Your Guide to ‘Elite’, the Show Similar to Money Heist and Riverdale

It’s been almost a year since the third season of Elite came out on Netflix and shook us to our quarantined cores. If you haven’t jumped on the bandwagon yet, then you’re in luck! We still have a few months to go before the next season rolls out so here’s your chance to learn more about the soapy trashy teen drama that swept the world.

This guide is relatively spoiler-free, so don’t worry about learning too much about what happens.

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What is Elite about?

Elite is a Spanish-language drama about friendship, love, murder, and being young. The title pretty much encapsulates what it’s all about: a group of rich and privileged teenagers in the “inner circle” living their not-so-glamorous melodramatic lives.

We are first introduced to Samuel, a teenager from humble beginnings who transfers to Las Encinas, the school where only pretty people can apparently enroll in. He is joined by the social climber Christian and the conservative Nadia who are also not as well off as the other students. Obviously, the popular kids are not too thrilled with the new people in town.

And if there’s anything the past decade of teenage dramas have taught us, rich jealous kids always end up in murder.

While the murder mystery and its consequences drive the narrative forward throughout the series, it’s really a show about teenagers who all have baggage of their own and confront. In between are lots of steamy hot scenes that will make you go “that’s not PG”, and lots of moments that go there.

You can read more about the Elite plot in our initial review of the show.

Where and how to watch Elite

Elite is available for streaming on Netflix worldwide. While there are plenty language options, we recommend watching the series in Spanish audio to feel the whole vibe.

At the time of writing, it only consists of three seasons with eight episodes each. Most episodes clock in the 40-minute range. If you’re really committed, you can finish the whole thing in three days sitting through one season every day! And there’s more to look out for because they actually renewed Elite for two additional seasons.

While we still don’t know when season 4 of Elite is coming out because of production delays caused by COVID-19, you better start now just in case it drops anytime soon. Trust us when we say you won’t be able to escape spoilers in the internet once Netflix releases it.

Is Elite a good show?

While our definition of “good” may be different from yours, Elite is definitely must-see TV. It’s one of the shows that borders on trash television, but manages to overcome all the odds with its tight storytelling and irresistible drama. You can ironically love it, but most people wouldn’t judge you if you’re unironically a fan as well!

The tropes we see in teen drama are all here, but Elite manages to turn them all up to eleven and incorporates some twists to make things interesting. As I look back at my time watching it, the murder mystery takes a backseat to the character development I watched unfold throughout the three seasons.

I honestly wouldn’t say the show is relatable, because how many of us can actually say we attended parties every week when we were in high school? But we sympathize a lot with the characters who are dealt crappy hands, being born rich notwithstanding. Seeing how certain relationships change from hatred to brotherhood and rivalry to friendship is where the magic lies in the show.

By the end of the third season, you’ll find yourself rooting for every single on them even if you despised them at the start. Every episode is action-picked thanks to the seasons only having eight episodes apiece. That means no filler and we get to the resolution faster! And if you know me, I love it when shows make use of quick pacing to their advantage.

All in all, Elite is just a visual and audial treat from start to finish. I would like to particularly give a shoutout to the wardrobe/costume department in the show because all of these characters serve looks.

And the music? Ugh, muy bien! Consisting of modern bops in Spanish and English, make sure you have your Shazam ready when watching Elite. I honestly believe that it has the best TV show soundtrack that I’ve encountered in a long while.

If you’re still not yet convinced, you can read more about why you should watch Elite here.

Shows similar to Elite

Elite is a teen mystery making it similar to shows like Riverdale and Pretty Little Liars, but its more dramatic aspects is reminiscent of Money Heist. It might not make a lot of sense if you’ve watched all three of them, but hear us out.

 Elite and Riverdale similarities 

In our initial review linked above, we tell you how Elite is basically a sexy and smart Riverdale. Of course, we’re talking about the first season when it wasn’t falling off the rails yet.

Both shows are high school dramas that dare to take the insanity levels to unexpected heights. It’s tough to say which of the two is more relatable, but I would definitely say that the things that happen in Elite and the characters’ reactions are more grounded in reality. I mean there are no musical episodes and gang wars in Elite.

Fans of Riverdale will also love the cast and characters in this show. Just like Archie and the gang, the reason we keep watching is because we’ve become so attached to the teenagers whose stupid decisions both entertain and frustrate us. Before we know it, we’ve actually grown fond of them.

 Elite and Pretty Little Liars similarities 

If you liked making up theories about who A was, the mystery aspect of Elite is extremely addicting that will have you guessing every time. But unlike Pretty Little Liars, Elite doesn’t draw out the mysteries longer than it should.

You read that right: the show moves on from one mystery to the next pretty quickly making it a perfect binge for more impatient viewers.

If I’m being honest, the mystery in PLL is a lot more captivating because the show drops many clues to keep you guessing. In Elite, the writers give you no idea until the big reveal unless you’re extremely observant and actively looking for the killer.

And if you’re a fan of the chic fashion and big glamorous parties in Pretty Little Liars, there’s no shortage of that here!

 Elite and Money Heist similarities 

Despite their huge differences in plot, Elite and Money Heist have a lot of similarities when it comes to the dramatic aspects. We are referring to the moments between the “action” — for Elite, it’s the mystery, and for Money Heist, it’s the actual robbery.

In times when the curtains are pulled back and the characters are away from the action, we see how everyone is just trying to do what they can to become happy.

The personal battles both sets of characters face have a lot of parallels. Perhaps the biggest one is how a doomed romance can mess up your life, and how far you are willing to sacrifice yourself for the people you consider family.

While many fans of Money Heist are addicted to the mastermind plan behind the heist, they will undoubtedly have a similar level of affection for the characters in Elite along with all the craziness that the show has to offer.

