HBO Max's Veneno is the kind of show that jolts you awake and makes you pay attention

Vox

"The kind that makes you think about the countless ways we tell stories and all the possibilities we haven’t yet staked out," says Alex Abad-Santos. "The kind that gives you the power to see the world differently and makes your senses tingle. The kind that makes you want to talk about it with anyone and everyone. This kind of TV show, unfortunately, doesn’t come around often enough. And that’s why, I suppose, I’m writing about Veneno, an eight-episode, one-season HBO Max original series that I fully believe is the best television show of the last year. Veneno, in practical use, is the Spanish word for venom. But it’s also the nickname of one Cristina Ortiz Rodríguez or 'La Veneno,' a real-life, Spanish transgender singer and celebrity who rose to prominence in the mid-’90s after appearing on one of Spain’s popular late-night TV shows. Veneno is about her life, and all its joys and complications."