It’s a long con game in the new Spanish series where a desperate marquis tries to get back to wealth and hold on to his title by any means necessary. But should you invest your time (and not your money) in the six episodes?
Antonio De La Torre is one of the most recognizable comedians in Spain, and it is pretty clear that writers/directors Álvaro Fernández-Armero (Spanish Affair 3, Everything Is a Lie) and Juan Cavestany (Vote for Juan, Madrid, Ext.) built this project around his award-winning chops. Here, he stars as Leandro, a marquis who barely has his name to hold on to, and his dreams of being made a “Grande de España”, the highest title in Spanish nobility. And, as luck would have it, his own daughter may marry into nobility ; in the meantime, he has to find money quick and plans to sell his decaying Madrid family mansion. But his own family resents the move, and he is not the best seller, due to his outsized pride and tendency to tell brazen lies. But in comes a buyer : Sofía Carrington (Alexandra Jiménez), a wealthy heiress from an oil company who offers €5 million cash for the property. Better yet : she seems to take an interest in Leandro…
…As many clues are left within the second half of the first episode, it is soon revealed that it is all a front. Carrington is a heroine from successful novels : behind the alias is Conchita, a single mother barely getting by with her job at a dry-cleaning shop. The appeal of Fading Grandeur comes from two ideas : first, a rich bourgeois trying to scheme his way into consolidating his status and avoid the nightmare of being broke, while he is a mark from a con artist trying to escape her status and live the life of her dreams. Or, more importantly, as she states in one episode : “being who she wants to be”. The second idea is that neither Leandro or Sofía are really good at fooling people ; Leandro’s family and the country club circle of his future son-in-law seem well aware of his financial woes. While Conchita’s cover depends on timing, grotesque Photoshops and is always one lie away from being caught. All these narrative engines make the six episodes of Fading Grandeur really pleasant.
The second nice surprise about the series is that it could devolve into a hysterical farce, with spiteful bourgeois just torturing both Leandro and/or the fake heiress ; but both creators are bent on never really going into zany gags a la Arrested Development. That is not to say the series is not funny ; it garners a few solid laughs thanks to Leandro’s guardian angel Fidel (more on that below) and most of the situations that arise. But it all serves a purpose : while Leandro starts the series by being a pathetic excuse for a near-broke marquis, the series forces him into a corner and he reveals to have a sweet, well-meaning side, mostly at the contact of Sofia.
Fading Grandeur seems to run out of steam by the end of its six episodes, and may give the uncomfortable sensation of being an abandoned movie that was stretched out into a series. That is due, in part, by the very limited role Leandro and Sofía/Conchita’s respective families have in the show ; Conchita’s son and her colleague/accomplice do not have true moments as characters, often playing along unrealistically when the situation may turn bad for Conchita and her alter ego. Meanwhile, Leandro’s daughter and her ex-wife are barely on screen, and seem to be examples of Leandro’s growing pains as an important character in their lives. But, as predictable as this light satire on the elusiveness of wealth and status may be, its main cast and romantic elements make it a good, yet low-key entry into Netflix Spanish line-up.
MVP
Enric Benavent as Fidel
A lot of the comic relief in the show comes from Leandro’s lone employee Fidel, who comes up with schemes to pay the rent such as providing the mansion as a backdrop for “documentaries”, or paying a high-end restaurant to save the embarrassment of Leandro. In the role, Enric Benavent is pitch-perfect in his dismay and quiet alarm, and is one of the big reasons the show works.
If you Like Fading Grandeur, watch
Arrested Development
Big Mistakes
Even if it does not escape predictability, this light comedy has its heart in the right place, and its reliable laughs make it a good entry into the stacked Spanish line-up of Netflix.
