Who Killed Sara? creator, José Ignacio Valenzuela's real-life experiences were part of the inspiration behind the mystery series. The Netflix show starring Manolo Cardona as Alex Guzmán premiered on the streaming platform in March of 2021. After jumping to the #1 spot on Netflix in 63 countries, Who Killed Sara? is now the most-watched foreign-language series worldwide.
The show borrows inspiration from both telenovela dramas and classic murder mysteries - where everyone is a potential suspect and nothing is as it seems. Valenzuela's writing career as both a screenwriter and novelist spans over three decades. Born in Chile, Valenzuela has worked on various film and television projects throughout Chile, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the United States. Here's how Valenzuela's real-life experiences helped to inspire the plot and characters in Who Killed Sara?.
Valenzuela comes from a family of authors, which influenced his writing career, including his work on Who Killed Sara?. In an interview with ADN Radio, Valenzuela discussed how his family played a role in his development as a writer, recalling advice his aunt - the well-known children's book author, Ana María Güiraldes - once gave him about creating well-developed, believable characters. “She told me, lend the main character your past and your conditions and it is not going to get out of hand because you are writing about someone you know,” said Valenzuela. One of Who Killed Sara?'s greatest strengths is its complex and multi-dimensional characters.
The authors who Valenzuela grew up reading also inspired the plot in Who Killed Sara?. Valenzuela’s fiction and screenwriting often revolve around family drama, and this is a focal point of the story in the Netflix series. But it's also a classic whodunit-style murder mystery. As a child, Valenzuela was a fan of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories and Agatha Christie’s classic murder mysteries. Christie’s influence is clear from the beginning of Who Killed Sara? season 1, as the series opens its premiere episode with a quote from Christie's The Man In The Mist: "Very few of us are what we seem." The quote perfectly sets the stage for Valenzuela’s crime drama as this sentiment is portrayed in the show’s themes around duality, identity, and family secrets throughout the series.
Valenzuela’s experiences as a gay man and LGBTQ+ advocate also show up in Netflix's Who Killed Sara?. As an outspoken advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, Valenzuela has discussed the inequalities he's faced due to his sexual orientation. The show also shines a light on Mexico's issues with homophobia and violence against the LGBTQ+ community in particular. According to Reuters, the country had its deadliest year for LGBTQ+ people in 2020. These challenges are portrayed in the series through the character of Chema Lazcano, whose parents fail to support or accept him and his relationship with Lorenzo. When Chema comes out to his parents, César violently assaults his son. While the series is a work of fiction, Valenzuela's real-life influences and inspirations clearly keep Who Killed Sara? grounded in reality.