| Insiders | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Reality television |
| Created by | Jose Velasco |
| Directed by | Mamen Fernández |
| Presented by | Najwa Nimri |
| Composer | Alfonso G. Aguilar |
| Country of origin | Spain |
| Original language | Spanish |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 14 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Jose Velasco Sara Fernández-Velasco Arantza Sánchez Marco A. Castillo |
| Producers | Hortensia López Yaiza Sánchez |
| Cinematography | Javier Ruiz |
| Running time | 43-60 minutes |
| Production company | iZen |
| Original release | |
| Network | Netflix |
| Release | October 21, 2021 (2021-10-21) – May 26, 2022 (2022-05-26) |
Insiders is a Spanishreality television series hosted byNajwa Nimri. It premiered onNetflix on October 21, 2021.[1]
Thirteen contestants are gathered in a 1,600 square-meter studio under the guise of the final stage of the casting process for a reality show. What they do not know is that, in fact, they are already in the show: cameras are secretly filming them during all their stay in the area. The objective of this is to catch contestants off guard and make them confront the differences in their behavior between the times they know they are being filmed and the times they think they are not. The winner will earn a €100,000 prize.[2]
| Name[3] | Age | Hometown | Occupation | Entered | Exited | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicole | 27 | Canary Islands | Social media personality | 1 | 7 | Winner |
| Laura | 25 | Madrid | Graduate in Journalism | 1 | 7 | Runner-Up |
| Olaya | 21 | Barcelona | Luxury store salesperson | 1 | 7 | Third Place[note 1] |
| Iván Molina | 28 | Valencia | Professional poker player | 1 | 7 | |
| Peter | 26 | Madrid | Engineer and DJ | 1 | 7 | 8th Eliminated |
| Estefanía | 29 | Valencia | Student | 1 | 6 | 7th Eliminated |
| Fama | 26 | Blanes | Graduate in Physical Education | 1 | 6 | 6th Eliminated |
| Hugo | 33 | Madrid | Cook | 1 | 5 | 5th Eliminated |
| Bárbara "Bibi" | 25 | Madrid | Make-up artist | 1 | 4 | 4th Eliminated / Fan Favourite |
| Cynthia | 24 | Barcelona | Graduate in Tourism | 2 | 3 | 3rd Eliminated |
| Query | 35 | Chipiona | Hospital attendant and town councilman | 1 | 3 | 2nd Eliminated |
| Iván Míguez | 33 | Ibiza | Restaurant manager | 1 | 2 | 1st Eliminated |
| Tatiana | 28 | Málaga | Comedian | 1 | 2 | Fake contestant[note 2] |
| Casting Phase 12 Days | Streaming Phase 7 Days | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3 | Episode 4 | Episode 5 | Episode 6 | Episode 7 Final | |||||
| Nicole | Exempt | Pass | Pass | Pass | Peter | Exempt | Not Eligible | Not Eligible | Finalist | Winner (Episode 7) | |
| Laura | Exempt | Pass | Pass | Pass | Hugo | Not Eligible | Not Eligible | Not Eligible | Finalist | Runner-up (Episode 7) | |
| Iván Molina | Exempt | Pass | Pass | Pass | Hugo | Not Eligible | Not Eligible | Peter | Finalist | Third Place (Episode 7) | |
| Olaya | Exempt | Pass | Pass | Pass | Nicole | Not Eligible | Not Eligible | Not Eligible | Finalist | Third Place (Episode 7) | |
| Peter | Exempt | Pass | Pass | Pass | Hugo | Exempt | Not Eligible | Not Eligible | Eliminated (Episode 7) | Laura | |
| Estefanía | Exempt | Pass | Pass | Pass | Nicole | Not Eligible | Not Eligible | Eliminated (Episode 6) | Iván Molina | ||
| Fama | Exempt | Pass | Pass | Pass | Hugo | Not Eligible | Estefanía | Eliminated (Episode 6) | Laura | ||
| Hugo | Exempt | Pass | Pass | Pass | Peter | Fama | Eliminated (Episode 5) | Nicole | |||
| Bárbara | Exempt | Pass | Pass | Failed | Eliminated (Episode 4) | Nicole | |||||
| Cynthia | Not in House | Exempt | Failed | Eliminated (Episode 3) | Nicole | ||||||
| Query | Exempt | Pass | Failed | Eliminated (Episode 3) | Nicole | ||||||
| Iván Míguez | Exempt | Failed | Eliminated (Episode 2) | Olaya | |||||||
| Tatiana | Exempt | Left (Episode 2) | |||||||||
| Eliminated | Tatiana Fake contestant | Iván Míguez Committee's choice to eliminate | Query Committee's choice to eliminate | Bárbara Committee's choice to eliminate | Hugo 4 of 8 votes to eliminate | Fama Hugo's choice to eliminate | Estefanía Fama's choice to eliminate | Peter Iván Molina's choice to eliminate | Winner | Nicole 4 of 8 votes to win | |
| Finalist | Laura 2 of 8 votes to win | ||||||||||
| Cynthia Committee's choice to eliminate | Iván Molina 1 of 8 votes to win | ||||||||||
| Olaya 1 of 8 votes to win | |||||||||||
During a press conference for Netflix's Spanish originals at the 2021 Vitoria FesTVal, Álvaro Díaz, Netflix Spain's director of non-fiction content, confirmed that a second season had already been filmed.[4] Season 2 premiered on May 19, 2022.[5] Laura and Peter from Season 1 returned as 'mole' contestants, trained by the show's crew for a special assignment.
