The Marked Heart
The Marked Heart (Spanish: Pálpito) is a Colombian drama and thriller television series about organ trafficking, created by the Venezuelan writer and screenwriter Leonardo Padrón and distributed worldwide by Netflix. It premiered on April 20, 2022, and ran for two seasons totaling 24 episodes.1 • 2
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | Pálpito; English title The Marked Heart1 |
| Origin | Colombian series, in Spanish, produced by CMO Producciones and filmed in Bogotá1 |
| Creator | Leonardo Padrón, previously known for Amar a muerte1 |
| Release | Season 1 premiered April 20, 2022 (April 21 in some countries); season 2 in April 20232 • 3 |
| Format | 2 seasons, 24 episodes (14 in season 1, 10 in season 2), about 45 minutes each2 • 1 |
| Main cast | Michel Brown (Simón), Ana Lucía Domínguez (Camila), Sebastián Martínez (Zacarías), Margarita Muñoz (Valeria)4 |
| Ratings | TV-MA on Netflix; IMDb 6.6; Rotten Tomatoes audience score 63% from fewer than 50 ratings2 • 3 |
Spoilers
Premise
The series follows Simón Duque, a widower bent on revenge. Organ traffickers in Zacarías's employ kidnap Valeria, the protagonist's spouse; Zacarías is an influential strategist seeking a heart that matches that of Camila, his spouse, who has cardiomyopathy.5 Netflix's own description summarizes the setup: a man determined to exact revenge on the organ trafficking organization that murdered his wife becomes involved with the woman who received her heart.6
The central irony is that neither Simón nor Camila knows the connection between them when they meet. Camila's successful transplant leaves her with a new heart and nightmares carrying memories of Valeria, and the two fall in love before the truth about the surgery and Simón's intentions toward the traffickers comes to light.5 • 1 The story is framed as a romance played out against the illegal organ trade, with tension rising as the shadows of the case surface inside an impossible relationship.1
Production
Pálpito was created by Leonardo Padrón, a Venezuelan writer and screenwriter whose earlier credits include Amar a muerte. It was produced by the Colombian company CMO Producciones and shot in Bogotá, with Netflix handling worldwide distribution.1 The series belongs to the tradition of Latin American telenovela-style drama; FormulaTV describes it as a drama and thriller under a romance narrative, and SensaCine classifies it as a telenovela.1 • 4
Days after the premiere, Netflix announced a second season. The company reported that the series had reached number 1 in its Top 10 of non-English language TV titles in more than 68 countries, and that Padrón had recently signed an exclusive three-year creative deal with Netflix for series and movies.7
Cast
The series uses a large ensemble cast of actors known from other successful Latin American productions, including Pasión de Gavilanes.1 The principal roles are:4 • 8
- Michel Brown as Simón Duque, the widowed protagonist4
- Ana Lucía Domínguez as Camila, the heart recipient4
- Sebastián Martínez as Zacarías Cienfuegos, Camila's husband1
- Margarita Muñoz as Valeria, Simón's wife4
The supporting cast includes Moisés Arizmendi, Valeria Emiliani, Julián Cerati, Juan Fernando Sánchez, Mauricio Cujar, Jacqueline Arenal, Laura Londoño, and Julián Arango.2
Release and reception
Season 1 arrived on Netflix on April 20, 2022 in most countries and April 21 in others, including Colombia; season 2 followed in April 2023.2 • 3 Netflix's semiannual engagement report lists both Pálpito: Temporada 1 and Pálpito: Temporada 2 among the titles viewers watched between January and June 2023.9
Critical reception was mixed, but the series drew a large international audience, placing among the most-watched Netflix titles in its first hours and days in countries including the United States, Spain, Mexico, and Colombia.1 Audience scores reflect the split: IMDb users rate it 6.6, while the Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter shows 63% from fewer than 50 ratings.2 • 3 User reviews on SensaCine are sharply negative in places, with one 2023 review calling it among the worst series the reviewer had seen, criticizing the acting and the romanticizing of criminals.4
The series carries mature-content classifications across markets: TV-MA in the United States and Mexico, 15 in the United Kingdom, MA 15+ in Australia, M18 in Singapore, VM14 in Italy, and 18+ in Turkey.2 IMDb's parents guide notes that romantic relationships drive the plot with high intensity, including explicit sexual content and nudity, and that the inciting incident is the cold-blooded murder of Valeria for her heart.10
In a June 2023 interview, Michel Brown discussed the possibility of a third season, saying it had the conditions to continue.1
References
- Pálpito. Serie TV, FormulaTV
- Pálpito (2022), Flixboss
- The Marked Heart, Rotten Tomatoes
- Pálpito. Serie 2022, SensaCine
- The Marked Heart summary and ending explained, The Envoy Web
- The Marked Heart, Netflix
- 'The Marked Heart' Will Continue to Steal Hearts With a New Season, About Netflix
- The Marked Heart (TV Series 2022–2023), IMDb
- Netflix engagement report, January–June 2023 (Poder360)
- The Marked Heart Parents guide, IMDb
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 › Colombian telenovelas and 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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