The Mess You Leave Behind

A teacher starts her job at a high school but is haunted by a suspicious death that occurred there weeks before and begins fearing for her own life.

The Mess You Leave Behind (2020) is a Spanish limited series created by Carlos Montero and released on Netflix. Inma Cuesta plays Raquel, a new teacher at a high school who is haunted by a suspicious death that occurred there weeks before she arrived. As she starts to probe what really happened, she grows increasingly afraid for her own safety, and her investigation pulls her toward the private lives of colleagues, students and families. Bárbara Lennie, Tamar Novas and Arón Piper appear among the principal cast, their characters entangled in infidelity, blackmail and a drug dealing trade that runs beneath the school's polished surface. The eight-episode run unfolds as a serialized mystery, with each episode peeling back another layer of concealed relationships and motives. The tone is tense and unsettling, with a creeping sense of dread that builds steadily through the story. Fans of Big Little Lies and Money Heist will find resonance in its morally compromised characters, its suburban-adjacent school setting and its patient, secret-driven suspense. Set in contemporary Spain, the series balances the routines of school life against a growing sense of threat.

Reception is mixed, with audiences finding the mystery engaging but the story uneven and the characters' motives hard to sustain across eight episodes.

• Big Little Liessuspenseful school setting, teacher drawn into a dark secret, serialized mystery tone
• Riverdaleteen drama with a death at a school and a mystery unspooling through student perspectives
• Money HeistSpanish-language thriller with morally compromised characters and a serialized secret

Created by

Carlos Montero

Release Date

2020-12-11

Episode runtime

45 min

Rating

6.8 / 10 (299)

What is The Mess You Leave Behind about?

A new high school teacher becomes haunted by a suspicious death at her school and begins to fear for her own life.

What is The Mess You Leave Behind like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Mess You Leave Behind as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.

Is The Mess You Leave Behind violent?

Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Mess You Leave Behind as mild.

What did critics think of The Mess You Leave Behind?

Reception is mixed, with audiences finding the mystery engaging but the story uneven and the characters' motives hard to sustain across eight episodes.

Which shows are like The Mess You Leave Behind?

Shows with a similar feel include Big Little Lies, Riverdale, and Money Heist.

How long is The Mess You Leave Behind?

The Mess You Leave Behind: 1 season, 8 episodes.

Is The Mess You Leave Behind still running?

No, The Mess You Leave Behind has ended.

Where can I watch The Mess You Leave Behind?

In United States, The Mess You Leave Behind streams on Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads.