# Once (2017)

> A soccer-loving Buenos Aires teenager wins a scholarship to a prestigious academy and chases his dream of playing for its renowned amateur team.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/63318

## Facts

- Seasons: 3
- Episodes: 220
- Episode runtime: 24 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama, family
- Created by: Jorge Edelstein
- Network: Disney XD
- Cast: Mariano González, Juan David Penagos, Sebastián Athié, Luan Brum, Emiliano González, Massimo Pomponio, Fausti Bo, Paulina Vetrano
- TMDB rating: 8.2/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6922826/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: hopeful, sincere, wistful, breezy, warm

## What critics say

Audiences rate the series acclaimed, with its later third season rated well above the first two seasons.

## Synopsis

Once (2017-2020) is an Argentine teen drama and sports series created by Jorge Edelstein and broadcast on Disney XD. Gabo, a soccer-loving teenager played by Mariano González, wins a scholarship to the prestigious Sports Academic Institute in Buenos Aires, where he hopes to play for Los Halcones Dorados, the school's renowned amateur team. His friendships and rivalries with classmates Ricardo 'Ricky' Flores (Juan David Penagos) and Lorenzo Guevara (Sebastián Athié) shape the weekly episodes, which follow training sessions, matches, school pressures and the constant strain of balancing the classroom with the pitch. The engine is simple and emotional: a young player wants a professional future, and every season tests whether his talent and loyalty can survive the demands of an elite institution. Told across three seasons in a continuing, character-driven story, the show runs on warmth, humor and the restless energy of adolescence. Its tone is hopeful and sincere with moments of wistful friction. Set in contemporary Buenos Aires, it has the energetic, communal feel of a family-friendly Latin American youth drama. Fans of Friday Night Lights and other school sports dramas will find resonance in its blend of athletic ambition, teenage bonds and the pull of a place that feels like home.

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