The New Years: Spanish miniseries charts a decade of realistic romance

The New Years (Los Años Nuevos), a Spanish miniseries streaming on Mubi, follows the evolving relationship of Óscar and Ana across 10 episodes, each set on New Year’s Eve. A review in The Guardian describes the series as "close to perfect."

When we meet Óscar (Francesco Carril) on the last day of 2015 he is preoccupied with medical school and recovering from a breakup; Ana (Iria del Río) is free‑spirited and planning to move abroad. The review highlights a stop‑start trajectory — hookups delayed by an on‑off ex, a year before they reconnect, then a relationship that deepens gradually — and compares the series to Normal People and One Day.

The series is noted for small, naturalistic details: nail clippings on the sofa, eating grapes at midnight, domestic quirks such as him peeing sitting down, and a depiction of sex described as explicit but resembling "actual sex" with awkward manoeuvring and laughter. By episode four the couple are living together, their parents mostly observe and let time teach lessons, and a honeymoon night out in Berlin ends disastrously at Berghain.

The review says the show spans a decade and earns its payoffs by showing how characters change and accommodate each other. With eight episodes now released and two to go, the reviewer says they do not know how Óscar and Ana will reunite but trusts any happy ending will be hard‑won.

Key Topics

Culture, Madrid, Berlin, Berghain, Mubi, Francesco Carril