Rebelde is a teen Mexican drama based on a Mexican telenovela of the same name, which is now streaming on Netflix. Directed by Santiago Limon, the first season of Rebelde consists of 8 episodes, each of 40 minutes, approximately. Produced by Woo Films Propagate, Rebelde stars Azul Guaita, Giovanna Grigio, Franco Masini, Sergio Mayer Mori, Andrea Chaparro, Jerenimo Cantillo, Lizeth Selene, Alejandro Puente and others in various lead and supporting characters. The series was released in multiple languages including Spanish, English and Hindi.
-Rebelde review does not contain any spoilers-
The synopsis of the series on Netflix reads, “As Elite Way School starts a new term, a familiar enemy — a secret society called the Lodge — threatens to crash the musical hopes of the first-years.” The series follows the lives of students who are enrolled in the Elite Way School which is famous all over the world for its Musical Excellence Program, known as MEP by everyone. Most of the students hail from extremely rich families or have parents who used to be enrolled in the same college. However, we also get to see that some students got into this elite institution through merit scholarships.
The series Rebelde appears to be quite visually attractive and fast-paced at the first glance. The series relies on quite a few stereotypes to put the points across. We have the mean girl with a tragic life story, we have the son of a politician, the famous pop singer, the underdog who has a vicious plan for revenge and many more. There are quite a few musical numbers that feature in the first season but most of them do not strike a chord. It almost feels like that the series is obsessed with jumping from one incident to another without putting much thought into the “why”.
The production of Rebelde seems to be quite poor at times. The dialogues and lines of the characters are not all well developed. The acting is not all great and honestly, the script does not give much control to the actors to experiment with their roles. The plot is not all unique and seems to be a culmination of some incidents that feature in almost all the teen drama series across the years. The actions of the characters become obvious after a point and the whole experience becomes kind of pointless, to begin with.
The characters are not easy to sympathize with most of the time. Jana Cohen (Azul Guaita Bracamontes) and Luka’s (Franco Maini) dynamic was one of the most interesting relationships on the screen but the directors did not handle it quite well. The love triangle between Jana, Sebastián Langarica (Alejandro Puente) and Estebán Torres (Sergio Mayer Mori ) ends quite abruptly and it almost feels like it was a plot device to ultimately reveal the existence of The Lodge which is a secret student group formed with the intention of making the lives of students they deem unfit, a living hell.
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Summing up , Rebelde
Rebelde is not a novel production. There are elements that are quite common in most of the teen drama series of these times. We have flashy clothes, elite cars, mean students and teachers who want to maintain the “sanctity” of the institution. However, if you are looking for a series that will make you think, Rebelde is not for you. Regardless, if you are looking for a fun, quick watch, you might give it a shot.
Rebelde is now streaming on Netflix.
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Honestly I stopped reading at stereo types. It seems like you have never watched the original. So for us fans of the original, we’d like to see some of the original carried onto this one with a new age twist. And that’s what this is. It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea.
I’m a huge fan of the original and this new version lacks a lot creativity. As I started watching it it gave me Elite vibes. The continuation to a great novela should’ve brought new plot twists but instead it’s left me very disappointed. Let’s not even talk about the butchering of Sálvame! The only reason they’ll be getting a lot of view ratings this week is because of the world wide fan base.
It’s an okay series but honestly it’s not special at all. It’s any typical drama show with teens.
I have to agree with this article. It’s quite disappointing. The script, dialogues and acting aren’t good. I cringe when I watch it. But it is true that it’s good for a quick watch on the background.