B24 Review of Unauthorized Living

Unauthorized Living (2018–2020)

Decent acting and sets for the most part

[6/10 · 1 May 2019]

At least half this series produced for Spanish TV is worth watching, especially if you have the time as I did to follow it in short order through its entire first season. The basic plot centers on an aging crime boss who learns he is a victim of progressive Alzheimer's disease. Efforts to wind down his business in favor of consolidating emotional links to family members before his ultimate demise turns into a complex narrative in which the worst elements of each of the main characters is displayed as they react to his failures to connect. Even the "good guys" come off as flawed in one way or another. Gratuitous slams at Mexicans and gays make it especially unpalatable, as does a cynical concluding scene in which police come off as wimpy tools of corrupt international cabals. I cannot see much virtue or moral range in this production, only evil of the most obvious kind. I rate it high in production values and acting...little else.