Netflix fans can’t get enough of a new thriller series that’s being compared to the (mostly) beloved crime drama Dexter.
Created by Miguel Sáez Carral, The Gardener – which is currently number one on the streaming platform’s top 10 chart for non-English shows around the world – follows a gardener named Elmer (Álvaro Rico).
Elmer isn’t your typical horticulturist, though. He’s actually a deadly assassin, with less of a green thumb and more of a red one.
Under the strict guidance of his controlling mother, La China Jurado (Cecilia Suárez), the pair run a successful garden centre and murder-for-hire business.
Things are complicated, however, when the usually emotionless Elmer falls in love with his next target, the kindly teacher Violeta (Catalina Sopelana).
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Despite only premiering on Netflix a few weeks ago, the show has been watched by more than 19million people so far and 12.3million just this week.
Last week, it was third on the top 10 chart in the US, alongside international hits like Adolescence, Black Mirror season seven, and Pulse.
Fans online have been spreading the love for the Spanish-language show like a careful gardener spreading compost on their favourite flowers.
@jasmineci_ wrote on X: ‘The Gardener on Netflix 10/10. I love a good murder romance,’ while @tmrtalks added: ‘The Gardener on Netflix is so good!’
It was @gab_div who perhaps had the highest praise for the show, telling her followers: ’Ok…#TheGardener ended in a way I did not expect 😂…Netflix is really “the goat” streaming service.’
Others were keen to point out the similarities to Dexter. @Bella1L1 wrote: ‘#TheGardener is like a twisted Spanish Dexter—but with a manipulative mom instead of a moral dad. La China doesn’t manage Elmer’s darkness, she nurtures it.’
Global Top 10 Non-English Shows
- The Gardener – 12,300,000 views
- The Glass Dome – 9,200,000
- Resident Playbook – 2,800,000
- When Life Gives You Tangerines – 2,700,000
- How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast): Season 4 – 1,800,000
- Weak Hero: Class 1 – 1,800,000
- Karma – 1,700,000
- Kian’s Bizarre B&B: Season 1 – 1,400,000
- The Lady’s Companion: Season 1 – 1,300,000
- Project UFO – 1,100,000
Over on Reddit, however, viewers weren’t quite as enthusiastic about Elmer’s misadventures.
While some, like lilsmallpuf, thought the ‘The show was well made’, more than a few were disappointed with The Gardener, with at least one fan (although they’d probably object to us using that word) saying it was like a ‘fake’ Dexter.
The main complaint seemed to be that it’s derivative of better TV series and that even when it was in full bloom, it was only ever okay.
However, not everyone was as keen to pour weedkiller on Sáez Carral’s work.
Appropriate-Dog-525 wrote on the Netflix section of Reddit that while it was ‘a little Dexterish,’ they gave it a chance and enjoyed it enough to want a second season.
Sadly, that seems unlikely. The Gardener was conceived as a limited series with no plans for a follow-up.
Still, there are more than a few ‘limited series’ that got a second run after a popular first season – I’m looking at you, Shogun, The White Lotus, Good Omens, and The Flight Attendant.
Online, there’s definitely demand for another Elmer adventure with @QueenT_20 writing on X: ‘Damn I need a Season 2 of The Gardener ASAP!
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@OldKatalyst meanwhile tagged Netflix on their socials to let them know, ‘We need season 2 of The Gardener.’
Only time will tell whether The Gardener blooms into a bigger franchise.
The Gardener is available to stream now on Netflix.
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A version of this article was published on April 16, 2025.
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