Hey, everyone! How’s it going? Today I’m here to review the drama The House of Flowers, which delivers a wildly entertaining and groundbreaking take on the traditional Mexican telenovela format, serving up scandal, humor, and heart in equal measure.
Premiering on August 10, 2018, and running through 2020 with 3 seasons totaling 33 episodes of approximately 45-50 minutes each, The House of Flowers is a Mexican dark comedy-drama series created by Manolo Caro exclusively for Netflix. This bold series became the third Mexican Netflix Original production and quickly established itself as a cultural phenomenon that revolutionized Latino television by fearlessly tackling topics of gender, sexuality, and class with unprecedented honesty and humor.
Set in Mexico City’s affluent neighborhoods, the series follows the dysfunctional de la Mora family who owns both a prestigious floristry shop and a struggling cabaret, both called “The House of Flowers.” What makes this series truly special is how it uses the vibrant aesthetics of Mexican culture alongside razor-sharp writing to create a show that’s simultaneously a love letter to and a critique of traditional telenovela conventions.
When Perfect Facades Crumble Like Dried Petals
The House of Flowers centers around the wealthy de la Mora family whose picture-perfect exterior conceals a garden full of dark secrets, forbidden relationships, and buried scandals. The story kicks into high gear when the family patriarch’s longtime mistress threatens to expose their carefully constructed facade, setting off a chain of events that will transform every family member’s life.
The series brilliantly uses the metaphor of flowers throughout – each episode is named after a specific flower that represents the themes and emotions explored. This attention to symbolic detail elevates what could have been simple soap opera drama into something more sophisticated and meaningful. The show’s genius lies in how it balances outrageous telenovela moments with genuine emotional depth and social commentary.
Virginia de la Mora: The Iron Matriarch in Designer Clothing
Verónica Castro delivers a tour-de-force performance as Virginia de la Mora, the family matriarch who has spent decades perfecting the art of maintaining appearances while managing an empire built on secrets. Virginia embodies the contradictions of upper-class Mexican society – progressive in business but traditional in values, loving toward her children but controlling in her expectations.
Castro brings both vulnerability and steel to the role, making Virginia simultaneously sympathetic and frustrating. Her character represents a generation caught between old-world expectations and new-world realities, and her journey throughout the series becomes a masterclass in how to portray a complex woman who refuses to be simply categorized as villain or victim.
Paulina de la Mora: Neurotic Perfectionist Meets Reality
Cecilia Suárez shines as Paulina, Virginia’s eldest daughter, whose distinctive speech patterns and neurotic perfectionism make her both hilarious and heartbreaking. Paulina’s character arc represents the show’s exploration of mental health, family pressure, and the courage required to live authentically rather than according to others’ expectations.
Her relationship with María José Riquelme, a passionate Spanish transgender woman played by Paco León, becomes one of the series’ most beautiful and groundbreaking storylines. Their romance is handled with sensitivity and humor, showing how love can flourish even in the most unlikely circumstances and challenging traditional notions of gender and sexuality in Latino culture.
When Secrets Explode Like Champagne Corks
The series reaches its dramatic peak when long-buried family secrets begin surfacing with explosive consequences. The revelation of hidden identities, forbidden relationships, and financial scandals creates a domino effect that threatens to destroy everything the family has worked to build. These moments showcase the show’s ability to balance melodrama with genuine emotional stakes.
The climactic episodes of each season masterfully weave together multiple storylines while maintaining the show’s signature blend of comedy and pathos. The writing never loses sight of the human cost of keeping secrets, even as it milks every ounce of entertainment value from the reveals.
Success on Netflix Worldwide
The House of Flowers achieved remarkable international success, becoming one of Netflix’s most popular Spanish-language series and introducing global audiences to contemporary Mexican television at its finest. The series benefits from exceptional production values, including stunning costume design that makes every outfit a character in itself, vibrant cinematography that captures both the beauty and decay of Mexico City’s upper-class neighborhoods, and writing that balances social commentary with pure entertainment value. The show’s impact extended beyond television, influencing conversations about LGBTQ+ representation in Latino media.
A Bouquet of Laughs, Tears, and Revolution
If you love dark comedies that tackle serious social issues through outrageous family drama, The House of Flowers is the perfect series to binge on Netflix. This series proves that the best entertainment can also be the most socially conscious, using humor and heart to challenge prejudices and celebrate diversity in ways that feel both revolutionary and deeply human.
Why This Garden Is Worth Cultivating
The House of Flowers demonstrates that the most powerful stories often come from the most unexpected places, using the familiar framework of family drama to explore themes of acceptance, identity, and the courage required to live authentically. This series will leave you laughing, crying, and thinking about the masks we all wear to protect ourselves and the people we love.
Series Details
Number of Episodes: 33 (3 seasons)
Platform: Netflix
Release Year: 2018-2020
IMDb Rating: 7.9/10
Genre: Dark Comedy, Family Drama, LGBTQ+
Production Type: Mexican Drama
Status: Completed (plus movie sequel available)
Protagonists: Verónica Castro/Isabel Burr (Virginia de la Mora), Cecilia Suárez (Paulina de la Mora)
Antagonist: Various family secrets and societal prejudices