The Big Picture

Prime Video’s Zorro series is a must-watch, featuring vibrant visuals, excellent performances, and a catchy theme song. The series delivers romance through love triangles and epic action, appealing to all audiences. Zorro showcases strong female characters like Nah-Lin and Lolita, who defy gender norms and prove their strength and determination.

Prime Video has quietly debuted one of its best series since Mozart in the Jungle premiered a decade ago. Yes, I’m entirely willing to put Zorro ahead of the likes of The Man in the High Castle and Fleabag because it’s just that good. And you heard that right: Prime Video dropped an excellently written and delightfully pulpy Zorro series, and this is probably the first time you’re hearing about it unless you’ve gamed the algorithm to serve up foreign-language series whenever they drop. This is a shame, because Zorro is a universally loved masked vigilante who has lurked in the shadows of novels, films, and television series for the better part of a century.

Hailing from Spain’s Secuoya Studio and created by Carlos Portela, Zorro is a sweeping action-adventure series that strikes right at the heart of what makes its lead such a compelling character. To an extent, the series is essentially a tale of three Zorros—the first being the late El Zorro (Cristo Fernández), the chosen successor Diego de la Vega (Miguel Bernardeau), and the badass Nah-Lin (Dalia Xiuhcoatl) who feels cheated out of her right to take up the mantel. While Fernández very much appears in a cameo-style role, he is the audience’s first introduction to the cape-clad hero, and he cuts quite the figure.

Bernardeau, on the other hand, is front and center as the titular character, and he excels at capturing Diego’s initial reluctance to take up the mantle of the man who—allegedly—killed his father. Diego is, at his very core, a sacrificial and goodhearted man, sometimes to a fault, and that’s what makes him the perfect hero to the people. He ultimately wants what’s best for the people of California, even if that means braving mortal wounds in every episode and missing out on what might just be his true love, because his sense of noble purpose is that strong. Dare I say it, Bernardeau’s Diego de la Vega is even more charming and likable than past interpretations of the role.

Zorro (2024) Determined to find out who killed his father, he will discover family secrets that will change his destiny forever. Release Date January 19, 2024 Creator Carlos Portela Cast Gonzalo Ramírez , Renata Notni , Cristo Fernández , Miguel Bernardeau Seasons 1

Is There Romance in ‘Zorro’?
For millennials who grew up watching—and fantasizing—about Antonio Banderas’ swashbuckling take on the masked hero, the question of romance is high on the list when judging any new adaptation of the tale. After all, Zorro’s simmering chemistry with the feisty Elena Montero (Catherine Zeta-Jones) delivers one of the most iconic moments for the character. Rest assured that Prime Video’s Zorro does feature romance, though it’s not as straightforward in its execution.

Anyone who grew up watching telenovelas or has recently binged series like Velvet will know that Spanish cinema loves a good love triangle, and that is exactly what Zorro delivers with the fraught relationship between Diego, Lolita (Renata Notni), and her fiancé, Captain Monasterio (Emiliano Zurita). While the romantic element may not appeal to bodice-ripper fans the way that series like The Artful Dodger has, Zorro features its fair share of stolen kisses, agonizing pining, lingering touches, death-defying rescues, and moments when an erstwhile couple falls onto each other and stares into each other’s eyes just a little too long. There are so many moments in this series that will have romance fans blushing and giggling and hitting play on the next episode to see where things are headed next.

Related ‘Zorro’ Reboot Series Lands Mediawan Rights as International Distributor The series is currently filming in Spain.

What Makes ‘Zorro’ So Damn Good?

Once upon a time, television series and movies were brightly lit, colorful feasts for the eyes — partially because the advent of technicolor cinema in 1935 had everyone excited that movies were no longer limited to black-and-white. But over the last decade or two, cinema has started to lose its colorful vibrance right alongside the world, which is also losing color at a rapid pace. Zorro, however, is beautifully alive with its brilliant shades of aqua and coral, as well as visually delicious costuming and set decoration.

By design of the character, much of Zorro’s crime-fighting and sleuthing takes place under the cloak of night, which might pose a challenge for most of the US-based productions on the scene today, but certainly not Zorro. Every single scene is perfectly lit by the show’s gaffers, allowing audiences to fully see nuanced expressions, sleight of hands, and epic stunt sequences taking place. It’s impressive too, considering Zorro and most of his friends and foes are similarly dressed in all-black.

But it’s not just Zorro’s costuming, lighting, or scenic design that makes it one of the best series on streaming right now—it’s the writing and the cast. While each episode feels contained to the “crime of the week” style storytelling, there are plotlines that thread through the overarching conflict taking place in Zorro’s life. The twists and turns are often unpredictable, though students of Spanish cinema might recognize familiar tropes (like revenge-filled ploys to steal inheritances), and even then Zorro takes them on in fresh, inventive ways.

Zorro’s stunts are another area where the series exceeds expectations. No matter how many times Zorro clashes blades with a foe or stares down the barrel of a gun, it never gets old. The stunt sequences are always well-choreographed, engaging, and extremely fun to watch. From horseback chases to bloodied fisticuffs, the series features a little bit of everything that one would come to expect in a swashbuckling tale such as this.

How Does ‘Zorro’ Serve Its Female Characters?

If Marvel’s Echo whet your appetite for kickass Indigenous women wiping the floors with the silly men in their lives, Zorro has that and more. Nah-Lin’s claim to the mask of Zorro may be highly contested throughout the series and a source of personal strife for her, but she shines—even when she’s actively working against Diego. The women of Zorro deserve their own litany of praise because Nah-Lin is far from the only badass woman among the cast of characters. Lolita may find herself in “damsel in distress” scenarios frequently, but she almost always works her way out of situations on her own, much to the chagrin of the men in her life. She’s a true gunslinger who trots around the ranches of California in her gaucho pants, going toe-to-toe with men, and somehow she manages not to run off her fiance with her antics or her painfully obvious pining for Diego. Lolita may exist within a time period that keeps her beholden to her father and future husband, but she never feels like a character trapped beneath the heel of a man. She gives as good as she takes, and she’s always raring to prove just how accomplished and determined she is.

The only character that truly warrants better character development in a potential second season is Mei (Chacha Huang), the young Chinese woman that Diego rescues from sexual slavery and offers a place as a housekeeper at his ranch. She is one of the keepers of his secret identity and quick-as-a-whip, but she’s mostly there to serve as a lookout and tend to Diego’s numerous wounds. Her friendship with Diego’s servant and confidant Bernardo (Paco Tous) is endearing, but largely relegated to an afterthought in most episodes. Perhaps she’ll eventually move into a sidekick-type position, as she seems primed to take on ne’er-do-wells with the same vehemence Diego does.

Should You Watch ‘Zorro’?
Zorro is an excellent reminder of why American audiences should break with their hard-held traditions and try out foreign-language series. There is no English-language series to compare it to because it exists within an entirely different culture of storytelling—one that isn’t afraid of being a little goofy, pulpy, and extremely fun, while delivering dramatic plotlines. Don’t be put off by dubs or subtitles, because there is a world of storytelling out there that will make you appreciate cinema in a whole new light. Therein lies the beauty of storytelling, the sharing and experiencing tales that are outside our own lived experiences that make us all better, more open people in the end.

Whether Zorro secures a second season or not, it is well worth your time. Just be prepared to have the epic theme song stuck in your head after you’re done binging the series—because it is an absolute banger. Besides, it’s been nearly twenty years since Zorro was last on our screens, and it would be a shame if we let such a brilliant adaptation of the tale go to waste. With how Season 1 wraps up, there is a whole new world of adventure on the horizon for Diego de la Vega.

Zorro (2024) Prime Video’s new Zorro series is a delightfully pulpy interpretation of the classic character starring Miguel Bernardeau as Diego de la Vega. ProsThe series boasts vibrant visuals, set design, and cinematography. Miguel Bernardeau and Dalia Xiuhcoatl offer standout performances within the cast. The show?s theme song is an earworm that won?t leave your head after you hear it for the first time.

Season 1 of Zorro is streaming now on Prime Video.

Watch on Prime Video