Insiders (Spanish TV series)

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Insiders
GenreReality television
Created byJose Velasco
Directed byMamen Fernández
Presented byNajwa Nimri
ComposerAlfonso G. Aguilar
Country of originSpain
Original languageSpanish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes7
Production
Executive producersJose Velasco
Sara Fernández-Velasco
Arantza Sánchez
Marco A. Castillo
ProducersHortensia López
Yaiza Sánchez
CinematographyJavier Ruiz
Running time43-60 minutes
Production companyiZen
Release
Original networkNetflix
Original releaseOctober 21, 2021 (2021-10-21)

Insiders is a Spanish reality television series hosted by Najwa Nimri. It premiered on Netflix on October 21, 2021.[1]

Premise[]

Thirteen contestants are gathered in a 1,600 square-meter studio under the guise of the final stage of the casting process for a reality show. What they do not know is that, in fact, they are already in the show: cameras are secretly filming them during all their stay in the area. The objective of this is to catch contestants off guard and make them confront the differences in their behavior between the times they know they are being filmed and the times they think they are not. The winner will earn a €100,000 prize.[2]

Season 1 (2021)[]

Contestants[]

Name[3] Age Hometown Occupation Entered Exited Result
Nicole 27 Canary Islands Social media personality Episode 1 Episode 7 Winner
Laura 25 Madrid Graduate in Journalism Episode 1 Episode 7 Runner-Up
Olaya 21 Barcelona Luxury store salesperson Episode 1 Episode 7 Third Place[note 1]
Iván Molina 28 Valencia Professional poker player Episode 1 Episode 7
Peter 24 Madrid Engineer and DJ Episode 1 Episode 7 8th Eliminated
Estefanía 29 Valencia Student Episode 1 Episode 6 7th Eliminated
Fama 26 Blanes, Girona Graduate in Physical Education Episode 1 Episode 6 6th Eliminated
Hugo 33 Madrid Cook Episode 1 Episode 5 5th Eliminated
Bárbara (Bibi) 25 Madrid Make-up artist Episode 1 Episode 4 4th Eliminated / Fan Favourite
Cynthia 24 Barcelona Graduate in Tourism Episode 2 Episode 3 3rd Eliminated
Query 35 Chipiona, Cádiz Hospital attendant and town councilman Episode 1 Episode 3 2nd Eliminated
Iván Míguez 33 Ibiza Restaurant manager Episode 1 Episode 2 1st Eliminated
Tatiana 28 Málaga Comedian Episode 1 Episode 2 Fake contestant[note 2]

Episodes[]

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleOriginal release date
11"Welcome to Insiders"
(Bienvenidos a Insiders)		October 21, 2021 (2021-10-21)
After host Najwa Nimri explains some basic aspects of the show to the viewers, the contestants arrive and meet the crew, including deciding committee members Marina and Rubén (who are actually two actors playing producers). They are allowed to keep their phones for fifteen more minutes to say goodbye to their friends and families before the final casting begins (unbeknownst to them, they are already in the show proper). Mamen, the show's director, tells the contestants that their phone interactions have resulted in a leak to the press, and the show could be shut down if the culprit doesn't come forward.
22"If You Tell Anyone, You're Out"
(Si lo cuentas, estás fuera)		October 21, 2021 (2021-10-21)
Tatiana comes forward as the person inadvertently responsible for filming the video that resulted in the alleged leak, and is removed from the show. As viewers learn through a flashforward that Tatiana is another actress, and never was an actual contestant, new player Cynthia arrives as Tatiana's replacement. The contestants' morals are put to the test by the committee with a challenge involving a gun loaded with blank bullets (although the players aren't told of that last detail) and four rabbits locked in glass capsules, players then being asked to shoot one of the rabbits. Hugo is up first, and refuses on principle to harm any of the animals, being then warned by Rubén that he will be cut from the casting if he discusses the test with the rest of contestants. The other players are put to the same test, and several of them do pull the trigger. Iván Míguez is eliminated.
33"No Such Thing as Perfection"
(La perfección no existe)		October 21, 2021 (2021-10-21)
44"Streaming Life"
(La vida en streaming)		October 21, 2021 (2021-10-21)
55"Double Feature"
(Sesión continua)		October 21, 2021 (2021-10-21)
Hugo is voted out of the competition by the other players, and learns that he can pick the next eliminated contestant out of the players who did not receive any votes; but he has to be careful, because that person will also get to choose the next eliminated player.
66"Taking You Down with Me"
(Te arrastro conmigo)		October 21, 2021 (2021-10-21)
After staying in the house for some more time to make his decision, Hugo, having promised Nicole that he would think of her, eliminates the one contestant he is sure will not remove Nicole from the game: Fama, who later chooses to eliminate Estefanía. Instead of picking the next elimination herself, Estefanía has the chance to pick which of the remaining players will choose the last eliminated contestant before the finale. She chooses Iván Molina, despite him having asked her not to. Peter goes into the white room and announces he has a plan.
77"The Last Shall Be First"
(Los últimos serán los primeros)		October 21, 2021 (2021-10-21)
Peter's strategy is to sacrifice himself so that Laura can have a chance of winning, asking Iván to eliminate him, claiming that he had a deal to split the prize with Laura and promising Iván to give him his half of the prize should Laura win. Iván reluctantly eliminates Peter. The eliminated contestants then learn that the alleged software that was assessing their qualities to determine who was closest to being the "perfect contestant" was a ruse; instead, they are the ones who will vote to determine the winner. After the vote, Nicole is announced as the winner. The season ends with Najwa announcing that Insiders is not over yet: the crew has a new plan for the next season, and Laura will be involved in it.

