Find your feather flappers, and shine those oxford shoes. Let’s head back to 1920s Spain!
Cable Girls, aka Las Chicas del Cable (which sounds so much cooler), follows a thief, Alba Romero, in the 1920s as she embarks on a job to pay off a blackmailing cop. But the only way to access her prize is to work for the people who own it. Thus, she finds herself working for the city’s telephone company where she meets some unlikely new friends, and her past in an old love.
Cable Girls had me from the start with its empowering speech of freedom, and sudden murder of Alba Romero’s accomplice. Bianca Suarez, who plays Alba, is absolutely captivating in her role as she claws her way into the telephone business, and lies her way to success. Slowly, the audience is given snippets of Alba’s past, whether it’s a brothel or her first arrest, and each piece of history just makes her more interesting.
Her character certainly has an edge above the others, but this doesn’t discredit the other actors. Her inner circle of friends consists of vastly contrasting characters: a wild independent, a wife, and a quiet village girl. And although they are all so different, each of them work brilliantly together.
These ranging characters allows for a grand investigation into a variety of women in the 20s, and I cannot wait to see where it all leads. The show is edged with a modern touch which can be found in its music and grand city design. The upbeat tempo and dubstep soundtrack gives this show an air of The Great Gatsby, and the strong independence these women have creates a Bletchley Circle vibe. At times, however, the music can be jarring and overpowering. The grand city design, when it’s computer generated, furthers its Baz Luhrmann themes. And all of this is tied together with the array of costumes.
The suits and the dresses are matched to the characters perfectly and the contrast this creates with other’s costumes only enhances their personalities. For example, our lead Alba/ Lidia wears fine, yet understated dresses. They make her cautious eyes pop as she scans the room, but also allows her to hide in the crowd if she needs to be unnoticed. To contrast her is Sara, a young girl from a small village. Her frock resembles that of a plain school dress, topped with a straw hat she so perfectly hides behind. Both of these costumes reflect their characters fantastically, and promote their differences powerfully.
Audiences can easily see where great entertainment such as The Great Gatsby and The Bletchley Circle have influenced this Netflix Original. However, that’s not to say it can’t stand out by itself. In just the pilot episode, Cable Girls has launched multiple, intriguing stories. What’s more, they’ve done this with incredible pacing. This pilot episode has given audiences a taste of everything they can expect in his series. And from the looks of it, it’s going to be a wild ride.
Currently, the first 8 episodes for Cable Girls are available on Netflix, with the last 8 to be released at a later, unannounced date. Even still, there are already talks for a second season.
