Catalan series Merlí premieres on TV3 with Francesc Orella

Merlí debuted on TV3, the Catalan public broadcaster, in September 2015. The drama was written in Catalan and set in a secondary school in Barcelona.

It follows Merlí Bergeron, an unconventional philosophy teacher played by Francesc Orella. He uses the ideas of thinkers such as Aristotle, Nietzsche and Socrates to guide his teenage students through questions about friendship, sexuality, family and identity. His methods often clash with colleagues and with the school's rules.

The series drew a large audience in Catalonia and became a cultural reference for young viewers, partly because of its frank treatment of adolescence. Its young cast included Marcos Franz, whose career grew out of the show's popularity.

Merlí later reached Netflix, which introduced it to audiences beyond Catalonia and Spain. Its success led to a spin-off, Merlí: Sapere Aude, which followed some of the students at university. The original show is still the project many of its actors are best known for, which is why it often appears in coverage of their later lives.