Violent Crime Show Just Blew Up Netflix's Top 10 (and You Can Watch It in One Day)

Summary

• On March 15, a new Spanish crime thriller was released on Netflix.
• The series is incredibly violent and tells the story of the drug underground in Barcelona.
• Despite some mixed reviews, the show received high ratings.

If you don't know what new movies to watch on Netflix and you've already binge-watched the new The Gentlemen, we suggest you check out this intriguing new project from Spain. This is no less a gripping crime thriller than Guy Ritchie 's series, only much more violent and lacking the characteristic British dark humor.

Let's find out what the show is all about, considering it's been in Netflix's Top 10 for two weeks now.

What Is This Gruesome Spanish Thriller About?

We're talking about the Spanish crime thriller series Iron Reign (Mano de Hierro in Spanish), which was released just a few days ago, on March 15. The executive producer, writer, and sole director is Spanish filmmaker Lluís Quílez, who has worked with Netflix before: In 2021, the streaming service released his action thriller Below Zero, starring Javier Gutiérrez. According to Netflix, the film was watched by 47 million unique users. That could bode well for the new series, as critics loved Below Zero at the time, giving it an impressive 88% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

But back to the show in question. Iron Reign follows Joaquín Manchado (Eduard Fernández), an imposing Spanish businessman who owns the main terminal of the Port of Barcelona. In reality, however, he is the kingpin of Spanish drug trafficking, and the port is nothing more than a front for supplying and shipping drugs throughout Europe. Manchado's underground empire has existed for decades, inspiring both fear and respect from his subordinates and enemies alike, but one day everything goes awry when a large shipment of cocaine goes missing. This leads to the start of a war between the Joaquín Manchado clan and other criminal gangs. Chino Darín and Jaime Lorente starred alongside Fernández.

The Series Quickly Made Its Way into Netflix’s Top 10

Just one day after its release, Iron Reign became one of the most-watched shows on Netflix worldwide, ranking sixth in the Global Top 25 among all English-language and non-English-language shows on March 16, according to What's on Netflix. Additionally, Iron Reign entered the top 10 most-watched non-English shows for the week of March 11-17, according to the streaming service itself, also ranking sixth with a total of 2,400,000 views in its first week of release.

The series continues to hold a solid position this week. According to FlixPatrol, it holds an impressive third place in the top 10 on Netflix as of this writing, March 20, 2024. Here's a list of the top ten most popular shows:

1. The Gentlemen

2. Bandidos

3. Iron Reign

4. Avatar: The Last Airbender

5. Monk

6. Queen of Tears

7. Das Signal

8. Doctor Slump

9. Young Royals

10. The Outreau Case: A French Nightmare

It is also worth noting that while the series has high ratings in other countries, it is especially well received in Spanish-speaking countries. Iron Reign remains at the top of the charts in Spain and Argentina.

Is the Series Worth the Attention, Though?

With all eight episodes of the series having been released only five days ago, Iron Reign has not yet managed to get a substantial amount of reviews from critics and viewers, so no one has come to a consensus yet. However, those who have managed to watch the series have left mixed impressions.

On the one hand, it has been noted that the series is a very formulaic crime thriller, with some noting that the scriptwriters do not seem to have done any research on how the mafia, police, and sicarios work. In addition, the series does not offer any characters or events in which the viewer wants to invest.

At the same time, what Iron Reign does have is a large budget, which sets it apart from other Spanish crime series. The result is a series with great actors and very exciting action scenes on the level of Money Heist.