If you’re interested in content about hitmen falling in love with their targets, you’re going to have a hard time finding a better streaming service than Netflix to suit your needs. Richard Linklater’s Hit Man made its streaming debut on Netflix in 2024, and now the streamer has released a new Spanish series about a smitten hitman called The Gardener.
After a car accident left Elmer (Álvaro Rico) emotionless, he joined his mother’s garden center, which is actually a front for the murder-for-hire business she runs. Elmer’s the perfect assassin, but his job suddenly becomes more complicated when he falls in love with a preschool teacher named Violeta (Catalina Sopelana) — who he’s been hired to kill.
The Gardener (aka El jardinero) was created by Miguel Sáez Carral (Raising Voices). Carral co-wrote the series with Isa Sánchez (The Ministry of Time), while all six episodes were directed by Mikel Rueda (Veneno) and Rafa Montesinos (Perdida).
Days after debuting on Netflix, the series from Spain rocketed up to the #3 spot on the service’s Top TV 10 Shows chart in the US. It is only being beaten out by the new season of Black Mirror and the controversial docuseries Bad Influence.
Unfortunately, the reviews have not been favorable. ScreenRant says the series “touches upon some deeper questions but ultimately unfolds predictably.” Decider says that you should stream it, but warns that “there are a lot of absurd elements in The Gardener.”
All six episodes of The Gardener premiered on Netflix on April 11, 2025.
