Netflix’s Top Ten list has become a go-to for quality recommendations. Series with Latino participation dominated the list throughout 2020. Among Netflix’s Top 10 charts from Dec. 4, 2020, to Dec. 10, 2020 were: The Queen’s Gambit, Selena: The Series, Mr. Iglesias, and The Umbrella Academy.

Whether it was on-camera or behind the scenes, or shows with Latinos in lead roles consistently ranked high on the Netflix Top 10 lists and have remained there for weeks at a time.

The Umbrella Academy and The Queen’s Gambit are two prominent shows that lived on the Top 10 list for weeks and are Netflix’s biggest superhero series.

To put things in perspective, Nielsen reported that 3.011 billion minutes of The Umbrella Academy were watched collectively in one week, and this is with only two seasons of the superhero streaming series. David Castaneda is one of seven diverse stars on the show and season 3’s cast will expand and feature Genesis Rodriguez (Big Hero 6). 

Since its release in October 2020, The Queen’s Gambit had, according to Netflix, an impressive 62 million households watch within the first 28 days of its premiere, making it the most-watched scripted limited series on the streamer. Lead actress Anya Taylor-Joy, who comes from a large Argentinian family, unlike her character Beth Harmon in The Queen’s Gambit, personally claimed the No. 8 spot on IMDb’s Top 10 Breakout Stars of 2020 list. The drama miniseries is centered around an orphaned chess prodigy.  The series has brought about a resurgence in chess. 

According to The Guardian, eBay reported that chess set sales went up by 60%  and chess accessories have climbed a whopping 215%, which correlates with the screening of The Queen’s Gambit.

Xolo Mariduena is a series regular in the Emmy nominated and fan-favorite Cobra Kai, which after two years on YouTube Red moved over to Netflix for season three.  As of Jan. 1 Cobra Kai became the most popular returning original series, taking the #2 spot on the Netflix Top 10 list on New Year’s Day.

Another hit show on Netflix is the teen dramedy On My Block which was created by Eddie Gonzalez, Lauren Iungerich, and Jeremy Haft. Last year right before season 4 was announced, On My Block was top of the Netflix Top Ten list as the highest rating series with a 94.1% rating, which is based on the week-over-week growth in episodes watched.

Then of course there are other popular series that either have a Latino-themed storyline or have Latino actors in the lead.  Included in this list are Narcos: Mexico, the freshman comedy series Gentefied about a Mexican family chasing the American Dream, already renewed for a 2nd season, however, delayed due to the pandemic. And added to the Netflix lineup beginning on January 1 is Telemundo’s  Jenni Rivera: Mariposa de Barrio, the story about the late singer Mexican singer Jenni Rivera.

Latinos continue to hold down Netflix and hopefully, we’ll have even more Latino representation in 2021. 

Featured Photo: Latin Heat Media

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The Umbrella Academy has grown into a fan favorite on Netflix since its release in 2019. 

Season two was released on July 31st and quickly took the number one spot on Netflix’s Top 10 and remained on top for 15 days. It currently still sits on Netflix’s Top 10 list. 

The Umbrella Academy is based on the superhero comic book series by Gerard Way. The series follows the lives of seven adopted siblings. The seven siblings were adopted by an eccentric billionaire, Sir Reginald Hargreeves, portrayed by Colm Feore, due to the bizarre nature of their births. 

On October 1, 1989 forty-three children were all born on the same day and time to women who were not pregnant when the day began. Reginald Hargreeves immediately knew something was special about these babies and set out to adopt all of them, but only acquired seven.

Reginald Hargreeves discovered his children had unique abilities and trained them to become an elite crime-fighting group, well, all but the seventh child. He never named his children, but instead gave them numbers as ranks. They were eventually given names by their robot mother, Grace. 

Season one follows the children in March 2019 when they reunite for their father’s funeral and discover they have to save the world from an impending apocalypse.

Here’s a quick run down of the family/cast aka the top seven reasons to watch the show: 

Tom Hopper (Game of Thrones, I Feel Pretty): Luther Hargreeves/Number One: Hopper portrays Luther, who has super strength. He lived on the moon for four years after being severely injured during a mission. In order to save his life, his father injected him with a serum that fused his body with the body of an ape.

David Castañeda (Sicario: Day of the Soldado, The Tax Collector): Diego Hargreeves/Number Two: Castañeda, a Mexican-American actor, portrays Diego, a rambunctious superhero turned vigilante with the ability to curve the trajectory of anything he throws, typically knives. Although Diego has a cocky and impulsive personality, he also has a warmth to him that is shown through his connection with robotic mother Grace and his ex-girlfriend, Detective Patch.

Emmy Raver-Lampman (Wicked, Hamilton): Allison Hargreeves/Number Three: Raver-Lampman portrays Allison, a famous actress with the ability to make people bend to her will by saying the phrase “I heard a rumor…”

Robert Sheehan (Misfits, Mute): Klaus Hargreeves/Number Four: Sheehan portrays Klaus, an exuberant substance abuser with the ability to communicate with the dead. When Klaus is sober, he can conjure the dead and temporarily make them corporeal.

Aidan Gallagher (Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn): Number Five: Gallagher portrays Number Five, a 58-year-old man trapped inside his 13-year-old body who has the ability to jump through space and time. While trying to prove his father wrong, Five time travelled to the future where he got stuck in a post-apocalyptic world. He survived alone for several decades until he was recruited by the Commission, an agency that ensures the existence of the timeline by assassinating those who threaten it. Five works for the Commission as an assassin until he ultimately betrays them to return to the year 2019 and warn his family of the impending apocalypse. With only one week until the world ends, Five races the clock to figure out what causes the end of the world.

Justin H. Min (Faking It, Pure Genius): Ben Hargreeves/Number Six: Min, portrays Ben, who is deceased, but his ghost appears next to Klaus. He regularly tries to help Klaus get sober. Ben’s ability allows him to summon monstrous tentacles from his body. He died during a mission when he was younger.

Ellen Page (Juno, Inception): Vanya Hargreeves/Number Seven: Page portrays Vanya, a seemingly quiet and gentle violinist who was overshadowed by her siblings. Vanya grew up believing she had no powers, when in reality she has the ability to control sound waves. Her father suppressed her abilities with medication because he felt she was a danger to herself and those around her.

After Vanya’s love interest Leonard Peabody, portrayed by John Magaro, disposes of her medication, Vanya discovers her powers. Years of alienation from her family lead her to become violent and ultimately end the world by blowing up the moon. Rather than leaving his family to die, Five uses his time travel ability to take his family to the past and try to fix the timeline.

Season two follows the aftermath of Five’s decision to time travel with his family. His siblings end up scattered in different years in 1960s Dallas, Texas. Five arrives last only to discover that they’ve brought the end of the world with them again. With the help of an old friend, Five is able to travel back in time one week before Doom’s Day where he tracks down his siblings in order to yet again, try and save the world.

New obstacles, love interests and assassins emerge making season two hotter than ever.

Fans are anticipating the show to be renewed for season three, but nothing has been confirmed. After the uneasy cliffhanger, fans will be more on edge for news, but until then, we will just have to wait and rewatch the series to pass the time.

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