| Name[5] | Age | Hometown | Occupation | Entered | Exited | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raquel Arias | 29 | Madrid | Model | Episode 1 | Episode 7 | Winner |
| Lorenzo | 34 | Ciudad Real | Graphic designer | Episode 1 | Episode 7 | Runner-Up |
| Ainhoa "Nowa" | 29 | Mérida | Social worker | Episode 1 | Episode 7 | Third Place |
| Ramón | 30 | Ibiza | Private chef | Episode 1 | Episode 7 | Fourth Place |
| Marta | 25 | Madrid | HR | Episode 1 | Episode 6 | 6th Eliminated |
| Adán | 30 | Seville | Businessman | Episode 1 | Episode 6 | 5th Eliminated |
| Tania | 35 | La Rioja | Store clerk | Episode 1 | Episode 5 | 4th Eliminated |
| Pablo | 29 | Huelva | Engineer | Episode 1 | Episode 3 | 3rd Eliminated |
| Sofía | 25 | Santa Cruz | Business Administration student | Episode 1 | Episode 3 | 2nd Eliminated |
| Álex | 34 | Madrid | Commercial advisor | Episode 1 | Episode 2 | 1st Eliminated |
| Laura | 25 | Madrid | Graduate in Journalism | Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Fake contestants |
| Peter | 24 | Madrid | Engineer and DJ | Episode 1 | Episode 4 |
| Casting Phase 12 Days | Streaming Phase 7 Days | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3 | Episode 4 | Episode 5 | Episode 6 | Episode 7 Final | |||||
| Raquel | Exempt | Pass | Pass | Pass | Lorenzo | Not Eligible | Not Eligible | Not Eligible | Finalist | Winner (Episode 7) | |
| Lorenzo | Exempt | Pass | Pass | Pass | Ramón | Tania | Not Eligible | Not Eligible | Finalist | Runner-up (Episode 7) | |
| Nowa | Exempt | Pass | Pass | Pass | Adán | Not Eligible | Not Eligible | Not Eligible | Finalist | Third Place (Episode 7) | |
| Ramón | Exempt | Pass | Pass | Pass | Lorenzo | Not Eligible | Not Eligible | Not Eligible | Finalist | Fourth Place (Episode 7) | |
| Marta | Exempt | Pass | Pass | Pass | Raquel | Not Eligible | Not Eligible | Not Eligible | Eliminated (Episode 6) | Lorenzo | |
| Adán | Exempt | Pass | Pass | Pass | Tania | Tania | Not Eligible | Marta | Eliminated (Episode 6) | Raquel | |
| Tania | Exempt | Pass | Pass | Pass | Adán | Not Eligible | Adán | Eliminated (Episode 5) | Nowa | ||
| Peter | Exempt | Pass | Pass | Pass | Left (Episode 4) | ||||||
| Pablo | Exempt | Pass | Failed | Eliminated (Episode 3) | Raquel | ||||||
| Sofía | Exempt | Pass | Failed | Eliminated (Episode 3) | Raquel | ||||||
| Álex | Exempt | Failed | Eliminated (Episode 2) | Lorenzo | |||||||
| Laura | Exempt | Left (Episode 2) | |||||||||
| Eliminated | Laura Fake contestant | Álex Committee's choice to eliminate | Sofía Committee's choice to eliminate | Peter Fake contestant | Lorenzo 2 of 7 votes to fake evict | Tania Lorenzo & Adán's choice to eliminate | Adán Tania's choice to eliminate | Marta Adán's choice to eliminate | Winner | Raquel 3 of 6 votes to win | |
| Finalist | Lorenzo 2 of 6 votes to win | ||||||||||
| Pablo Committee's choice to eliminate | Adán 2 of 7 votes to fake evict | Nowa 1 of 6 votes to win | |||||||||
| Ramón 0 of 6 votes to win | |||||||||||
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||
| 1 | 7 | October 21, 2021 (2021-10-21) | ||
| 2 | 7 | May 19, 2022 (2022-05-19) | May 26, 2022 (2022-05-26) | |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Welcome to Insiders" (Bienvenidos a Insiders) | October 21, 2021 (2021-10-21) | |
After host Najwa Nimri explains some basic aspects of the show to the viewers, the contestants arrive and meet the crew, including deciding committee members Marina and Rubén (who are actually two actors playing producers). They are allowed to keep their phones for fifteen more minutes to say goodbye to their friends and families before the final casting begins (unbeknownst to them, they are already in the show proper). Mamen, the show's director, tells the contestants that their phone interactions have resulted in a leak to the press, and the show could be shut down if the culprit doesn't come forward. | ||||
| 2 | 2 | "If You Tell Anyone, You're Out" (Si lo cuentas, estás fuera) | October 21, 2021 (2021-10-21) | |
Tatiana comes forward as the person inadvertently responsible for filming the video that resulted in the alleged leak, and is removed from the show. As viewers learn through aflashforward that Tatiana is another actress, and never was an actual contestant, new player Cynthia arrives as Tatiana's replacement. The contestants' morals are put to the test by the committee with a challenge involving a gun loaded with blank bullets (although the players aren't told of that last detail) and four rabbits locked in glass capsules, players then being asked to shoot one of the rabbits. Hugo is up first, and refuses on principle to harm any of the animals, being then warned by Rubén that he will be cut from the casting if he discusses the test with the rest of contestants. The other players are put to the same test, and several of them do pull the trigger. Iván Míguez is eliminated. | ||||
