](https://www.sensacine.com/noticias/series/noticia-18585034/) • [1](https://about.netflix.com/es/news/someone-has-to-die)
The cast was about 90 percent Spanish, and Caro worked with a team of historians alongside his co-writers.[10](https://www.eluniversal.com.mx/espectaculos/television/manolo-caro-deja-las-flores-por-un-rato-para-ubicarse-en-la-espana-de-los-50/) • [11](https://www.formulatv.com/videos/carmen-maura-manolo-caro-alguien-tiene-que-morir-22518/) Filming took place in Madrid and its province, including [Alcobendas](https://www.edgepedia.org/alcobendas), El Escorial, Hoyo de Manzanares, and Galapagar, as well as Toledo and Segovia.[3](https://www.madrid.org/filmmadrid/descargas/Rodajes-Series-CM-2020.pdf)
## Reception
The series reached number one on Netflix's most-viewed list shortly after release.[7](https://www.sensacine.com/noticias/series/noticia-18585034/) Critical response was mixed. Reviewers consistently praised the cast and the series' themes: the Cinema Express review called it an "absorbingly disturbing watch" for its unflinching depiction of the persecution of the LGBTQ+ community and of violence against political prisoners, and FormulaTV found that the first two episodes convey affliction, fear, and oppression effectively.[6](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/reviews/english/2020/Nov/01/someone-has-to-die-netflix-reviewengaging-investments-middling-returns-21076.html) • [12](https://www.formulatv.com/noticias/critica-alguien-tiene-que-morir-104192/)
The most common criticism was the ending. Cinema Express wrote that the resolutions felt convenient and that abandoning a slow-burn narrative for a rushed approach weakened the finale; The Review Geek argued the series needed another couple of episodes to let the drama breathe; and Spanish outlets were cooler still, with HobbyConsolas judging it more a social-denunciation drama than a thriller and finding its historical reconstruction weak, and Los Interrogantes calling it a family drama poorly handled despite a cast of proven talent.[6](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/reviews/english/2020/Nov/01/someone-has-to-die-netflix-reviewengaging-investments-middling-returns-21076.html) • [13](https://www.thereviewgeek.com/someonehastodie-s1review/) • [14](https://www.hobbyconsolas.com/reviews/critica-alguien-tiene-morir-miniserie-netflix-736483) • [15](https://losinterrogantes.com/cine/criticas/serie-alguien-tiene-que-morir-netflix) La Vanguardia took a middle view, describing the series as flawed but not a disaster, with appreciable elements that make it a good companion for a weekend afternoon.[4](https://www.lavanguardia.com/series/netflix/20201019/484169046511/alguien-tiene-que-morir-netflix-critica.html?facet=amp)
## Place in Caro's career and Netflix's Spanish slate
The miniseries marked Caro's move from comedy into drama and thriller, and it formed part of Netflix's broader expansion of Spanish-language originals in the period that also included *Money Heist* and *Élite*. Caro later said the project mattered as part of a generation of creators "that makes the Spanish language travel around the world".[9](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/netflix-spanish-original-someone-die-133002446.html) • [16](https://time.com/6075019/the-house-of-flowers-telenovela/)
## References
1. [ALGUIEN TIENE QUE MORIR, About Netflix (official press release)](https://about.netflix.com/es/news/someone-has-to-die)
2. [Someone Has to Die – Netflix Review, Heaven of Horror](https://www.heavenofhorror.com/reviews/someone-has-to-die-netflix-series/)
3. [Series 2020, Film Madrid Commission (Community of Madrid)](https://www.madrid.org/filmmadrid/descargas/Rodajes-Series-CM-2020.pdf)
4. ['Alguien tiene que morir' de Netflix es fallida sin ser un desastre, La Vanguardia](https://www.lavanguardia.com/series/netflix/20201019/484169046511/alguien-tiene-que-morir-netflix-critica.html?facet=amp)
5. [Someone Has to Die: Limited Series, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/someone_has_to_die/s01)
6. [Someone Has to Die Review: Engaging investments, middling returns, Cinema Express](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/reviews/english/2020/Nov/01/someone-has-to-die-netflix-reviewengaging-investments-middling-returns-21076.html)
7. ['Alguien tiene que morir' (Netflix): El salto de película a miniserie, SensaCine](https://www.sensacine.com/noticias/series/noticia-18585034/)
8. [Netflix Strikes Overall Deal With 'The House Of Flowers' Creator Manolo Caro, Yahoo Entertainment/Deadline](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/netflix-strikes-overall-deal-house-130003076.html)
9. [How Netflix's New Spanish Original 'Someone Has to Die' Pushes Industry Envelopes, Yahoo Entertainment/Variety](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/netflix-spanish-original-someone-die-133002446.html)
10. [Manolo Caro ubica su nueva serie en la España de los 50, El Universal](https://www.eluniversal.com.mx/espectaculos/television/manolo-caro-deja-las-flores-por-un-rato-para-ubicarse-en-la-espana-de-los-50/)
11. [Carmen Maura y Manolo Caro sobre 'Alguien tiene que morir', FormulaTV](https://www.formulatv.com/videos/carmen-maura-manolo-caro-alguien-tiene-que-morir-22518/)
12. ['Alguien tiene que morir', una tragedia del pasado para reflexionar sobre el presente, FormulaTV](https://www.formulatv.com/noticias/critica-alguien-tiene-que-morir-104192/)
13. [Someone Has To Die – Full Season 1 Review, The Review Geek](https://www.thereviewgeek.com/someonehastodie-s1review/)
14. [Crítica de Alguien tiene que morir, HobbyConsolas](https://www.hobbyconsolas.com/reviews/critica-alguien-tiene-morir-miniserie-netflix-736483)
15. [Alguien tiene que morir de Netflix: Crítica de la serie, Los Interrogantes](https://losinterrogantes.com/cine/criticas/serie-alguien-tiene-que-morir-netflix)
16. [The House of Flowers Is Proof That Telenovelas Are Changing, TIME](https://time.com/6075019/the-house-of-flowers-telenovela/)
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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*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license