La Casa de Papel or Money Heist has become a very popular TV series on Netflix over the past year with over 60 million household tuning in to the show on the streaming platform. In what seems like an overnight success, the crime drama TV series has captured the hearts of viewers worldwide and has even been used as a reference for social change and human rights activism.
But how did Money Heist get so popular and why does it resonate with viewers all over the world who have almost nothing in common?
For this week’s Big Story, eelive.ng will be looking at how Money Heist became a global sensation.
Little beginnings
According to promoters of the show in the documentary Money Heist: The Phenomenon, the series started out in 2017 as an Antenna 3 TV series. The show aired only in Spain and started with a bang; with a meagre 4.5 million viewers in Season 1. But things got bad. According to Director and Executive Producer, Jesus Colmenar, there was a slow decline in viewership in the second season as the hype began to wane. In fact, it went down to half.
Then things went from bad to worse. Viewership had plummeted and the audience had gotten so small that Antenna 3 decided to cancel the show.
Ursula Corbero, who plays Tokyo in the series, now with 17.9m followers on Instagram said: “I cried a lot on the last day. It was tough.” The cast and crew grieved and had made up their minds that the show was over.
Netflix to the rescue
In a stroke of luck, Netflix bought Money Heist and placed the show in its international catalogue. However, the showrunners failed to see how this seemingly small move would change the course of their lives forever.
Creator and screenwriter Alex Pina said, “I don’t think we, Netflix or anyone expected anything. The series was launched without any advertising or promotion.” Money Heist just existed as a part of Netflix’s catalogue.
But then, all of a sudden, something happened. The beloved criminals with city names began to rapidly gain followers on Instagram. And these were not just followers, but international followers. From the Americas to Africa to Asia, fans of the show were showing their love for their favourite characters outside of Netflix.
The cast and the showrunners could hardly believe the kind of support they were getting from countries all over the world who had to rely on audio dubs and subtitles to watch the show. Fans even began to don the robbers’ signature red jumpsuit and Salvador Dali masks for carnivals.
That was when Netflix started to pay attention. Chief content officer for Netflix Ted Sarandos made the decision to give the show a push because it was “successful for us; not only in the US but all around the world.”
The show has drawn celebrity fans like award-winning author Steven King and footballers Mbappe and Benzema. Neymar liked the show so much that he ended up making a brief appearance in it as a monk in the third season.
Even in Nigeria, some of the most formidable artistes follow ‘Money Heist’ stars on Instagram. Examples include award-winning Rita Dominic, Lala Akindoju, Ebuka Obi-Ucehendu, Davido, Falz the Bahd Guy, Akin Shuga, Toni Tones, and Rahama Sadau.
And when it seemed like it couldn’t possibly get better, Money Heist won an Emmy Award in 2018. And now, Money Heist is the Netflix production with the most views in the history of France, Italy, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and Portugal. This is when compared even to movies and Hollywood productions.
Money Heist is one of the most-viewed shows all over the world.
Global influence
Although a band of robbers is not exactly the brand of heroes that you would root for right off the bat, they have become role models in a not-so-positive light. In the days following its wide-reaching popularity, the show began to inspire robberies; the logic being if they could rob a Royal Mint, why can’t you rob a liquor store.
Robbers all over the world began to don red jumpsuits and Dali masks to go about their crimes too. And there were seemingly braver after drawing inspiration from the TV series.
But the inspiration from Money Heist was not all bad. In fact, the symbols in the show became synonymous with social change. From protests in Lebanon and Iraq to feminist movements, activists swarm out in Money Heist costumes.
According to Pina, “people seemed to have a bond with the show that was beyond just entertainment. It’s almost like a philosophical bond. They were used in civil rights protests and causes like democracy, environmental activism, and others; as well as the song Bella Ciao.
Bella Ciao
The Money Heist hymn has also been a part of the movements inspired by the show. This song, which cheered the Italian anti-fascist resistance during World War II is now ringing in the heads of fans all over the world 75 years later.
When Moscow makes his first contact with dirt when digging the tunnel, it represents their hope for freedom. That is when we first hear the epic song. And then the scene where the Professor and Berlin sing the song together on the eve of the heist solidifies its place as a call to revolution.
The hymn ties in with the plot of the story because they are both about resistance, against class and political oppression. The song has now transcended the show and it is no surprise that activists all over the world charge into the streets singing “Bella Ciao”.
Season 3
On seeing the enormous success that the show had become, Netflix decided to renew Money Heist for two more seasons. Pina informed that the showrunners hesitated to give an answer when Netflix asked if they could commit another robbery.
He said, “I think we took about two months to answer because we wanted to make sure we wouldn’t let our audience down in any possible way or disappoint people”.
Indeed, the involvement of Netflix changed things for the show in the way of injecting it with more funds to fulfill the vision that it had from the beginning of the series.
There was no need to use special effects to create simulations of a place when the entire cast and crew could just hop on a plane and be at whatever location they chose to write into the story.
This shows in the numerous locations that the third and fourth season flaunt in our faces like private islands in Panama or a Buddhist temple in Thailand. They even had enough funding to splurge on props like an army helicopter!
