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While listening practice is a key ingredient to becoming fluent in Portuguese, it is not always easy to get hold of TV shows with subtitles, especially if you’re learning European Portuguese.
Today I am sharing with you dozens of Portuguese TV shows with Portuguese subtitles* that you can stream for free (even from outside Portugal).
Let’s get started.
* You’ll see a ‘cc’-button on the upper right corner to turn subtitles on.
Which level are you at?
If you’ve just begun learning Portuguese, you may find watching TV shows in your target language too difficult! Fair enough. Here’re a couple of reads where you can find learning resources specifically designed for beginners:
• Quality Online Resources for Portuguese Language Learners
• How to Practice and Improve Your Portuguese Listening Skills – Best Practices and Quality Resources
This series’ main character, Pedro, comes back to his hometown in Portugal after having lived for 20 years in a distant Eastern land with a different culture … This drama series comprises 300 episodes.
This is a Portuguese soap opera from 2015 with hundreds of episodes that you can stream and watch. As you’d expect from a soap opera, it portrays the lives of ordinary people in contemporary Portugal.
This is a comedy series from 2015 and there are 13 episodes available. It revolves around the daily lives of a group of journalists working for a daily newspaper.
There are 4 seasons available although only the fourth season, with no less than 260 episodes, come with subtitles.
Apart from all its humor, it depicts the contrasts between life in the city and in the countryside and the challenges that the latter faces (unemployment, exodus, loneliness, etc).
Nelio & Idália is a sitcom featuring one of Portugal’s most acclaimed comedians, Herman José. You can browse through its 50 available episodes.
Much-celebrated author Mia Couto tells about his upbringing in Mozambique, the country’s independence war, and the civil war that followed that. This program also pictures contemporary Mozambique and its challenges.
Lost in time and space. Discover a dream-like, off-the-beaten-track rural settlement in northern Portugal. The place had long been forgotten until recently…
This 6-episode documentary will walk you through all our senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch and, of course, intuition.
An excellent documentary about the traditional seafood-processing industry in Portugal. It comprises two episodes but only the first one has subtitles.
Explore Portugal’s capital through the eyes of Portuguese celebrities. Being passionate about their city, they will walk you through Lisbon’s delights and off-the-beaten-track places.
This series is 14 episodes long and depicts life at sea. It gives voice to small communities of Portuguese fishermen who reveal the charms and challenges of their trade – a contemplation of the relationship between man and the sea.
This program focuses on the Madeira islands, namely, its history since it was first populated in the fifteenth century until today. It tells the story of how nature, landscape and human society have co-evolved.
Madeira prima is a documentary featuring carpenters, artists, craftsmen and designers, from different generations, who reveal the secrets of their art. They all have one thing in common: wood is their raw material.
This program tells the stories of Portuguese emigrants scattered around the world. In each episode, someone will share his/her dreams, challenges and struggles of living far from home. At the time of writing, the program is in its tenth season.
The host of this literature-focused program recites, comments on, and discusses literary works by renowned authors, both Portuguese and international. There are 22 episodes available.
This program will teach you about Portuguese history, traditions, gastronomy, architecture, and arts. Each episode is a “guided visit” to someplace of interest. There are 10 seasons available but only seasons 2, 3, and 4 have Portuguese subtitles available.
This is a cultural program devoted to the performing arts in Portugal. There are 22 available episodes.
This culture series takes you to all corners of Portugal to show you Portugal’s musical traditions and folk culture. There are 26 episodes available.
If you are a fan of architecture, landscape and Portuguese history, this program is for you. It reveals the history behind the Park and National Palace of Pena in Sintra, Portugal.
Os filhos do rock tells the story of the generation that, throughout the 80s, created the foundations of today’s Portuguese rock music.
Divided into two seasons of 6 episodes each, these documentary series will tell you everything about Portuguese pop music’s history, from the 1960s all the way up to the present. Only the first season comes with subtitles.
This program revolves around the Portuguese language. It touches upon common grammar mistakes Portuguese people make, the origin of Portuguese idiomatic expressions and other language curiosities.
Biosfera is a didactic program focusing on the environment and sustainability issues. At the time of this writing, it is in its eighteenth season. Some of the episodes have subtitles available, others don’t.
This program gives voice to RTP’s audience. Being Portugal’s public service broadcaster, RTP is kept under scrutiny by its audience.
Reading tips! If you’ve found this post useful, you may want to read this one as well: 16 Podcast Shows to Nurture Your Portuguese Language Skills (and Get to Know More About Portugal).
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