'Valeria': While many fawn over Maxi Iglesias, fans of the books are annoyed with Netflix’s loose adaptation
Netflix dropped the first season of ‘Valeria’ on Friday, May 8, and fans cannot stop talking about it. Based on the popular ‘Valeria’ saga by Elísabet Benavent, this Spanish show based in Madrid follows the titular character’s life as she struggles to write while suffering from impostor syndrome, trying to not remain broke, and working her way through a marriage that’s as far away from ideal as it can be.
Valeria (Diana Gómez) and her friends Lola (Silma López), Carmen (Paula Malia), and Nerea (Teresa Riott) glide through life and ever-present turbulence with confidence, but each of them hides insecurities and fears and anxieties. And their double lives then form the basis of the show, as it paints a vivid picture of millennial existential woes and the toll an expensive city takes on the clueless and the young.
Among the many things in the show that is extraordinarily full of attractive faces, fans couldn’t help but fawn over Maxi Iglesias, who plays the role of Victor, a devilishly handsome architect who seems to be one of the few characters who knows what to do with their lives. A fan wrote, “I thought that I had already left Maxi Iglesias in my adolescent phase but here we are #ValeriaNetflix.”
Another wrote, “I am totally and completely in love with Maxi Iglesias. And it does not matter the stage of my life in which you read this #ValeriaNetflix.”
Fans of the books, however, seemed to be missing some of the more important details from the show. A fan wrote in that regard, “Nerea, Lesbian? Carmen, size 38? Lola without swearing? Valeria works? Adri doesn't cheat on her?” adding, “It may be [a] loose adaptation, but if you have read the books it leaves a lot to be desired.”
Another fan of the books asked on a similar note, “Where are Lola's red lips? Where is Lola's agenda? Where is Adrian being an a****** and cheating? Where is Victor being a seducer? Where is Dani? Where is Alex? Where is the incredible book we read? #ValeriaNetflix.”
She added, “It's a f****** nonsense, a tease. I really don't understand how Elísabet has allowed this. It is one thing for things to change and quite another for it to not resemble the books at all. #ValeriaNetflix.”
Another fan wrote, “I did not like #ValeriaNetflix. Neither its vision of love, nor that of sex, nor how they portray relationships or how to deal with crises, much less do I think that Maxi Iglesias has been interested in Valeria from the beginning. Next.”
The criticisms could be summed up with this tweet: "#ValeriaNetflix What they have done to the book saga has no name, the casting is nonsense, you have changed key aspects of the characters, that series is not Valeria, it is something else."
But not everyone was okay with the intense critique as well. A fan of the books and the show said, “To all those who today we will begin to watch #ValeriaNetflix, remember that it is a free interpretation of the books and not a literal adaptation. Let's enjoy it without criticizing it. And I say this as a true ‘Valeria’ fan. It's going too far!”
‘Valeria’ is available for viewing on Netflix.
