Is Netflix’s ‘Muted’ Based on a True Story? The Show’s Inspiration Explained

Netflix’s Muted (El Silencio) set a high standard for a psychological thriller with a balanced traditional procedural drama script and the addition of controversial intrusive surveillance of a killer. As fans watch more of Sergio Cisar’s life through Ana Dussel’s eyes, they feel sorry for him and even come to like him. The fact that Sergio does all this without saying a single word leaves fans to make their interpretation of whether he is a monster or not. As fans empathize with “the mute monster,” many wonder whether Muted is based on a real-life story or a work of fiction.

Muted is a well-packed show written by the Spanish screenwriter Aitor Gabilondo who also wrote Unauthorized Living. Although the script feels realistic and something a writer could pick off the news headlines, Aitor hasn’t linked Muted to any real-life event. The show is, therefore, a work of fiction. Although it may be inspired by things that happen daily, there is no direct correlation between Sergio Cisar’s story and any particular murder case.

The Idea of Ana Dussel and her team watching Sergio’s every move through secret cameras is the most interesting aspect of the psychological thriller. Viewers have to deal with two different angles of unknowns as they wonder whether Sergio will snap and kill again and whether Ana’s illegal surveillance will backfire on her. So, what inspired Gabilondo to create such a unique and interesting thriller, and where have we seen the cast before? Let’s delve into it.

What is Netflix’s Muted about?

The show is about Sergio Cisar, who killed his parents as a minor and went mute after the horrific events. He hasn’t spoken to anyone since he killed his parents, so the authorities don’t know why he did it.

Sergio is released from prison early for good behavior after serving six years in jail for the murder, but the authorities have planted secret cameras to record him every moment of the day to try and understand his actions.

The investigation is led by Ana Dussel, a young psychologist obsessed with Sergio’s case and wants to identify what triggered him to commit the murders.

Sergio continues to stay mute after his release from prison, but he later meets a girl called Martha, whom he takes on a date, and Ana hopes to deploy her help to break Sergio’s silence.

Ana and her team soon approach Martha to try and convince her to get Sergio to talk about the murder and help them understand what happened to know whether Sergio poses a threat to society.

On the other hand, Sergio just tries to move on with his life without his parents, but he is clearly lonely and troubled, meaning he never recovered from the events that led to his parent’s deaths.

While watching Sergio, Ana develops an obsession with the ex-convict, feeling sympathetic for him as he proves there is more to the story than the monster they imagined him to be.

His relationship with Martha fascinates the surveillance team even further as Sergio shows that he can be romantic and empathetic, which the psychologists didn’t expect.

Sergio, therefore, turns into a mystery that the team can only watch and allow him to heal and then probably reveal his true side that he lost since killing his parents.

What is Sergio’s story based on?

“Every giant dies tired of being observed from the outside,” Aitor Gabilondo mentioned the wise saying as his inspiration for the script of Muted.

The creator imagined the world that accused teenage killers live in as they become isolated by society as everyone expects them to kill again.

The creator further argued that Sergio is not exactly a monster, but Ana doesn’t know that, so she is determined to prove it by watching every moment of his life from a screen.

Ana soon gets trapped in Sergio’s world as her hunt for the monster in Sergio doesn’t seem to bear any fruits, and she feels like she was wrong and that she is probably the monster for not giving the poor young man the freedom of his privacy.

Gabilondo didn’t link his line of thought to any real-life event, meaning the whole show is just his imagination, testing what would happen if someone watched every minute of the life of someone society perceives to be a monster.

Despite being a work of fiction, Muted is a well-balanced show with a strong realistic feel, as the plot is not exaggerated, and the characters feel like actual persons.

Where you have seen the cast of Muted before

Despite being his first project on Netflix, Gabilondo’s Muted is a star-studded show with many familiar names and faces in the cast and crew.

Aron Piper, who plays Sergio, is quite familiar, especially with the show’s Spanish fan base, because he played the role of Andre Munoz in the long-running Spanish teen drama Elite.

Piper was born to a German father and a Spanish mother in Berlin before moving to Catalonia, Spain, where he studied acting.

He has starred in Spanish films as a child actor since 2004. He has since picked up major roles other the years, including Alejo in the hit 2023 Spanish movie Fatum.

Almudena Amor, who portrays Ana Dussel, is another talented Spanish actress that broke into the industry in 2019 as a stage actor. She has starred in other Spanish films, including The Good Boss as Liliana and The Grandmother as Susana.

Cristina Kovani, who portrays Martha, is also a seasoned actress known for her role as Leo in La Caza Monterpido.