Dhruv Sharma
‘Elite’ is one of these better-known Spanish drama shows. It revolves around the lives of three working-class kids who end up enrolling in the most “elite” school in Spain and with this, a hefty clash between the rich and the poor ensues. The drama further intensifies when the differences between the two classes lead to murder. Giving some of the best teen dramas like ‘Riverdale‘ a run for its money, ‘Elite’ sure does have a lot of potential. And if you’ve already watched it, you must be wondering if it has been filmed in an actual school or it’s simply a work of fiction. To know more about that, read on further.
Elite Filming Locations
Going by its storyline, the events of ‘Elite’ take place mostly in a school named Las Encinas. The series never really reveals its actual location but it is seemingly somewhere in the mountains. It is very likely that the school is actually fictitious and even the town surrounding it is nothing but a work of fiction. However, the whole surrounding and the setup of the show are very real and for the most part, it has been filmed in Spain. If you’ve already seen the show, you’ll be aware that it does not walk you through several different locations and instead, its premise is only confined to the lives of the kids of Las Encinas and their families. So it comes as no surprise that its primary filming took place in only one prime location and that is Madrid, Spain.
Sierra de Guadarrama, Madrid, Spain
Most of the three seasons of the show have been filmed in Madrid, specifically in Sierra de Guadarrama. Earlier in the year 2018, Netflix had announced that it would be launching a Madrid-based production facility which would include a massive campus in the city of Ciudad de la Tele. It is unknown if this was later completed on time before the filming of season 1 or not, but it is a possibility that this facility was later used for season 2 and 3.
If we take a look at some of the old Instagram posts of the cast of the show, a few of them have been geotagged as Madrid. You can check out one of them below:
In an interview, one of the creators of the show, Carlos Montero, explained how he never intended to make a show that is deeply rooted in the Spanish culture: “We didn’t try to make a Spanish series nor for that matter an international one. But we show what we see. But we showed what you see, what is here for the world to see. Urban planning and construction, for example, can mean corruption. Being more local is key.” Adding to this, in another interview, he explained that the show’s setup might even feel “Americanized” at times because he intends to reflect on the kind of lifestyle that most posh Spanish schools try to because of how they’re all deeply influenced by the American culture.
Here’s a video posted by Danna Paola, who is one of the leading stars of the show:
Here’s another one from the sets of the show:
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