Argentina’s screen industry is no longer what it once was. Prime-time television has ceded ground to reality shows and singing competitions, and that highly coveted slot – once a showcase for brands and a launchpad for actors – has shifted into the private sector, transforming into a global catalogue. In that transition, Netflix has established itself as the leading producer of Argentine films and series, with a slate of releases for 2026 that not only confirms the trend but deepens it to the point of making it structural.
The phenomenon entails a profound shift in creative logic. “The main issue when working on a streaming series is that you lose control of the character first, and then of the story,” a well-known actor told Noticias magazine, requesting anonymity to avoid contractual conflicts. “Most are pre-set series, with extensive prior work in production, scriptwriting, locations and costumes. If you sign on, you enter that whirlwind giving your best, but without the daily connection you had in the days of television series, where the day-to-day [management] could suggest changes or strengthen a trait that was working.” He adds: “That’s why many series only ran for one season – they didn’t perform, and there was no time to turn things around as you went.” A neat summary of an industry that has traded spontaneity for precision.
Blockbuster
Within Netflix’s domestic creative core – national productions are branded under the slogan “Hecho en Argentina” or “Made in Argentina” – executives acknowledge that the year’s major bet is Felicidades, directed by Álex de la Iglesia and starring Adrián Suar alongside Griselda Siciliani. An adaptation of a play by Mariano Pensotti, the feature turns an intimate celebration into a narrative device in which black humour and chaos expose the fractures of a couple.
At the same time, Lo dejamos acá, starring Ricardo Darín and Diego Peretti, will be another of its flagship national titles. The film explores the ethical drift of a psychoanalyst who crosses boundaries with his patients, until a blocked writer throws both his method and his morality into crisis.
The contractual framework of global production companies operates under different parameters. When an actor accepts a role, they sign a confidentiality agreement. Scripts are watermarked with each actor’s name, so any leak can be traced to its source.
“Often you give interviews and can’t talk about what’s coming because the penalty is not only financial – they simply don’t call you again,” says the actor/source. Yet there are clear upsides, not least the end of daily battles with ratings: “The benefit of this model is that you sign for one or two seasons and there’s no risk of the show being pulled after episode 10 or 15, as used to happen. Back then, you could plan your year around a telenovela and be out of work a month later.”
Unlike other platforms such as Prime Video and Disney+, Netflix brings together a roster of actors especially favoured by Argentine audiences. In that same vein, Risa y la cabina del viento, directed by Juan Cabral and starring Diego Peretti alongside Joaquín Furriel and singer Cazzu, fits into the type of stories it is developing for its leading figures.
Infamous
Documentaries also occupy a central place in the platform’s strategy. Yiya Murano: Muerte a la hora del té, directed by Alejandro Hartmann, reconstructs one of the most disturbing criminal cases in Argentina’s history. It’s the story of a woman who poisoned her friends to conceal financial scams in the late 1970s and unfolds as an unsettling portrait of power, manipulation and media construction. Featuring testimony from journalists, acquaintances and her own son, the documentary revisits a dual image – both pop icon and dark figure.
Historical fiction also finds its place in Gordon, the thriller starring Rodrigo de la Serna and directed by Pablo Trapero alongside Pablo Fendrik. Based on the novel by Marcelo Larraquy, the series revisits the figure of Aníbal Gordon, a criminal who moved from robbery into involvement in the most violent years of the 1970s. With a cast including Matías Recalt and Camila Peralta, the production sits within a tradition of storytelling that explores recent history with a complex, uncompromising lens.
Continuing series also help maintain audience engagement. Envidiosa premieres its fourth season with Griselda Siciliani, while En el barro moves towards a third instalment, consolidating the creation prison-set universe. But as the system offers no second chances – many series have ended after a single season for failing to meet expectations. That was the case with El refugio atómico, a Spanish series starring Joaquín Furriel, which was cancelled after its first season. Audience outcry on social media proved futile. If Netflix’s creative directors give a show the thumbs down, the decision is final.
Lockdown and embargo
Economically, most workers in the audiovisual sector sign contracts for a fixed fee. Only a handful – major stars, no more than two or three actors – can negotiate profit percentages, as in cinema. This provides security if a project underperforms, but when it becomes a hit, it can often leave actors a sense of missed opportunity.
Another actress, known for starring in iconic Telefe series of the mid-2000s, notes: “Streaming platforms offer reach and visibility, but you don’t feel it as much on the street. People know you’re in a certain series, but with television it was far more noticeable and effusive. TV had a much wider impact. If you appeared in Los exitosos Pells or Dulce amor, the next day you couldn’t walk down the street. If you were a regular, you’d practically go into hiding for as long as the series lasted.”
Netflix’s 2026 slate is rounded out with titles such as Carísima, a series created by Caro Pardíaco, who plays a nightlife entrepreneur and streaming queen who falls from grace; Crimen Desorganizado, which brings Celeste Cid back to the small screen alongside Marco Antonio Caponi, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez and Soledad Silveyra; Mis muertos tristes, based on a novel by Mariana Enríquez, starring Mercedes Morán and Dolores Fonzi; an animated adaptation of Mafalda by Juan José Campanella; and documentaries on Argentine footballer Emiliano ‘Dibu’ Martínez and legendary musician Fito Páez, expanding a catalogue that spans genres and formats.
Another headline-grabbing release – one set to generate plenty of media discussion – will be the series on Moria Casán, premiering on August 14, to mark her 80th birthday. In it, the diva opens the doors onto a fictionalised version of her life, acting as the puppeteer of her own story. Sofía Gala Castiglione, Griselda Siciliani and Cecilia Roth portray her at different stages of her life.
Argentine fiction has found a new home, but at what cost? What it has gained on the global scale, it has lost in everyday presence. Today, Netflix is not only producing content – it has redefined what it means to tell stories in Argentina.
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