Spanish Inn: How much is the Greek Salad series on Prime Video?

What is it about?

After the death of their grandfather, the children of Wendy and Xavier (the characters of The Spanish Inn) inherit a building in Athens. Tom, a young startup trained in New York, joins his sister in Greece to manage the family legacy. But he quickly realizes that Mia, who claims to be studying at Erasmus, is actually a rebel activist who is deceiving the whole family.

Their differences of opinion and lifestyle will make it very difficult to share the inheritance. And, like their parents 25 years earlier, they will live in a dormitory with young people from all over Europe. A collective life that will eventually help bring them closer together…

Available April 14 on Prime Video

who is he with

Created and co-directed by Cédric Clappy, to whom we owe The Spanish Inn, Russian Dolls and Chinese Puzzles, the Salade Grecque series, halfway between a direct sequel and a spin-off trilogy, clearly sees the return of Romain Dury and Kelly Reilly. Starring Xavier and Wendy.

As well as Cécile de France (Isabelle), Kevin Bishop (William) and Barnaby Metshurat (Tobias), who make several appearances in eight episodes.

But the Prime Video series is first and foremost focused on Tom and Mia, the children of Wendy and Xavier, who have grown up well since the release of the last film in 2013 and are now young adults, played by Alyocha Schneider. Namely in Germinal and Vampires and by Megan Northam, who has already made a strong impression on cinema in Les Passagers de la nuit and Netflix’s Notre-Dame, la Part du feu.

Is it worth checking out?

Ten years after the theatrical release of The Chinese Puzzle, the last part of his trilogy by Romain Duris, which began in 2002 with The Spanish Inn, director and screenwriter Cédric Clappish breathes new life into the adventures of Xavier and his legacy, taking an interest in the latter’s children. And choose serial format this time.

Not entirely new to the small screen since he took part in the creation of Dix pour cent, Cédric Clappish for the first time controls the series from A to Z with Greek salad and manages to pose, collaborating with screenwriters Thomas Colinao, Agnes Hurstel. , Paul Madillo, Eugène Reuss and Charlotte de Givre, his always fair, accurate, funny and optimistic view of today’s generation, which no longer has much to do with 2002.

After Barcelona, ​​St. Petersburg, London and New York, Athens is the destination that serves the adventures of Tom and Mia, Xavier and Wendy’s children. A choice on the part of the screenwriters, which is not insignificant, because the situation created in Greece, which has given shelter to several tens of thousands of people in recent years, fits perfectly into the themes of Salade Grec, which are beyond the family (blood or heart), directly fighting the migration crisis and the ecological and climatic issues of emergency situations.

A high-school dropout who escaped her parents’ divorce to become a volunteer and activist in Athens, Mia, defying convention and destined for destiny, is in some ways reminiscent of Xavier from the first film. But above all, it is a symbol of today’s youth that the series manages to rewrite fairly and energetically, far from clichés: an involved, anxious, rebellious youth that can no longer be carefree and have its voice heard. going down the street.

In contact with this sister, whom he doesn’t know well after all, Tom, a young startup living in New York, will question many things, open up to the world around him. And who knows, maybe it’s on its way?

Megan Northam, already amazing in the series Notre-Dame, la Part du feu, and Aliocha Schneider in the skin of these two beloved heroes, who are the beating heart of the Greek salad and fully occupy their place without ever finding themselves. Overshadowed by Romain Dury, Kelly Reilly, or a few other “old timers” in the cast who are only there as winks throughout the season. as a transmission from one generation to another.

Around the translators of Tom and Mia, Prime Video subscribers who will be captivated by this new chapter of the saga, The Spanish Inn, will find an array of young actors who will bring all the energy and dramatic power of the eight episodes.

Whether it’s the radiant Fotini Peluso (Julia), Reham Alcázar, who portrays the heartbreaking Syrian refugee Rim, Davide Iachini, who lights up the ensemble as Pipo, or the charismatic Dimitris Kitsos, who lends his qualities to Christos, Mia’s activist boyfriend. with vague intentions and practices.

Therefore, the team spirit and exciting side of the original 2002 film is there, through the dormitory that will be formed around Mia and Tom, who have inherited a building in Athens. But the Greek salad manages not to repeat itself and to surprise us. Although more relevant than ever. If we doubt it, let’s casually prove that the Erasmus Europe of 20 years ago, told in the first part of the trilogy, is light years away from the faithful and suffering Europe of 2023.