Picture via Netflix
Presented out of competition at the San Sebastian Film Festival under the title Genesis (Gènesi), the Catalan drama about the life of world-famous chef Ferran Adrià has been acquired by Netflix in a rare move for the streamer, and will now arrive as Welcome to El Bulli on November 20, 2026 in select regions including the US, UK and most of Western Europe (check here as to whether it’s coming where you live). Here’s everything we know.
Over the past year, Netflix has gradually gotten back into the acquisition game for its series, after spending years focusing on productions of its own. After a couple of Australian shows and a few AMC coproductions in the US, the six-episode drama originally known as Genesis (Gènesi) is the latest to join the library. It will stream in a raft of territories, including the US, the UK, Western Europe and Latin America, and the streamer will also carry the show exclusively on SVOD in Spain. It’s a timely pick-up, too, with kitchen dramas like The Bear (FX/Hulu) enjoying global success.
What is Welcome to El Bulli about?
Netflix’s synopsis for the series reads:
The origins and rise of chef Ferran Adrià inspire this biopic series about how he transformed El Bulli into one of the best restaurants in the world.
The original logline from 3Cat goes into more detail, revealing the show is split across two timelines:
In the 1980s, a young Ferran Adrià arrives at El Bulli, sparking a gastronomic revolution alongside Juli Soler that would propel the restaurant to global success. Decades later, in 2025, food critic Glòria Canabach returns to Catalonia to reopen the family business with her niece, Lola. The two timelines intertwine in a story about obsession, resilience, and the power of cooking to heal the wounds of the past.
Netflix lists the series under its Spanish, Drama and Based on Real Life categories, describing it as inspiring and tagging it as a limited series, so don’t expect a second season.
Who is cast in Welcome to El Bulli?
- Playing chef Ferran Adrià is Miquel Fernández, who was seen in a supporting role in the 2018 Netflix movie Mirage, and in both seasons of El Embarcadero, created by Money Heist‘s Álex Pina.
- Playing Glòria Canabach is Mónica López, who has appeared in Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s movies and led the crime series Rapa.
- In the role of Juli Soler, co-owner and general manager of El Bulli, is Iván Massagué, who had supporting roles in the Netflix shows The Gardener and The Crystal Cuckoo.
- Xavi Caudevilla and Daniel Bayona also receive top billing on Netflix’s listing for the series.
- The cast is rounded out by Carlos Cuevas, Joana Vilapuig, Alex Brull, Alberto Díaz, Pere Arquillué and Mario Gas.
Who is behind the show?
Greenlit in 2025 to coincide with Catalonia being named a global gastronomy destination, the six-episode show aired from mid-October on local channel and commissioner 3Cat, where it delivered the broadcaster’s biggest ratings for a series launch in three years. It was created by Eva Mor, David Pujol and Albert Val, with Pujol also serving as director.
What else do we know about the show?
The show was produced with the active involvement of Ferran Adrià himself, who recreated some 80 dishes over the (main) course of the series with the help of former elBulli cooks.
Speaking to Variety ahead of its screening in the Other Works section at San Sebastian, the director said the show would frame the eventual closure of elBulli, which came while the restaurant was at the height of its success, as a mystery.
Marco Arabit, whose company New Regency holds the international rights to the show and sold it to Netflix, told trade outlet C21 that the series also sets out to showcase the discipline of molecular gastronomy: “Some people think of gastronomy as ‘the more refined, the better,’ but with Genesis the connection with food is deeper and more meaningful. It shows the audience that food is also a form of expression – it brings people together, evokes memories and triggers emotions. It’s a story of legacy, family trauma, healing, creativity and a lot of heart.”
Finally, a Guardian piece following the San Sebastian premiere noted that while the real elBulli kitchen was calm and collected, the show ups the ante with a far more frantic portrayal: “Some cooking scenes are oddly frantic, given that Adrià was not a shouty chef à la Gordon Ramsay, nor even slightly in the rock’n’roll mode of Anthony Bourdain.”
When will Welcome to El Bulli be on Netflix?
All six episodes of Welcome to El Bulli will arrive on Netflix on Friday, November 20, 2026, just weeks after the series wrapped its original run on 3Cat.
The acquisition isn’t quite global, but the series will be available in most regions, including the US and the UK (plus other international territories).
Will you be checking out Welcome to El Bulli when it lands on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below.
