Breathless Review: Netflix Medical Drama is Entertaining But Forgettable

Spanish medical drama Breathless follows Biel, a resident doctor at a public hospital who gets embroiled in a general strike against pay cuts. Studying his whole life to be a doctor, he and the other residents decide to join the strike resulting in devastating consequences. In the midst of rising tensions, however, romance finds a way to touch all of their lives. The series has 8 episodes, each with a runtime of around 50 minutes.

Breathless Series Review

Grey’s Anatomy or ER lovers might have something more to look forward to in Netflix’s newest Spanish medical drama Breathless, a show bringing forth the lives of the resident doctors of a public hospital and their busy day-to-day lives as they try their hardest to save everyone who comes through the door. There’s drama and intrigue as some patients die, and doctors go through the upheavals of curing the sick while handling the difficulties of their personal lives.

The Spanish drama, however, feels like it’s one we have seen many times before and might not intrigue fans of the genre, especially those who have watched all 20 (!!) seasons of Grey’s Anatomy and/or 15 seasons of ER. Sure, it comes with its own drama and moments that will leave viewers stumped, but the series doesn’t pack as much punch as you’d expect and, in fact, it never really makes us feel the breathlessness that it promises in the title. In episode 2, there is a shocking twist but, again, it’s one that many viewers might be able to figure out from the first episode.

I feel like for series like these, it’s important to root for the characters first and the situations second. Netflix Breathless tries its hardest to create a set of rounded primary characters in the context of the hospital and you do feel connected to all of them for the most part as you learn all about their personal and professional lives. Almost all the characters are given some issue that they need to push through and solve and for the most part, viewers will find themselves engrossed. The characters form the heart of this show and are the reason why everything else that happens feels very tantalising.

In the series, we first see that there is about to be a strike by the resident doctors and then go back 3 months to catch up on why it happened. The different hectic situations that the understaffed hospital faces contextualise why the strike happens well as every day we see the doctors go to their wit’s end and then back, over and over again. It brings to light the stress that the doctors are under as they don’t stop to think about themselves for even a minute. The pressure is showcased well and makes you understand why the doctors will do what they will.

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A big part of the Breathless series is Najwa Nimri’s Patricia Segura who is diagnosed with breast cancer out of the blue. Her character and a shocking incident in episode 2 become the major plot points in the series and Nimri plays Segura like an annoying menace. You love to hate her but can’t stop taking pity on her. The storyline has many layers that I won’t go into but I have to say that I did find myself getting tired of watching her being awful for no reason. The series does give her character some dynamic later on, which was a welcome change.

In that respect, I found the constant barrage of storylines to also be a bit overwhelming after a bit. We jump from one extreme situation to another and everything is a serious issue that needs to be properly examined, so much so that things get a bit tiring. I think condensing these storylines into 8 episodes will play on viewers’ minds a bit. Although it can be an exhilarating experience, which it is, you might find yourself a little out of it after a while. Some storylines simply don’t get the time that they need while others are shown too much, taking away from the seriousness of the situations. There are also some tired tropes here that the other medical dramas have used exhaustively – maybe giving doctors some other way to relieve their stress, for example, might shake things up a bit for viewers.

The storyline surrounding the horrid working conditions of the doctors is an important showcase throughout the series and the government versus healthcare professionals makes for a great watch. I wouldn’t mind getting to see that part of the series a bit more. All that aside though, all the actors are fantastic in the series and sell their roles, regardless of how the storyline is handled. Manu Ríos and Blanca Suárez share some great chemistry while Nawja Nimri is entertaining as Patricia.

Final Thoughts

In the end, though, I found Breathless Netflix to not be too memorable. Sure, there is sugar, spice and everything nice but it lacks the punch and meanders around a bit. The 8 episodes are not enough to focus on all the different topics that it wants to showcase and although it makes for a fast-paced narrative, it misses out on truly making a point.

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