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True crime has been a popular genre for a long time and Netflix offers a wide selection of documentaries and TV shows. One of its latest releases is also based on a true story.

The new Spanish crime drama A Widow's Game was just released on Netflix, and it immediately became a hit, per Tudum. The crime drama is based on a true story, and follows a homicide investigation where the victim's widow doesn't seem as innocent as she claimed. The film premiered on Netflix on May 30, and immediately rose to the charts globally.

A Widow's Game premiered on Netflix on May 30, and it had only two days to make an impact before the streaming service stopped the count. For the week between May 26 and June 1, the Spanish thriller debuted at the top of the charts in the Non-English Top 10 with an astonishing 15.4 million views, and 31.4 million hours viewed.

The...

Netflix’s 2025 crime drama A Widow’s Game dives deep into one of Spain’s most shocking real-life murder cases—known as the Patraix case. The film is directed by Carlos Sedes, known for his work on crime thrillers like Now and Then and Fariña. The movie is more than just another crime thriller. It’s a sharp, procedural story about control, deceit, and how love can become a weapon. The film doesn’t glamorize the crime—it unpacks how people believe what they want to believe, and how that can destroy lives.

In this article, we explore what the film is about, the real events behind it, the cast and characters, where it was shot, and how Netflix reimagines this true story for the screen.

What is A Widow’s Game About?

The movie follows the story of María Jesús Moreno Cantó—nicknamed “Maje”—a woman who orchestrated the murder of her husband,...

A Widow’s Game focuses on the murder investigation carried out by the captain of the homicide group of the National Police, Eva Torres, whose character is loosely based on the real-life Esther Maldonado. She was the one who was heading the unit during the investigation of the muder of Antonio Navarro, introduced as Arturo Ferrer Puig in the film. In the end, Eva finally figured out that it was the widow, Maje, who conspired with her obsessed lover, Salva, to murder her husband. Apart from the central plot, the film has heavily fictionalized the characters, especially that of Eva, for creative and dramatic purposes. However, a tragic incident in which Eva lost one of her colleagues, Berni, did take place in real life, suggesting that Berni’s character is inspired by an officer named Blas Gamez Ortiz, who met his tragic demise in a similar way. So without any further ado,...

Antonio Navarro married the love of his life on September 3rd, 2016. It was a magical day, when the two partners swore to be with each other through thick and thin. We saw how Antonio (name changed to Arturo Ferrer Puig in the film) had imagined his entire life with Maje in A Widow’s Game. They moved from their hometown Novelda, Alicante to Valencia, where they had bought a cozy apartment on 14 Calamocha Street, Patraix neighborhood. Antonio always believed that it was the start of a beautiful journey for them. But things changed down the line, or maybe they were always the same way; only Antonio was too trusting to see the reality. In this article, we will try to theorize why Antonio trusted Maje even after he got to know that she had been unfaithful to him, and if he was as controlling and authoritative as Maje made him out to be.