Results and elimination[]

Casting Phase
12 Days 		Streaming Phase
7 Days
Episode 1 Episode 2 Episode 3 Episode 4 Episode 5 Episode 6 Episode 7
Final
Nicole Exempt Pass Pass Pass Peter Exempt Not
Eligible 		Not
Eligible 		Finalist Winner
(Episode 7)
Laura Exempt Pass Pass Pass Hugo Not
Eligible 		Not
Eligible 		Not
Eligible 		Finalist Runner-up
(Episode 7)
Olaya Exempt Pass Pass Pass Nicole Not
Eligible 		Not
Eligible 		Not
Eligible 		Finalist Third Place
(Episode 7)
Iván Molina Exempt Pass Pass Pass Hugo Not
Eligible 		Not
Eligible 		Peter Finalist Third Place
(Episode 7)
Peter Exempt Pass Pass Pass Hugo Exempt Not
Eligible 		Not
Eligible 		Eliminated
(Episode 7) 		Laura
Estefanía Exempt Pass Pass Pass Nicole Not
Eligible 		Not
Eligible 		Eliminated
(Episode 6) 		Iván Molina
Fama Exempt Pass Pass Pass Hugo Not
Eligible 		Estefanía Eliminated
(Episode 6) 		Laura
Hugo Exempt Pass Pass Pass Peter Fama Eliminated
(Episode 5) 		Nicole
Bárbara Exempt Pass Pass Failed Eliminated
(Episode 4) 		Nicole
Cynthia Not in
House 		Exempt Failed Eliminated
(Episode 3) 		Nicole
Query Exempt Pass Failed Eliminated
(Episode 3) 		Nicole
Iván Míguez Exempt Failed Eliminated
(Episode 2) 		Olaya
Tatiana Exempt Left
(Episode 2)
Eliminated Tatiana
Fake contestant 		Iván Míguez
Committee's choice
to eliminate 		Query
Committee's choice
to eliminate 		Bárbara
Committee's choice
to eliminate 		Hugo
4 of 8 votes
to eliminate 		Fama
Hugo's choice
to eliminate 		Estefanía
Fama's choice
to eliminate 		Peter
Iván Molina's choice
to eliminate 		Winner Nicole
4 of 8 votes
to win
Finalist Laura
2 of 8 votes
to win
Cynthia
Committee's choice
to eliminate 		Iván Molina
1 of 8 votes
to win
Olaya
1 of 8 votes
to win

Season 2 (TBA)[]

During a press conference for Netflix's Spanish originals at the 2021 Vitoria FesTVal, Álvaro Díaz, Netflix Spain's director of non-fiction content, confirmed that a second season had already been filmed.[4]

Critical reception[]

Insiders was met with positive to mixed reviews in Spain, being hailed as a return to the essence of reality television. FormulaTV's Sergio Navarro compared the show to American television series Unreal, noting that it showed the crew plotting where the show was heading. "And it is thrilling to witness those private meetings, unbeknownst to the contestants, where you can see how they weave the twists and turns and how they come together to create an exciting program."[5]

Bluper's Juan M. Fernández also picked up on the comparison to Unreal, while praising the decision to keep the runtime at an hour or less per episode: "It was about time that shows with episodes of no more than 50 minutes were done in this country. The show wins with it. More so with such outstanding music. Insiders cuts to the chase, gets right down to business."[6]

Espinof's Mikel Zorrilla was less impressed, noting that the format becomes overcomplicated in its attempt to keep contestants and viewers alike on their toes: "Insiders wants to outsmart everyone, at once trying to retrieve something unique and to constantly surprise. The mixture is striking at first, but there is a point where everything turns out kind of random, leaving the show at a strange middle ground between the search for something real and the completely manufactured."[7]

For similar reasons, Decider's Joel Keller advised readers to skip the show, concluding: "There’s a good reality competition somewhere within the convoluted format of Insiders. But the pains the producers take to keep their secret from the contestants makes it all about the conceit and not the contestants themselves."[8]

References[]

  1. ^ Paredes, Mónica (16 September 2021). "'Insiders', el 'reality' presentado por Najwa Nimri, ya tiene fecha de estreno en Netflix". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  2. ^ Rodera, Alejandro (16 September 2021). "Netflix estrena 'Insiders', su primer reality español, el 21 de octubre". FormulaTV (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  3. ^ "Netflix presenta a los concursantes de 'Insiders', su primer reality en España". Bluper (in Spanish). 5 October 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  4. ^ Fernández, Juan M. (3 September 2021). "Netflix impacta e ilusiona con los primeros avances de 'Insiders', 'Amor con fianza' y 'Yo soy Georgina'". Bluper (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  5. ^ Navarro, Sergio (18 October 2021). "Crítica de 'Insiders': Una fantasía de metarreality para los amantes de la televisión". FormulaTV (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  6. ^ Fernández, Juan M. (20 October 2021). "'Insiders', el adictivo e inquietante reality de Netflix que necesitaba el amante del género en España". Bluper (in Spanish). El Español. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  7. ^ Zorrilla, Mikel (21 October 2021). "'Insiders' quiere ser una revolución, pero el primer reality español de Netflix se complica demasiado buscando la sorpresa". Espinof (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  8. ^ Keller, Joel (21 October 2021). "Stream It Or Skip It: 'Insiders' On Netflix, A Convoluted Spanish 'Big Brother' Copycat Where The Housemates Don't Think They're Being Filmed". Decider. Retrieved 23 October 2021.

Notes[]

  1. ^ Iván and Olaya's eliminations in the finale were announced at the same time without disclosing the full results; therefore, they are considered to be tied for third.
  2. ^ Tatiana was later revealed to be an actress who was there to fool the contestants.
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