| 3 | 3 | "No Such Thing as Perfection" (La perfección no existe) | October 21, 2021 (2021-10-21) | |
| 4 | 4 | "Streaming Life" (La vida en streaming) | October 21, 2021 (2021-10-21) | |
| 5 | 5 | "Double Feature" (Sesión continua) | October 21, 2021 (2021-10-21) | |
Hugo is voted out of the competition by the other players, and learns that he can pick the next eliminated contestant out of the players who did not receive any votes; but he has to be careful, because that person will also get to choose the next eliminated player. | ||||
| 6 | 6 | "Taking You Down with Me" (Te arrastro conmigo) | October 21, 2021 (2021-10-21) | |
After staying in the house for some more time to make his decision, Hugo, having promised Nicole that he would think of her, eliminates the one contestant he is sure will not remove Nicole from the game: Fama, who later chooses to eliminate Estefanía. Instead of picking the next elimination herself, Estefanía has the chance to pick which of the remaining players will choose the last eliminated contestant before the finale. She chooses Iván Molina, despite him having asked her not to. Peter goes into the white room and announces he has a plan. | ||||
| 7 | 7 | "The Last Shall Be First" (Los últimos serán los primeros) | October 21, 2021 (2021-10-21) | |
Peter's strategy is to sacrifice himself so that Laura can have a chance of winning, asking Iván to eliminate him, claiming that he had a deal to split the prize with Laura and promising Iván to give him his half of the prize should Laura win. Iván reluctantly eliminates Peter. The eliminated contestants then learn that the alleged software that was assessing their qualities to determine who was closest to being the "perfect contestant" was a ruse; instead, they are the ones who will vote to determine the winner. After the vote, Nicole is announced as the winner. The season ends with Najwa announcing thatInsiders is not over yet: the crew has a new plan for the next season, and Laura will be involved in it. | ||||
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date [6] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 1 | "Insiders's Main Game" (El gran juego de Insiders) | May 19, 2022 (2022-05-19) |
| 9 | 2 | "Nothing's What It Seems" (Nada es lo que parece) | May 19, 2022 (2022-05-19) |
| 10 | 3 | "Two Sides" (Dos bandos) | May 19, 2022 (2022-05-19) |
| 11 | 4 | "They're In" (Están dentro) | May 26, 2022 (2022-05-26) |
| 12 | 5 | "Join Forces or Die" (Aliarse o morir) | May 26, 2022 (2022-05-26) |
| 13 | 6 | "Insiders in Check" (Jaque a Insiders) | May 26, 2022 (2022-05-26) |
| 14 | 7 | "The Perfect Contestant" (El concursante perfecto) | May 26, 2022 (2022-05-26) |
Insiders was met with positive to mixed reviews in Spain, being hailed as a return to the essence of reality television. FormulaTV's Sergio Navarro compared the show to American television seriesUnreal, noting that it showed the crew plotting where the show was heading. "And it is thrilling to witness those private meetings, unbeknownst to the contestants, where you can see how they weave the twists and turns and how they come together to create an exciting program."[7]
Bluper's Juan M. Fernández also picked up on the comparison toUnreal, while praising the decision to keep the runtime at an hour or less per episode: "It was about time that shows with episodes of no more than 50 minutes were done in this country. The show wins with it. More so with such outstanding music.Insiders cuts to the chase, gets right down to business."[8]
Espinof's Mikel Zorrilla was less impressed, noting that the format becomes overcomplicated in its attempt to keep contestants and viewers alike on their toes: "Insiders wants to outsmart everyone, at once trying to retrieve something unique and to constantly surprise. The mixture is striking at first, but there is a point where everything turns out kind of random, leaving the show at a strange middle ground between the search for something real and the completely manufactured."[9]
For similar reasons, Decider's Joel Keller advised readers to skip the show, concluding: "There’s a good reality competition somewhere within the convoluted format ofInsiders. But the pains the producers take to keep their secret from the contestants makes it all about the conceit and not the contestants themselves."[10]
