While English-speaking streaming services are treating users this year to shows like Severance, Black Mirror, and Stranger Things’ upcoming final season, Spanish-speaking directors are also fighting for screen time with compelling sci-fi and tech-focused productions.

Here are some of the best movies and TV shows coming out this year from Spanish-speaking countries such as Argentina, Colombia and Spain.

El Eternauta

IMDB rating: 7.7

Filmaffinity rating: 7.1

The Argentine series El Eternauta, now streaming on Netflix and starring Ricardo Darín, marks the long-awaited screen adaptation of a popular 1957 comic.

Created by Héctor Germán Oesterheld and illustrated by Francisco Solano López, the original tale follows a deadly alien invasion in Buenos Aires triggered by a lethal snowfall. The story behind the comic is as tragic as the show, as Oesterheld disappeared during Argentina’s military dictatorship.

Though El Eternauta began as a sci-fi survival epic akin to The War of the Worlds, it later evolved into a political allegory. In a 1969 reimagining illustrated by Alberto Breccia, Oesterheld used the alien invaders as metaphors for imperialist powers and American intervention in Latin America.

One Hundred Years of Solitude

IMDB rating: 8.3

Filmaffinity rating: 7.6

Following critical acclaim after the release of its first season in December this year, Netflix will stream the second part of the Colombian-made and true homage to the country TV series One Hundred Years of Solitude. The show, based on Nobel of Literature-winning author Gabriel García Márquez’s book of the same name, can be considered a drama from the science fiction genre in its broadest interpretation of the term.

The show features Márquez’s characteristic “Magical Realism.” This mind-boggling literary and artistic style blends realistic settings and characters with fantastic or magical elements.

The TV series adapts the novel for the screen for the first time due to the difficulties of translating Magical Realism to the screen.

Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End

IMDB rating: 6.1.

Filmaffinity rating: 5.5.

For fans of The Last of Us or zombie films like World War Z and 28 Days Later, Apocalypse Z offers a lesser-known Spanish alternative. Released in 2024 and now available on Amazon Prime Video, the film holds its own in terms of script and direction.

With fast-running zombies that heighten the suspense, Apocalypse Z manages to deliver a gripping experience despite its lower profile.

Punto Nemo

IMDB rating: 5.2

Filmaffinity rating: 4.2

Also on Amazon, the Spanish TV show Punto Nemo (Point Nemo being the point in the ocean that is the farthest from any land), where an island with Russian soldiers tests the abilities of Spanish scientists and marines that find themselves stranded there after a wild storm.

While including a cast of renowned actors, featuring, for example, Najwa Nimri and Alba Flores from Money Heist, the series has not received widespread critical or public acclaim. However, the series has topped the Spanish Prime Video charts since its release in late March.