Netflix will release its new Spanish period thriller series El Problema Final, starring actor José Coronado as a retired performer investigating an islet murder, on Friday, September 25, 2026.
The four-episode miniseries is based on the bestselling mystery novel of the same name by Spanish author Arturo Pérez-Reverte. Set during the spring of 1959, the narrative centers on thirteen people who become stranded by a violent storm in a small hotel on an islet near Mallorca following the suspicious death of a British tourist.
According to the official synopsis provided by Netflix, the mystery begins when Elisa Mander, a discreet English tourist, is discovered dead inside a hotel room locked from the inside. Although initial observations suggest that Mander committed suicide, the circumstances soon reveal disturbing signs that point toward murder.
Basil, portrayed by Coronado, is a retired actor who previously achieved fame playing legendary fictional detective Sherlock Holmes on the cinema screen. Reluctantly thrust into the role of investigator, Basil maintains in the trailer for the series that Mander did not take her own life. With no one able to leave the islet and no outside assistance able to arrive, Basil undertakes an investigation, questioning suspects and evaluating evidence to identify the killer before another victim is targeted.
The narrative relies on classic locked-room mystery conventions, a detective fiction subgenre in which a crime takes place in an apparently impossible setting with no visible exit or entry for the culprit. In El Problema Final, every guest and staff member remaining at the hotel becomes a suspect as each new discovery makes the crime increasingly intricate and convoluted.
Adaptation of Arturo Pérez-Reverte novel
The television project adapts the hit book by Arturo Pérez-Reverte, one of Spain's most prominent contemporary novelists and a member of the Royal Spanish Academy. The title El Problema Final pays direct homage to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous 1893 Sherlock Holmes story The Final Problem. Pérez-Reverte is also widely known internationally for creating the historical fiction series Las aventuras del capitán Alatriste and the espionage trilogy Falcó.
The production sets its drama on a small islet situated off the coast of Mallorca, the largest island in Spain's Balearic archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The isolated coastal location provides the physical backdrop for the atmospheric period drama, constraining the movement of characters and intensifying the tension among the isolated group.
Cast and production team
José Coronado, a veteran Spanish actor whose recent television credits include The Truthers and The Snow Girl, leads the cast as Basil. Coronado stars alongside María Valverde, who played roles in Sounds Like Love and All We Cannot See, as Adela Figueroa. Martiño Rivas, known for his appearances in Serpientes y escaleras and Netflix's pioneering Spanish original series Las chicas del cable, portrays Francisco Foxá.
Acclaimed Spanish actress Maribel Verdú completes the main starring quartet as Mrs. Raquel Ausländer. Verdú is celebrated internationally for her starring role in Guillermo del Toro's Academy Award-winning 2006 fantasy film Pan's Labyrinth (El laberinto del fauno), as well as her role in the hit Netflix teen drama series Élite.
The supporting ensemble features Gonzalo de Castro as Fonseca, Cristina Kovani as Vicky, José Condessa as Tony, and Pepón Nieto as Doctor Seruya. Among their previous screen credits, De Castro acted in Políticamente incorrectos and La ternura, Kovani appeared in Muted and La caza: Guadiana, Condessa featured in Cacau and Turn of the Tide, and Nieto performed in Smiley and A Remarkable Tale. Additional cast members in the miniseries include Yaiza Guimaré as Frau Klemmer, Michael Stobbe as Sr. Klemmer, Paloma Bloyd, and Almudena Salort.
Behind the scenes and streaming details
Director Félix Viscarret directed all four episodes of the miniseries. Viscarret's previous directorial credits include the Spanish feature films Una vida no tan simple and Mirando a extraños. The screenplays for the series were written by Alberto Macías, Carlos Molinero, and Marisol Farré, with Urko Errazquin, who produced El campeón and Dos chefs más, serving as executive producer.
The project was produced by Mod Producciones alongside film and television producer Fernando Bovaira. Mod Producciones and Bovaira previously collaborated on Spanish productions including the feature film Mientras tanto en guerra and the drama series La Fortuna.
El Problema Final will premiere globally on Netflix on Friday, September 25, 2026. Viewers will require an active subscription to the streaming service to watch the four-part miniseries upon release.