But as the saying goes, more money, more problems. When there’s a large scene to shoot on a larger set than what they had in seasons 1 and 2, the showrunners ran into some challenges.
Challenges
The third season kicked off with a new heist and to get into the Bank of Spain, the beloved criminals needed a huge distraction. And they made one by raining millions of Euros from a blimp!
It is an impressive scene if you see it. But did you know that the scene was a nightmare for the producers to shoot? In the Money Heist documentary, the producers of the show reveal what went on behind the scenes.
First of all, the fan got jammed with fake money. With ambitious scenes like these, it is a lot of work to start over when the director does not get the perfect shot and the crew had to work on this several times.
Then just when it looked like it couldn’t get worse, it began to rain and millions of fake Euro went to waste. After hours of frustration and working in and out of the rain, the situation got worse when they ran out of time to shoot the green screen that was meant to air the Professor’s video message and ads began to pop up!
Eventually, after a lot of concessions, the scene finally worked out and the crew got millions of Euros to rain over Madrid. Maybe go and watch that scene again and see if you spot something.
Another difficult scene to shoot was the last kiss between Rio and Tokyo. It had to be taken multiple times because the director said it lacked passion. That is the attention to detail that goes into making this show.
The gold rush
Another ambitious move the showrunners made in season 3 was bringing the set of the gold vault all the way from Madrid to the Pinewood Studios in the UK which has the best water tanks for underwater shooting.
The set was rebuilt on the water and was submerged slowly to create the illusion of water filling up from the bottom to the top. However, the next day, the crew realized that the fake gold bricks were not reacting very well with the water; they began to float.
Everyone, including the director of photography, had to screw the gold in place. But the water began to shrink the fake gold bricks and the creators, with great attention to detail, made a lot of edits in post-production to correct that mistake.
Director, Koldo Serra said, “In Spain, no one would notice it. They would think it looked brilliant. But we see something and say ‘F*ck! Look at that one, it’s bent.” In every frame, every single gold brick was retouched; painting one by one a thousand times.
According to the supervisor of special effects Javier Urosas, a lot of sleep was lost in that process and it will not be forgotten in a hurry.
Why people love Money Heist
There has always been the question of why Money Heist resonated with such a diverse audience and the answer to that question was the portrayal of its characters.
Characters
The characters in Money Heist can hardly be classified as good or bad. They are all just human in a relatable way; whether they are hostages that just want to go home, a policewoman trying to do her job, or robbers trying to make a big break.
The decision of the creator to name the characters after cities made it an international show and having characters with flaws, feelings, and passion as opposed to the monotonous good vs evil plot did wonders in creating a dedicated fandom.
Be it Denver’s optimism, Berlin’s obsession with class, Tokyo’s impulsiveness, or Arturo’s cowardice, the viewers see elements of themselves that they love or hate on the show and are immediately hooked.
They also defy stereotypes like real people do, with Berlin inspiring empathy while being a villain and a strong overarching figure like Helsinki being a delicate, lovable gay man.
At the end of the day, viewers connect better to characters than they do to plots and props, and Money Heist is largely character-driven. In Alex Pina’s words, “When people get addicted to a show, they’re actually getting addicted to the characters.”
And if the characters are more multi-dimensional, it is easy for viewers to empathize and begin to fall in love. Many viewers don’t watch for the plot but go to Netflix just to see Tokyo go crazy while looking beautiful or Nairobi pine for her child; even Arturo, who we love to hate.
Emotions run high
Money Heist strays from the rigid, guns-blazing, unemotional nature of an action production and gives us love, lust, and passion. The drama element really tips the scale for this show and has fans rotting for different on-screen relationships.
Alex Pina said, “For a long time, there was an unwritten rule where action movies were hollow and superficial and dramas were boring. So what we did was mix these two concepts.”
The show allows for empathy and love in the middle of a hostage situation. You get to see so many different sides of a character that you start to rationalize that the bad guy might not be all that bad. And in this case, Berlin goes from being despicable to admirable to lovable.
Speaking on the character Berlin, Pina said, “It’s unbelievable that a character with such a derogatory style and negative energy can be so loved. He’s always on people’s top 3 favourite characters.
Actor, Pedro Alonso who plays Berlin said about his character, “He has this dominant nature and leadership in him that generates a kind of repulsion in us. But then it gives us a feeling of safety”
The show is unpredictable
The fact that the show moves with the actions of its characters means it is unpredictable. It is almost impossible to know exactly what will happen next because a wild card can act at any moment.
The mixture of so many different personalities in a hostage situation is stimulating for the audience because surprising things are bound to happen. Although the Professor makes multiple backup plans, ultimately, the characters determine the flow of the show.
One thing that factors into its capriciousness is the fact that the show is written alongside the filming. That way, it is not so focused on the plot that it loses sight of the fact that the audience is following the characters on an adventure with chaotic twists and turns.
Killing darlings
The show is in fact so unpredictable that no one is safe. It’s like Game of Thrones lite because no matter how much viewers love a character, it does not stop the character from getting killed off.
