Is The Gardener based on a true story? Here's everything we know

The Gardener or El Jardinero is a six-part Spanish-language psychological thriller series on Netflix. The premise of The Gardener follows the singularly bizarre character of Elmer and a gardening business owned by his mother, which also serves as a front to hide a contract killing business.

While The Gardener has been praised for its narration, its philosophical plot points, with its blend of elaborate murders, and has also been compared to former giants in this genre, such as Dexter, the show isn't based on a true story and is absolutely fictional. Keep reading to learn more.

The Gardener is a fictional show on Netflix

It is easy to confuse The Gardener with a show that is based on the real-life travails of such a killing business. The treatment of the original screenplay by the creator, Miguel Sáez Carral, lends an air of believability to the show, making it difficult to distinguish from real life. On the other hand, the peculiar condition of Elmer, who lost the ability to have normal emotions after a horrific accident, is also based partly on real cases.

What is The Gardener all about?

The Netflix show is primarily concerned with the relationship between an emotionally cold and detached Elmer and his manipulative mother, who also runs the contract killing business. The official synopsis reads:

"Elmer (Álvaro Rico) works at a garden center run by his controlling mother. He’s unfazed by her demands, however: A car accident when he was a kid left him without the ability to feel emotions. It’s a bonus for his mom, La China Jurado (Cecilia Suárez), because her business is a front for a thriving underground murder-for-hire business — and Elmer’s stone-cold nature makes killing easy-peasy. That is, until he meets his next assigned victim, preschool teacher Violeta (Catalina Sopelana), and falls in love. As Elmer’s feelings are resuscitated, his mother does everything she can to end Violeta’s life."

The Netflix show's cast list revealed

The cast of the Netflix show is as follows:

Catalina Sopelana as Violeta
Cecilia Suárez as La China Jurado.
Álvaro Rico as Elmer
Emma Suárez as Sabela Costeira
Francis Lorenzo as Detective Luis Torres
María Vázquez as Detective Carrera

Where was the show filmed?

The Spanish show was primarily filmed across several locations in Spain. The Castilla-La Mancha, located in Toledo, Spain, is an important location where several of the show's scenes were filmed. Toledo is known to be a historic and picturesque town established as a confluence of three influences — Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.

The second location where the Netflix series was filmed is the town of Pontevedra in Galicia, located in the northwestern corner of Spain. Pontevedra is replete with several ruins that have survived to this date from the Roman era, as well as the Church of San Francisco. The town also serves as the focal point of Galician art and culture. To conclude, certain episodes of the Netflix show were shot in the Spanish capital of Madrid.

The Gardener is now available for streaming on Netflix.

Edited by Sugnik Mondal

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