Is Two Graves inspired by real events? Details from the Netflix series, explored

Netflix’s new Spanish thriller, Two Graves, has people buzzing out of curiosity. The series was released on August 29, 2025, and features the themes of loss, obsession, and revenge. This has led viewers wondering: Is this series based on something that actually happened, or did someone just make it all up?

The story has a chilling realness to it: Two girls vanish, and a grandma, Isabel, turns the whole town upside down trying to figure out what happened. Three episodes in, and even the audience is neck-deep in secrets, lies, and all the messy business that comes with small towns.

But what lies behind the headlines? The producers have been close-mouthed about a connection to true cases, mentioning eerie unsolved Spanish crimes and underlining the distinctive angle of a bereaved family member driven to the brink.

Such vagueness has been the subject of debate among viewers and crime drama fans, studying each line and each scene in an attempt to distinguish between fact and fiction. Is Two Graves a straight retelling of a true case, or a skillfully spun tale based on the emotional truths of the kind?

Is Two Graves based on a true story?

The short answer: Two Graves is not a direct copy of one true crime but is inspired by the emotional devastation and public interest in true tragedies. Creator Agustín Martínez and co-writers Jorge Díaz and Antonio Mercero developed the story after researching Spanish crimes involving the Alcàsser Girls and Marta del Castillo's disappearance (famous and ongoing unsolved crimes that robbed families of loved ones and mobilized the nation).

But Martínez has been clear that the crimes were only references and not direct blueprints, and the story is a work of fiction nonetheless.

While creating the show, Martínez wanted to put a rarely-seen protagonist center stage: an older grandmother named Isabel, whose anguish and determination shake the rules of crime drama storytelling. Rather than police officers or moms, Two Graves places a family member at the forefront whose anguish and resolve are often not presented in that type of story.

That choice resulted from a wish to gain insight into the psychological toll that unsolved crimes impose upon loved ones, and to test the limits of viewers' compassion and anticipate them.

As the authors drew on actual feelings and communal tensions caused by infamous cold cases, they blended actual grief, the quest for justice, and communal fixations with media-driven tales of crime.

Regardless, the story and characters are new and created to foster a feeling of actuality and emotional resonance rather than to chronicle actual events.

About Two Graves: Story, cast, and production

Two Graves (Spanish: Dos Tumbas) is a three-part miniseries that premiered on Netflix on August 29, 2025. Created by Agustín Martínez, Jorge Díaz, and Antonio Mercero, the series boasts Kiti Mánver in the role of Isabel, the drama's central grandmother. There is also Álvaro Morte (Money Heist), Hovik Keuchkerian, Nadia Vilaplana, Zoé Arnao, Joan Solé, Carlos Scholz, Nonna Cardoner, and Salva Reina in the cast.

A sleepy little sun-baked Frigiliana gets rocked when two teens, Verónica Marín and Marta Salazar, just flat-out disappear after a party. Fast-forward a bit, and Marta’s body turns up floating in the Mediterranean. But Verónica is still missing. Two years go by, and there’s still no clue. Cops shrug, toss the case in the cold file, and that’s supposed to be the end of it.

But Isabel is not letting this go. The grieving grandma takes it upon herself to find out the truth. She digs in, pokes around where nobody wants her to, and suddenly all the town’s dirty laundry starts spilling out: sketchy parties, girls getting taken advantage of, skeletons falling out of family closets left and right.

The emotional center of Two Graves is in the character of Isabel: her loss turns to vengeance as she goes after everyone responsible and breaks moral codes to find closure for her family.

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Also, read: Where was Two Graves shot? Revisiting key filming locations of the Netflix series

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