'Like Water For Chocolate' And 5 Amazing Magical Realism Movies & Shows To Watch Next
Magical realism is in! It’s fair to say the genre, which became famous through mid-20th-century Latin American literature, has been present on TV for a while. In fact, it’s not only adaptations of Latin American classics that have played with this mix of fantastical elements blended into a realistic setting; shows like Pushing Daisies (2007), Twin Peaks (1990), and even Hilda (2018) very much fit within the description of the genre. But now, Latin America is taking the genre back.
The recent Like Water for Chocolate (2024) and the upcoming The House of the Spirits (2026) are only two examples of recent Latin American classics that are grounded in magical realism and adapted for the screen. But what else can you watch if you enjoy the genre and are particularly interested in the kind of work that made magical realism famous? Here are six adaptations to watch if you want to immerse yourself.
This adaptation of Laura Esquivel’s famous work, Like Water for Chocolate, follows Tita de la Garza and Pedro Múzquiz’s tragic love story. The two-season show, set during the Mexican Revolution, positions Tita, the youngest in her family, as the one who must take care of her mother until she dies. That means she cannot marry, even if she’s in love with Pedro, and he loves her back. Because period dramas mean bad ideas, Pedro marries her sister, Rosaura, in order to stay close to Tita.
What follows is a story of love, longing, and despair, all told through the language of food. Because when Tita cooks, she puts all of her feelings into the food, and those who eat it feel exactly what Tita feels. (Talk about awkward.) Sometimes compared to movies like Chocolat (2000), Like Water for Chocolate is much more romantic than any other story on this list, but you should be prepared for pain. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Based on Gabriel García Márquez’s classic and widely considered a masterpiece of magical realism, the series follows the Buendía family in the fictional town of Macondo. With one season already out and a second season, which will wrap up the story, set to release in August 2026, the show explores elements of cyclical time, love, and history, mixing the fantastic with political and social commentary of Latin America.
A sprawling family epic, following seven generations of the Buendía family, One Hundred Years of Solitude is the one show you must watch if you want to understand magical realism. Civil wars and industrialization mix with ghosts, an insomnia plague, and even a rain of yellow flowers in a story that’s less about a family and more about how sometimes we cannot escape the mistakes of our past.
An eight-episode limited series, The House of the Spirits is based on Isabel Allende’s masterpiece about the Trueba family in a 20th-century Latin American country that isn’t named, but it looks a lot like the author’s Chile. Magical realism, mainly explored by protagonist Clara, who is clairvoyant, and a brutal dictatorship mix in a story that examines what fantastical elements can do in a world where reality gets crueler by the minute.
Like a lot of the Latin American classics that deal with magical realism, The House of the Spirits explores the cycle of violence and vengeance a family must go through, all while trying to find a good stopping place, one born of compassion and love. If you want to understand the political landscape of Latin America, this is a must-watch.
Netflix hasn’t just tackled One Hundred Years of Solitude and Latin American sci-fi that sometimes borders on magical realism, likeThe Eternaut (2025); it has also brought usPedro Páramo, a movie about a man who travels to the ghost town of Comoala to fulfill his mother’s dying wish to find his father. There, he finds only ghosts and a story that he, perhaps, would have been better off not knowing.
Juan Rulfo’s novel remains a classic of the genre, and the adaptation, directed by Rodrigo Prieto and starringThe Lincoln Lawyer’s Manuel García Rulfo as the titular character, is proof that the magic of some stories can translate to the big screen. Not the best adaptation on the list, but still a worthwhile watch for anyone looking to understand magical realism.
Perhaps it’s because Travesuras de la niña mala is in Spanish, or because there have been newer adaptations of Latin American classics with a lot more budget, but the adaptation of Mario Vargas Llosa’s novel rarely gets the flowers all the other shows and movies on this list do. Still, it’s an interesting look at a love story that is, in some ways, as tragic as Like Water for Chocolate, though a lot more toxic.
Sometimes considered a modern retelling of Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary, Travesuras de la niña mala explores the contrast between personal obsession and the changes in the world over the four decades this “bad girl,” a shapeshifter, continues to appear in our protagonist’s life, with a new identity but the same purpose: to get him to fall in love with her.
Perhaps the most absurd story on the list, The Passion According to G.H., based on the book by Clarice Lispector, follows a wealthy artist from Rio who has an existential breakdown after confronting a cockroach. Yes, a cockroach. And though the existential crisis is a lot more about breaking down the barrier between humans, animals, and whatever else might be, the movie follows a character on a mystical quest to strip away who they are to find a deeper understanding of life.
Think a little like Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, which has been adapted into film before, but with a dash of what Pedro Páramo attempted to convey. Often uncomfortable to watch, and yet somehow very uplifting, this is probably the right choice if you just want to dive into the genre and be able to get out fast.
