Elísabet Benavent se ha convertido en garantía de éxito tanto en las librerías como para Netflix. La plataforma comenzó su idilio con la escritora con Valeria, serie que concluyó el año pasado tras cuatro temporadas, y prosiguió después con la película Fuimos canciones y la miniserieUn cuento perfecto. Ahora nos llega un cuarto título, Toda la verdad de mis mentiras, ya disponible para ver.
The eponymous novel has been adapted into a five-episode miniseries (written by Marina Pérez and Montaña Marchena, both screenwriters of Valeria) and introduces us to a group of friends about to embark on a trip where laughter is not lacking, but there are also a few clashes born of love and heartbreak.
Los protagonistas de esta historia son Coco y Marín (interpretados por Daniel Ibáñez e Itziar Manero), dos mejores amigos que se conocen desde que, hace años, empezaron a compartir piso. Ambos tienen mucha química, pero desde el principio decidieron que, para que la convivencia funcionase, no podían enrollarse. Entonces, él empezó a salir con Aroa (Lucía de la Fuente), la mejor amiga de Coco, lo que complica aún más las cosas.
Following in Valeria’s Wake
If you have watched Valeria (or any of Benavent’s previous adaptations) without rolling your eyes, you will probably also enjoy The Whole Truth About My Lies, a series that shares both flaws and virtues with it. If that one, instead, seemed cheesy, superficial or artificial (or downright ridiculous), there’s no need to approach this.
Itiziar Manero is Coco in the Spanish Netflix miniseries, The Whole Truth About My Lies.
The Whole Truth About My Lies gathers its protagonists on the bachelorette trip of their friend Clara, in which, besides the triangle formed by Coco, Marin and Aroa, Coco’s ex Gus (Ricardo Gómez) also goes along to add more life to the matter, and Loren (Brays Efe) who, as a gay friend, is relegated to comic relief. The journey will be peppered with moments supposedly fun and aspirational, forming that caravan trip that everyone would like to take with their friends.
From almost the beginning, the series doesn’t hide that Coco and Marin are destined to be a couple; in fact, their nicknames Sardine and Anchovy, which, according to the series, is gastronomically a “marriage,” (indeed, it’s surprising that no one has checked whether, in reality, a marriage is a pickled anchovy and an anchovy, and that the sardine would be the mistress). Thus, the question is not so much how they end up but how they get there and the obstacles (some a bit forced) along the way.
As with Valeria, perhaps what sticks out most is how unreal the series is (perhaps it doesn’t intend to be), with characters whose lives, jobs and homes seem more suited to a novel than to real life. The cast works hard to lend some truth to the story, but clunky dialogue makes it hard. So, as mentioned, it’s not a proposal for everyone, but it is for devoted fans of the Valencian writer and her universe.
Other Series That Might Be For You
If you’re one of those who stays outside that Benavent universe, but you’re in the mood for something similar, with romantic stories, more or less light, we have other options for you. The first is Sterling Point, a Prime Video series that has become one of the most talked-about this summer. It follows the story of a New York girl who, together with her twin brother, inherits an island in Canada that they didn’t know about when their grandfather dies. It will be there that they make new friends and delve into their family’s secrets.
Ella Rubin y Daniel Quinn-Toyle en una imagen de la serie Sterling Point.
Returning to Netflix, we can recommend another Spanish teen series that was much better, but had little luck when it premiered. All the Times We Fell in Love followed Irene and Julio’s love story over the years, but was supported by a cast of secondary characters who shone just as much, or more (there we discover Carlos González and Blanca Martínez). It was a tender and funny series that unfortunately only ran for one season and ended on a cliffhanger (though that shouldn’t deter you from watching it).
And, finally, our third alternative to The Whole Truth About My Lies is to pull from teen classics: also in Netflix’s catalog you can find Everwood, that iconic series that in Spain aired on Televisión Española and that told the story of a neurosurgeon from New York and his children moving to a small town in Colorado after the death of his wife. It was a production that strove to depict teenagers in a realistic and mature way, and that explored family ties and friendships with humanity, while handling grief with sensitivity.
