Robert De Niro takes on Argentine swear words and steak in new TV dramedy

Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro will make his small-screen debut this week, starring in an Argentine television series where he gets to grips with Buenos Aires slang and samples the local cuisine.

Nada, a new Star+ series, follows a comedic and heartwarming clash of cultures between eccentric food critic Manuel (played by Luis Brandoni) and De Niro, who plays an American writer who travels to visit him in Buenos Aires.

De Niro, who is friends with Brandoni in real life, also plays the narrator of the series, discovering the Argentine capital and its mouth-watering dishes, as well as learning its colourful profanity — such as boludo and pelotudo, both of which loosely translate as idiot.

“De Niro really liked to speak in Spanish in the series. He asked for that. That’s kind of why we put together this list of Argentine insults and their meanings,” co-director Gaston Duprat told Reuters.

Nada marks the first time De Niro, 80, will star in a television series.

The series was filmed on location in some of Buenos Aires’ most noted neighbourhoods, including La Boca and Recoleta, and features classic dishes such as bife de chorizo steaks and desserts slathered in dulce de leche, a creamy caramel-like delight.

Spread out across five half-hour episodes, De Niro offers up bits of Argentine slang in each one.

The series premieres on Wednesday (Oct 11) on Star+ in Latin America, on Hulu in the United States and on Disney+ in several countries in Europe.

Last month, it made its world premiere at the San Sebastian Festival in Spain.