En el barro

I was sceptical when I read the reviews and saw rating . However I was quickly engaged and binge watched in a day 🤣 Some parts were a bit grim ( violence ) The characters played their parts well and portrayed the reality of some things that women have to endure to get heard .

Hoping for a season 2.

I've seen pretty much every women's prison TV series there is and they usually have similarities.

In the Mud has some things in common with other dramas of this genre, but unlike most of the others, the violence, death and brutality never seems to let up.

With a the exception of a few of the inmates, there is no one likable or relatable in the whole prison. That includes the brutal administration and medical staff.

Pretty much everyone is either violent, cruel, drugged out or mentally unstable. That makes it difficult to care what happens to them and to get engaged in the story.

It's pretty obvious that the show is written by a man because most of the women are either being sexually exploited or portrayed as grotesque, obese, or physically damaged.

It seems like a fight or a riot breaks out every ten minutes. At some point you realize that there's no real plot and no payoff.

If you want to see something decent in this genre, these are the top three.

Orange is the New Black Wentworth Bad Girls.

If you like cheap, badly acted telenovella with added soft core porn then go ahead! Otherwise skip it! No characters to connect to. Everyone is pretty gross. Simple writing. Cliche. Tying to be Orange is the new black but a thousand times methier and disgusting. Good for a nap and nothing else! Monotone drivel.

If you've ever wondered what it would look like if someone binge-watched Orange is the New Black, took absolutely none of the wit, heart, or storytelling, and instead just scribbled down "women's prison + stereotypes + predictable drama," then congratulations-you've just described En el Barro.

This show is the equivalent of reheating leftover instant noodles three times and then calling it gourmet cuisine. It looks like TV, it sounds like TV, but god damn, it has the depth of a puddle.

Every Scene = Cliché Bingo You know how sometimes you're watching a show and you can guess what's coming next, but you still hope they'll surprise you? Yeah, no surprises here. You could literally pause the show, write down what you think the next three scenes will be, and you'll be right every time.

The innocent new girl gets thrown into prison - immediately bullied by the mean, tattooed veteran inmate.

The corrupt guard who abuses power - shocker, he has a secret deal with inmates.

The lesbian prison romance subplot - of course one of them betrays the other.

The flashback sob story - every inmate has the most painfully obvious "tragic backstory" that's written like a soap opera script.

And don't even get me started on the "drug smuggling through laundry" storyline. Bro, that's not even clever anymore. That's like Prison 101, straight out of the Cliché Starter Pack.

Story? Or recycled garbage?

The main plot is supposed to be about Clara, this naïve rich girl who gets tossed into prison for "a crime she didn't commit" (how original, right?). Within two episodes, she's already doing the classic prison arc: 1. Crying in her cell.

2. Making friends with the wise old inmate who "knows the system." 3. Getting beaten by the queen bee inmate.

4. Suddenly becoming tougher than all of them by episode 6 because, of course, that's how character development works.

Meanwhile, the side characters feel like they were spat out of a "Netflix Originals Generator": The loudmouth Latina who's always making jokes but has a heart of gold.

The cold, calculating matriarch who secretly just wants her kids back.

The guard who acts "nice" but is obviously crooked.

I swear, half the script must've been written by someone playing Mad Libs with old prison drama tropes.

The worst part?

There's no tension. Zero. Nothing matters because you already know what's going to happen. When a character picks up a shiv, you know exactly who's getting stabbed. When two characters start whispering in the corner, you know it's going to turn into the "betrayal" subplot by the next episode. Even the so-called "twist" at the end-the big reveal that the prison warden is behind all the drug deals-was telegraphed so badly, a toddler could've guessed it.

Final Verdict: En el Barro isn't just bad-it's offensively lazy. It's the kind of show that makes you wonder how it even got funded. Like, did someone pitch this with a straight face? "What if we do Orange is the New Black, but strip away all the humor, originality, and decent acting, and instead fill it with soap opera clichés?" And some exec actually said: "Genius. Here's your budget."

If you want a prison drama, rewatch OITNB or Wentworth. If you want to waste your time, sure, throw this sludge on. But don't say I didn't warn you.

2 stars.

The world of TV series is ruthless and being able to carve out a small space between the large Canadian or the United States of Amaia and Europe, it is really difficult or even impossible, they had this idea based on sex by creating an Orange is the new black style TV series but which is not even a nail of the series just mentioned, the problems are really many there is the protagonist who passes from being a normal girl to a very good prostitute who is still in practice. Either it is bipolar or it was written by someone who did not have clear ideas much, and in any case apart from Mary and his girlfriend the other characters are completely empty characters are empty wraps, acting is really scarce of all the characters, the dialogues are even worse, it is a ridiculous series that I do not recommend and that we will forget soon, and I hope that I will also forget soon.