Cases in point three beloved characters that left albeit too soon. A female character’s death shocked fans because her happy ending would have been the purest. But there are no sacred cows.
The showrunners don’t tiptoe around the possibility of a beloved character dying because in reality, death is a part of life and unlike the viewers, it doesn’t have favourites.
The tragedy of the deaths of Oslo, Moscow, Berlin, and Nairobi service the audience in terms of catharsis. Being sad or angry about the death of a character can bring about the much-needed release of pre-existing sadness or anger, especially in the precarious times we currently find ourselves.
Attention to detail
Perhaps the most exciting part about Money Heist is that all their plots and schemes have their basis in what you would need to do if you wanted to rob a bank in real life. The difficulties the characters face in the show are the same problem one would face while trying to rob the Bank of Spain.
Starting with the actual gold vault, in the show, it gets flooded in case of a robbery. A lot of research was done so the plot would not be half-baked and unrealistic. So the showrunner enlisted the help of a marine engineer to assist with the design of the antechamber.
The engineer gave a lecture on how to make the antechamber and how the plot would go. And if you’ve seen the show, you can say that the plan went swimmingly.
Once the gold is out, they would have to melt it to make it easier to transport. And for that, the Money Heist team enlisted the help of a foundry, in real life and in the show.
Yes, all the furnaces in the show were real, although a little makeup was put on them before they appeared on TV. The workers at the foundry taught the team how to melt gold traditionally. Talk about actively learning on the job!
Everything was real but the gold. Professionals handled the whole melting process as on-screen extras and brass was used instead of gold for obvious reasons. The foundry workers showed the team how to weld and melt and taught them the ropes and technicality; all so there would be no holes in the story.
In another scene, when Arturo got shot in the shoulder, the surgical process he went through was real! Well, only the stitching part. The surgeon in that episode is a real-life surgeon that put a couple of stitches in Arturo for realism’s sake.
Symbolism
Money Heist is also very popular because it is riddled with symbols and people like to associate with that. When you catch a theme or a pattern, you start to feel like you’re part of something esoteric and you are one with the minds of the creators.
The colour red of the jumpsuit and the telephone are in contrast with a relatively dark and gloomy set so that the characters stand out a lot more. The colour also keeps you alert and focused on whatever tension is happening on-screen. All of this was intentional.
The mask itself is of Salvador Dali, a 20th-century Spanish painter who was defiant and bizarre in his artwork and lifestyle. He strayed from the conventional so much that his eccentric and ostentatious public behavior sometimes drew more attention than his artwork.
Dali was also very political. A communist, anti-monarchist and anti-clerical, he was briefly imprisoned by the Primo de Rivera dictatorship as a person “intensely liable to cause public disorder.” Sound familiar?
The combination of the mask and the red jumpsuit and Bella Ciao makes its iconography really stick with fans. These three symbolic elements were enough to create an image that people use as a pop symbol to recreate.
Koldo Serra, one of the show’s directors, said, “I believe people need symbols. And if they are very easy to recreate and repeat, each person can adapt it to their own needs”.
“People dress up in one place for one reason and another reason in another place,” Serra continued. “But there is always this kind of underlying fight against the system which I believe excites people”.
Director and executive producer Jesus Colmenar shared this thought saying, “It means that it’s universal, an icon. Anyone can pick up a red jumpsuit and a Dali mask and sing the Bella Ciao hymn for whatever they are fighting for.”
Writing while filming
While most shows of this scope are written first and then shot, Money Heist writers wok alongside the filming. Tensions tend to run high because of deadlines.
Also, that means no one has a clue how the show is going to end, so slow your roll with the predictions. Just like the characters, the writers of Money Heist are making things up as they go.
But the lack of rigidity in the script is perhaps what makes the show more exciting. The writers write as they go; inserting quips and jokes to lighten the heavy mood of the show.
The actors get the script last minute and meet up with the director of the episode for pointers and rehearsal before shooting begins. Even the stunts are formulated on the go. Sometimes, the script is written so close to shooting time that directives are sent via WhatsApp or video calls!
The only time that this proves ineffective is when dealing with elements beyond control like the weather and daylight, where time and efficiency are of the essence. There is very little margin of error. It is safe to say the entire cast and crew are adrenaline junkies.
Director of photography and executive co-producer Migue Amoedo puts it this way; “We’re always on edge. That’s when interesting things happen. It’s alike a 3-pointer when the buzzer goes off and swoosh! You throw the ball and it goes through the hoop. It’s climatic, energetic, and amazing.
Money Heist thrives in putting the writers, the cast, the crew, and event the audience on the hot seat. Bu the reward for it is evident. The best part about it is that it has remained consistent in delivering that tension, excitement and dilemma.
When they had less money, the energy was always there. From the beginning, the plan was to make an international show and with hard work, determination, and a committed crew and loving fandom, they made it happen.
Director Alex Pina says, “Every frame means everything to us as we’re rolling so that the audience can enjoy it.” And we certainly do. The entire cast and crew have described the experience as a gift and we cannot wait to get more of it once the pandemic is over.
