If for some reason, you haven't been drawn into the Spanish crime drama phenomenon that is Money Heist, you may be wondering if you should.
Originally supposed to be just two seasons, Money Heist was so successful for Netflix that they extended it out to five seasons.
But what is Money Heist all about, and is it worth watching?
What Is Money Heist About?
First off, I'm only going to delve into the first season in this review. To write about any more of them would simply give away spoilers, and nobody wants that – least of all you, dear reader!
So here's how it goes. Money Heist (La casa de Papel), is a heist crime drama television series created by Álex Pina.
The Professor (Álvaro Morte) is a criminal mastermind who has spent years planning a heist on the Royal Mint of Spain. To do that, he needs criminals with exceptional skills, so he recruits eight thieves who choose city names as their aliases. So we have Tokyo, Belin, Helsinki, Oslo, Moscow, Nairobi, Rio and Denver.
The story is told in real-time from Tokyo's perspective and uses flashbacks to jump back in time to show the viewer how the whole heist unfolded.
The Professor has spent months training the recruits and drilling every minute detail of the heist to ensure that absolutely nothing goes wrong.
But of course, nothing is that straightforward and soon rivalries among the recruits, and the psychotic behaviour of others (I'm looking at you, Berlin), cause fractures in the team and headaches for the Professor.
Throw in an army of police officers outside the mint who are trying to catch the criminals and hostages who cause major problems (Arturo anyone??), and soon the Professor is having to improvise to ensure they all get out alive with the money.
Money Heist Official Trailer
Money Heist Release Date
Money Heist had its original run of 15 episodes on the Spanish tv network Antena 3 in 2017. Netflix then acquired global streaming rights in late 2017, re-cut the series into 22 shorter episodes and released them worldwide, beginning with the first part in December 2017.
The second part was released on 6 April 2018 and soon after Netflix renewed the series with a significantly increased budget for 16 new episodes total.
That resulted in the third season, with eight episodes, being released on 19 July 2019. Part 4, also with eight episodes, was released on 3 April 2020.
In July 2020, Money Heist was renewed for a fifth and final part, which was released in two five-episode volumes on 3 September and 3 December 2021.
Is Money Heist Worth Watching?
Prior to Squid Game, Money Heist was the most-watched non-English language series on Netflix, with more than 65 million accounts watching Part 4.
Can 65 million people be wrong? Not really. Money Heist is a staggeringly good tv show. It is clever, detailed and totally addictive. That is also why it has won several awards, including the International Emmy Award for Best Drama Series at the 46th International Emmy Awards.
Everything about this crime drama is sophisticated and well thought out. The character development and plotting is incredible, with twists and turns for days. Just when you think everything is going to go wrong, it comes back from the brink.
With each episode, the tension ramps up, peppered occasionally with some humour to relieve the pressure. And the whole way along, though it's difficult to believe, you actually root for the gang members to succeed. Well, most of them.
Money Heist is one of those shows that will have you hooked from the first episode. It has an ingenious and ambitious plot that pays off in dividends for fans who all wanted to know whether the Professor could indeed pull off the greatest heist in Spain's history.
Money Heist Spin Off Series
On the back of the worldwide success of Money Heist, Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area, the South Korean tv series was created.
Directed by Kim Hong-sun and written by Ryu Yong-jae, it stars Yoo Ji-tae, Park Hae-soo (Squid Game), Jeon Jong-seo, Lee Hyun-woo, Lee Won-jong, and Park Myung-hoon.
This version revolves around a hostage crisis situation involving a genius strategist with eight robbers as they stage a heist at a mint in the newly unified zone between North and South Korea.
The first season was broken into two parts with the first 6 episodes being released on June 24, 2022 on Netflix, topping the global non-english top 10 for the streaming platform.
No release date for the remaining 6 episodes of the season has been published yet.
Money Heist Cast Members
Úrsula Corberó as Silene Oliveira (plays Tokyo): a runaway who is recruited by the Professor, also the narrator.
Álvaro Morte as Sergio Marquina (The Professor): the mastermind of the heist who assembled the group
Itziar Ituño as Raquel Murillo: an inspector who is put in charge of the case
Pedro Alonso as Andrés de Fonollosa (Berlin): a jewel thief and the Professor's older brother
Paco Tous as Agustín Ramos (Moscow): a former miner turned criminal and Denver's father
Jaime Lorente as Daniel Ramos (Denver): Moscow's son who joins him in the heist
Alba Flores as Ágata Jiménez (Nairobi): an expert in counterfeiting and forgery
Miguel Herrán as Aníbal Cortés (Rio): a young hacker who later becomes Tokyo's boyfriend
Esther Acebo as Mónica Gaztambide: one of the hostages in the Mint who is Arturo Román's secretary and mistress
Enrique Arce as Arturo Román: a hostage and the former Director of the Royal Mint of Spain
María Pedraza as Alison Parker: a hostage in the Mint and daughter of the British ambassador to Spain
Darko Perić as Mirko Dragic (Helsinki): a veteran Serbian soldier and Oslo's cousin
Roberto García Ruiz as Dimitri Mostovói (Oslo): a veteran Serbian soldier and Helsinki's cousin
Najwa Nimri as Inspector Sierra (parts 3–5): put in charge of the case after Raquel departed from the force
