Netflix's R-Rated Crime Thriller Is A Masterclass In Building A Franchise
Cathal Gunning has been writing about movies, television, culture, and politics online and in print since 2017. He worked as a Senior Editor in Adbusters Media Foundation from 2018-2019 and wrote for WhatCulture in early 2020. He has been a Senior Features Writer for ScreenRant since 2020.
While Netflix’s original crime thriller series started out strong, it was the show’s ability to build a global franchise that truly proved its potential beyond a shadow of a doubt. Netflix has a lot of hits to its name. From early successes like BoJack Horseman, House of Cards, and Orange is the New Black to more recent hits like Mike Flanagan’s horror shows for the streaming service, Netflix has never struggled to impress audiences with its offerings.
However, for every mega success like the Addams Family reimagining Wednesday, which was accompanied by a huge budget, a starry cast, and a massive publicity campaign, there are dozens of unexpected sleeper hits that become huge organically on the streaming site. Recently, the South Korean thriller Mousetrap proved that viewers couldn’t resist a neon-soaked, pulse-pounding cyberpunk thrill ride even though the show wasn’t expected to be a global sensation.
Nine years earlier, the 22-part crime thriller Money Heist managed the same feat, becoming the first non-English-language hit to become a global phenomenon for Netflix. Nowadays, the success of shows like Squid Game, Lupin, and The Asset have made this achievement seem almost commonplace, but it is tough to articulate just how impressive Money Heist’s five-season run, and the arrival of its spinoff shows Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area and Berlin, truly was.
Money Heist Has Maintained The Main Series For Almost 10 Years
Ironically enough, Money Heist was never intended to receive a second season. The show, which was originally split into 15 longer episodes, aired on the Spanish TV channel Antena 3 from May to November 2017. Money Heist was such a big critical hit that the series was picked up by Netflix, re-edited into 22 shorter episodes, and released by the streaming service in its original language.
Fortunately for the creators of Money Heist, the show’s ingenious storytelling translated equally well into every language. The show focused on a pair of heists planned by Álvaro Morte’s mysterious Professor. Narrated by Ursula Corbero’s Tokyo, Money Heist initially centered on the gang’s interconnected heists of both Spain’s Royal Mint and the country’s national bank, only for these to prove to be the top of the proverbial iceberg.
With a dizzying array of time jumps, flashbacks, character POVs, and nested twists, Money Heist was a smart, daring series that played with its apparent real-time storytelling. While hit shows like 24 and HBO’s recent medical drama The Pitt have used straightforward real-time storytelling to make their plots feel propulsive and lively, Money Heist used the technique to wrong-foot its audience. Every time viewers thought they knew who was in control, another POV would completely rewrite the show’s story with another big twist.
Winning the 2018 International Emmy Award for Best Drama Series in 2018, Money Heist also became Netflix’s most-watched non-English-language TV series to date the same year. This proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that non-English-language shows had the potential to be major mainstream hits, and paved the way for many of the streaming service’s biggest hits in the process. However, the franchise wasn’t done yet.
Money Heist Successfully Applied Its Formula To Korea & Berlin
If the cancellation of Squid Game’s planned English-language sister series proves anything, it’s that no franchise is too big to fail. The South Korean thriller was an unexpectedly massive global success for Netflix when the show began in 2021, and its second season was one of the streaming service’s biggest releases to date. However, mixed reactions to the final season led to the quiet cancellation of this long-gestating addition to the franchise.
This makes it all the more impressive that Money Heist managed to spawn not one, but two spinoffs, both of which offered very different spins on the show’s premise. While 2022’s Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area might sound like a standard location-based spinoff, comparable to NCIS’s spinoffs NCIS: NY or NCIS: New Orleans, the reality was more complex.
Set in an entirely alternate universe, Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area recasts the original show’s characters, such as The Professor, Tokyo, and Berlin, in a reunified future version of Korea. A complex and thrilling take on the original show’s story, Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area was praised for its slick action set-pieces and satisfying twists upon release, although some critics called the series somewhat redundant thanks to its similarities to Money Heist.
As if responding to these criticisms, the Money Heist franchise subsequently returned with the 2023 prequel show Berlin. Although this sounds like another location0based spin on the original, Berlin was actually the codename of Pedro Alonso’s Money Heist character, a terminally ill jewel thief. One of the least likable but most complex characters in the original show, Berlin was practically crying out for a backstory, and this 16-episode series explored his origins thoroughly.
Set mostly in Paris, Berlin follows the title character as he plans a jewel heist, only to fall in love with the wife of his intended victim in the process. Well-liked by critics, this darker prequel successfully humanized one of the original show’s most complicated characters while still keeping Berlin’s edges sharp. Like Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area, Berlin was a big hit for Netflix among viewers.
Money Heist Proves A Great Franchise Can Overcome TV's Cultural Barriers
As if Netflix’s recent South Korean assassin thrillers Kill Bookson and Mantis weren’t enough evidence of this phenomenon, the Money Heist franchise’s continued success proves just how much the streaming service’s offerings can overcome cultural barriers. While traditional TV networks are frequently paralyzed by fear when it comes to trying anything remotely risky, the popularity of foreign language shows on Netflix highlights the reality that audiences are crying out for more varied and global entertainment options.
In the years since Money Heist first premiered, it has become an increasingly common sight to see non-English-language TV shows outstripping Hollywood heavy hitters like Stranger Things and Wednesday on Netflix. This is a welcome change, and Money Heist, Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area, and Berlin are a reminder of just how little a show’s original language limits its potential audience once its story is compelling to a worldwide viewership.
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