Hulu delivers a knockout punch with its must-see Spanish boxing drama

In the opening moments of La MaquinaHulu’s new six-episode boxing drama, which is also its first-ever Spanish-language series, sees a Botoxed, spray-tanned and sharply dressed manager, played by Diego Luna, berating an assistant for bringing him the wrong drink. It turns out that the assistant couldn’t find the right brand of refreshment – a minor quibble, you might think, but one that nonetheless causes Luna’s Andy to have an impromptu meltdown. “This ain’t no game, motherfucker,” Andy growls at the underling as they enter a Las Vegas arena where a fight night is in progress.

Andy is an impresario type who delivers a lesson on boxing – on the importance of not just the fighters in the ring, but also the myriad complexities, superstitions and shadowy players that can influence the outcome. And yes, even something as prosaic as the right drink. In this case, the aging boxer that Andy works for, nicknamed La Maquina (The Machine), has a superstition that involves consuming a certain brand of drink before each fight. But now there is no time.

Andy scratches the label off. A drink is a drink, right? The boxer notices, of course – and we soon catch up with him as he lies in the back of an ambulance. Superstition confirmed, it seems.

This is indeed not a game.

The plot of La Maquina is simple: Gael García Bernal, Luna’s true friend since birth (literally), portrays Esteban, the boxer. Luna is his plastic surgery-obsessed manager and best friend. Esteban is getting older and decides he has one more fight in him. Actually, it’s Andy who decides that for him, determined to get his friend back on track. The thing about Andy, though, is that he’s spent a long time working with bad guys to resolve feuds, including the one involving Esteban. And now the piper has to be paid.

The criminals from the underworld send a message: “Esteban Tiene que perder.” He has to throw his upcoming match or they will kill both Andy and Esteban. That means the latter will, among other things, try to stage a comeback of sorts, while also juggling personal demons in addition to protecting his family. It is a family that also includes his ex-wife Irasema (Eiza Gonzalez), a journalist who is on a collision course with the dark side of boxing.

Image source: Camila Mata Lara/Hulu

Boxing almost always provides satisfying, edge-of-your-seat drama. Such battles are as primal as it gets; two guys duking it out, and it’s just a matter of who can hang on. As if all of the above weren’t enough, the problems are compounded by Esteban’s blackout drinking, Andy struggling to conceive a child with his wife, and Irasema’s journalistic investigation into boxing’s shady puppet masters. Between the drama and the sublime technical choices here, including beautiful single-takes at the beginning of two episodes, there’s more than enough to pull you inexorably into the world of La Maquina – and to keep you invested.

It’s clear that the “main event” of this series, so to speak, is the reunion of Luna and García Bernal, whose first collaboration was 2001’s coming-of-age. Y tu mama también. Their longstanding friendship makes for a compelling onscreen duo with a ton of chemistry, so much so that you can almost imagine them sharing some kind of Pitt-Clooney dynamic (in another decade or so, of course). Hulu’s new series keeps you on your toes in large part through their on-screen magic, which is more than enough to deliver a small-screen knockout.