And bonus: three of the cast members in Money Heist are also part of the main cast in Elite: Miguel Herrán, María Pedraza, and Jaime Lorente. Despite their casting similarities though, Elite and Money Heist do not have the same creators.

Elite cast and characters

This show features a stellar cast with the most talented and beautiful actors, rivaling our favorites from The CW. There’s just no way to avoid discussing the actors in this show because you’ll end up falling hard for at least one or two of them. Maybe all of them!

Our watch guide for Elite wouldn’t be complete without discussing its cast.

Trust us: you’re going to find yourself stalking these people’s Instagram profiles by the end of your binge. We even linked them here to get you started.

Every one of them has their own unique charm that will make you root for them no matter how terrible their life decisions may be. Head on down to find your new celebrity crush!

 Elite Season 1 Cast 

From left to right, we have Samuel Domínguez played by Itzan Escamilla. While he may seem like a gentle and boring protagonist at first, he learns to grow a backbone as certain events force him to be. Christian Expósito (played by Miguel Herrán) is an outgoing student who knows what to do to get what he wants. Nadia Shanaa (played by Mina El Hammani) is an overachieving student raised in a traditional Muslim family but learns to break out of her shell in Las Encinas.

And next up we have the breakout star of the show with Ester Expósito playing the role of the wealthy and cold-hearted Carla Caleruega. Her boyfriend is lost puppy and hopeless romantic Polo Villada (played by Álvaro Rico).

Another star who found worlwide fame because of Elite is Arón Piper who plays troubled and loyal friend Ander Muñoz. His love interest is the brother of Nadia, Omar Shanaa (played by Omar Ayuso). His carefree demeanor and sexuality places him in a sticky situation with his father.

Guzman Osuna (played by Miguel Bernardeau) is the alpha male of the school who is not a fan of the new kids until Nadia worms her way into his heart.

The next two cast members may be familiar to fans of another Spanish-language show: Money Heist. Jaime Lorente plays the brother of Samuel, Nano Domínguez. Fresh from prison, he finds himself in precarious situations all the time. Marina Osuna (played by María Pedraza) is one of the most interesting characters of the show: a seemingly nice girl who hides a lot of secrets. She is similar to Laura Palmer in Twin Peaks and Alison DiLaurentis in Pretty Little Liars.

To push the star power of the cast to a whole new level, Mexican superstar Danna Paola plays the polarizing sassy character of Lu Hendrich.

 Elite Season 2 Cast 

In season 2, we see the departure of a few cast members from the first season. But fret not, the new main characters introduced in this season are just as iconic.

On the left is Cayetana Pando (played by Georgina Amorós), another polarizing figure in the series. While she is the queen of questionable choices, we love her because she puts the DRAMA in team drama. Valerio Rojas (played by Jorge López) is the stepbrother of Lu and is a bit of a wildcard. There’s only one thing he loves more than parties: drugs.

And last is the no-nonsense girl Rebeca Ávalos or Rebe for short. She is played by Claudia Salas and is honestly the an unremarkable presence in the show. However, that’s more the writers’ fault than anything else.

 Elite Season 3 Cast 

The third season places the spotlight on the graduating students of the bunch, so we only get two new characters this time around. They are probably the most boring and unlikable additions to the show, but thankfully, both guys are written off by the last episode.

Leïti Sène plays Malick, who was simply introduced to cause chaos. So much chaos. I can’t say much without spoiling what happens, but watch out for this guy. Yeray (played by Sergio Momo) is the more likable of the two — a rich self-starter who falls for Carla.

The third season places the spotlight on the graduating students of the bunch, so we only get two new characters this time around. They are probably the most boring and unlikable additions to the show, but thankfully, both guys are written off by the last episode of the season.

Elite Season 4 Cast and New Characters

The new cast members who will be joining Elite Season 4 are Manu Rios, Pol Granch, Martina Cariddi, Carla Díaz, and Diego Martín. This is the biggest shake-up to the series so far as Season 3 concludes the arcs of many of the OG characters. With their departure and the new arrivals, we expect Season 4 to be a soft reset for the teen soap much like in Skins.

Not much is known about the new characters at the moment but we expect them to be just as wild as the previous ones. Most noticeably, the character of Diego Martín is the first time any adult was treated as a member of the main cast. We speculate that he might be running into a scandalous affair with one of the new students.

Singer and model Manu Rios is probably the biggest star out of the new bunch with over five million Instagram followers. He was discovered in a popular Spanish talent show called Tú sí que vales that launched him into fame.

What is the best season of Elite?

While all seasons are great, there’s no doubt in my mind that the third season of Elite is the best one yet. You can tell how they were still trying to figure out who the characters truly were in the first season which led to some ho-hum storylines.

The mystery was the main driver of the series at the beginning, but once the writers became more confident about who the characters were, they started to create more compelling stories that made every storyline matter in the following season.

Then everything builds up to the tumultuous third season which puts an exclamation point to many long-standing storylines. All the drama from the previous seasons come crashing, and stakes have never been higher knowing that graduation is just around the corner. By all means, it wasn’t perfect and featured some questionable storylines that involved the new characters introduced into the show, but not once does the show bore us nor jump the shark. There is no shortage of drama to be found in this season; it features the most heartbreaking storyline that features a beloved character and couple.

In the middle of watching it, you realize how much the characters has actually become one big family despite their rough patches. It’s difficult having to say goodbye to a lot of the characters we fell in love with in the span of only 24 episodes, but each and every one of them got a beautiful farewell.

Having the bar set higher and higher every season, we’re actually a bit nervous how Season 4 of Elite will pan out. But even if the greatness of the show stops in the third season, it is a worthwhile enjoyable ride that you have to get on.

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Have more questions about Elite? Leave a comment down below and I’ll get back to you with what I know.

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