El Cid (TV series)

Ruy is the son of a low-ranking nobleman who was wronged years previously by Ferdinand, Count of Castile (José Luis García Pérez).

Ferdinand, married to Queen Sancha,[4] has become King of León by defeating in battle the previous king, Bermudo, Sancha’s brother. Bermudo was killed in the battle and Ferdinand has taken the crown by right of his wife, the true successor. Sancha is plotting with a group of Leonese nobles, notably Flaín, Count of León and Ruy's grandfather Rodrigo, to overthrow her husband. She does not want him harmed, but the nobles have other ideas.

The king's three sons, Sancho, Alfonso and García are not involved in the plot but have their own individual ambitions to succeed their father. Sancha is worried by the activities of her daughter Urraca,[4] Ferdinand's eldest child, who resents being excluded from the line of succession in favour of Sancho and is set on causing trouble in the Royal Court as a possible means of obtaining power and territory for herself.[5]

Ruy is taken by his grandfather to Ferdinand's court where he eventually becomes squire to Sancho.[4] He is attracted to Jimena,[4] who has been brought to court for an arranged marriage with Flain’s son Orduño. He soon makes an enemy of Orduño due to their rivalry over Jimena.

Ruy becomes aware of the plot against Ferdinand and realises Rodrigo is involved. He has to find a way to prove his loyalty by preventing the death of the king (whom he despises) and at the same time avoid implicating his grandfather.[5]

• Jaime Lorente as Ruy (El Cid)
• Lucía Guerrero as Jimena
• José Luis García Pérez as Ferdinand, the Great,[6] Count of Castile, King of León
• Elia Galera as Queen Sancha[6]
• Alicia Sanz as Infanta Urraca,[6] Ferdinand's eldest child
• Francisco Ortiz as Sancho, Ferdinand's eldest son
• Lucía Díez as Infanta Elvira,[6] Ferdinand's younger daughter
• Jaime Olías as Alfonso, Ferdinand's son
• Nicolás Illoro as García, Ferdinand's youngest son
• Ginés García Millán as King Ramiro[7]
• Juan Echanove as Bishop Don Bernardo
• Juan Fernández as Rodrigo, Ruy's grandfather
• Carlos Bardem as Count Flaín of León
• Pablo Álvarez as Orduño,[7] Flain's son and Ruy's foe
• Alfons Nieto as Vellido
• Sara Vidorreta as Ermesinda[8]
• Rodrigo Poisón as Velarde
• Daniel Albaladejo as Maestro Orotz,[7] sword master
• Álvaro Rico as Nuño[7]
• Adrián Salzedo as Alvar,[7] squire
• Daniel Tatay as Beltrán[7]
• David Castillo as Lisardo,[7] squire
• Ignacio Herráez as Trifon, Ferdinand's champion
• Hamid Krim as Al-Muqtadir[7]
• Zohar Liba as Abu Bakr,[7] Al-Muqtadir's ambassador
• Emilio Buale as Sádaba[6]
• Sarah Perles as Amina[7]
• Adil Koukouh as Mundir

Introduced in season 2

• Amparo Alcaraz as Alberta[9]

A scene was shot in the medieval bridge of Frías

Filming began in the province of Soria on 1 October 2019.[13] Shooting locations in the province included Almenar de Soria, Almazán, Calatañazor, Duruelo de la Sierra, and the Montes de Ucero in the Cañón del Río Lobos Natural Park.[13] Conversely, shooting locations in the province of Burgos included the medieval bridge in Frías and the Monte Santiago Natural Monument.[13] The Aljafería Palace was used to recreate indoor locations of the Taifa of Zaragoza.[13] Production also moved to province of Teruel (Albarracín) and the Madrid region (including Navalcarnero and Madrid).[13] The five-part first season was released on December 18, 2020 on Prime Video.[3] In January 2021, the confirmation of a second season was reported in media,[14] and a release date for July 15, 2021 was announced in June 2021.[15]

The series' direction crew included Marco A. Castillo, Adolfo Martínez Pérez, Miguel Alcantud, Arantxa Echevarría, Manuel Carballo and Alberto Ruiz Rojo.[16] The score was composed by Gustavo Santaolalla and Alfonso González Aguilar.[16]

The original languages of El Cid are Spanish and Arabic. The series is also available on Amazon in English, French, Portuguese, German, and other languages.

• El Cid at IMDb