Look forward to a new horror miniseries from Pablo Larraín. Netflix has announced the production of My Sad Dead (Mis muertos tristes), a miniseries based on the work of author Marina Enríquez. The Chilean filmmaker last worked with Netflix on the black horror, El Conde.
The four-part horror series starts filming in June and is said to be about not the world of the supernatural and the horror found within society. Although the work is based on My Sad Dead, the streamer announced plots and characters will also draw inspiration from Julie, A Sunny Place for Shady People and Back When We Talked to the Dead.
The story is being adapted for the screen by Enríquez herself, along with Chilean writer Guillermo Calderón, Anastasia Ayazi and Larraín himself. The director has described Mariana’s writing as “particularly visual,” “brilliant, and “dangerous.” He called her style of “casual, domestic horror” as inspiring and hopes to continue adapting her work in the future. If this miniseries does well for Netflix, it sounds like he wants to continue adapting Enríquez’s work for the small screen.
Enríquez described working with Larraín as an “honor.” She described the process of turning her stories into a miniseries as “calm and respectful.” She also thanked the streamer for letting the team produce the show locally in Latin America. My Sad Dead will shoot in Buenos Aires and Santiago, Chile.
Pable Larraín has become known for making films based on real life figures. His previous movies include Neruda (2016), Jackie (2016), Spencer (2021), El Conde (2023), and last year’s Maria.
What is My Sad Dead going to be about?
My Sad Dead will follow a 60-year-old, Ema, who can see and hear the dead. Working as a doctor, she has spent her life avoiding her gift and trying to connect her with the suffering of others. Her disturbed young niece also has this gift, but struggles with its intensity, forcing Ema to get involved.
The Netflix press release says that “Ema will have to confront her past, her daughter, and the ghosts she never let go.” What starts as a family reunion between an aunt and niece ends up being a disturbing chain of events that alters the balance between the world of the living and the dead.
My Sad Dead features a star-studded Argentine cast led by Mercedes Morán (Neruda), Dolores Fonzi (Paulina), and Alejandra Flechner (Argentina 1985), who are joined by Carlos Portaluppi, Germán de Silva, Luz Jiménez, and newcomer Carolina Sánchez Álvarez.
The original short story was praised for being a seamless blend of genres. While the story is about ghosts and violent deaths, many have praised how it also blends themes of parent-child relationships, community, and state violence.
In an interview with The New Yorker, Mariana Enríquez stated her intentions of writing a normal middle-aged woman who just happened to be a medium. The author also noted how many real-life women in Argentina claim to be mediums but are clearly faking it for money. “Ema doesn’t think she’s special. She just has a gift that she doesn’t want to profit from.” The writer added that the lead character was based on a real-life person in her family who claims to see ghosts.
An exact release date for My Sad Dead is still under wraps, but insiders anticipate a 2026 Netflix release.