By not depending on the schedules of a programming grid, platform series have the freedom for their episodes to last as long as they need to last. This generally translates into much longer episodes, but others have opted for just the opposite.

In recent years, several short-format series have been released. Titles such as State of the Union, Special, and #Luimelia successfully broke the mold of traditional duration, but following this trend, there was another original production that went unnoticed and has not received the recognition it deserves.

In 2021, Netflix released The Time it Takes (El tiempo que te doy), the story of a woman trying to overcome the mourning over a great love breakup, a series that was a revelation, a real find, and up to today the best Spanish series that the platform has made.

Actress Nadia de Santiago (Las chicas del cable) makes her directorial debut with this romantic drama created alongside Pablo Santidrián and Inés Pintor, a miniseries of 10 short episodes, a creative choice that has not been arbitrary . Each one lasts exactly 11 minutes and in that original, but very thoughtful, structure lies much of the charm of the series.

The perfect structure

1 minute in the present and 10 minutes in the past is the title of the first episode, in which the viewer witnesses the moment of the breakup between Lina (de Santiago) and Nico (Álvaro Cervantes), and then moves on to the beginning of their relationship. The series follows the same scheme in each of the following episodes, where Lina is seen trying to live a minute more in the present each time, and less in memories of the past.

To turn the page, Lina decides to move houses, look for a new job, and try new experiences. Each day, she aims to think one minute less about him, dedicating that time to finding herself.

Thanks to careful visual language, the naturalness of the dialogues, and the undeniable chemistry between the lead pair, El tiempo que te doy manages to convey to the viewer the size of the void that Lina feels, while trying to fill it by creating new routines, other experiences, spending more time with friends, or seeking escape routes.

Little by little, the series reveals the key moments that defined the relationship, both the good and the bad. Small details, like a song or a dish, take on meaning when living a shared experience with another person.

El tiempo que te doy is an original, emotive proposal, with very good production quality and great chemistry, which restores faith in the genre and only asks for two hours of your time. Rarely will you feel two hours better spent.

*This article has been automatically translated using artificial intelligence