“Money Heist” is probably the most successful Spanish-language series of all time and also a real overhit within Netflix’s internal ranking. In the first four weeks, almost 800 million hours of the final 5th season were watched. A value surpassed only by “Squid Game” and “Stranger Things”. Logically, Netflix also wants to make as much profit as possible with the brand after the end of the main series. But what if the story has already been told and many of the main characters have already passed away? Very simple: You jump back in time and tell what happened before.
“Berlin” is a prequel to “Money Heist” and is dedicated to the history of the bank robber of the same name. Netflix has now announced in the course of the first trailer that the series will launch on the streaming service in December 2023.
Is Netflix recovering from the flop in Korea?
“Berlin” is not the first attempt to launch a new “Money Heist” series. In June of this year, a South Korean remake of the Spanish mega hit “Heist of Money: Korea” was released. But interest in it quickly faded when it turned out to be just a copy of the original with no new creative input.
With “Berlin” we could now expect a completely different caliber. After all, the title character (Pedro Alonso), whose real name is Andrés de Fonollosa, is definitely one of the most interesting, as well as most controversial, members of the original “Money Heist” gang of thieves. On the one hand Berlin is intelligent, eloquent and humorous, but on the other hand also racist, misogynistic and violent. Do these qualities make him a suitable protagonist for his own series? Anyway, the trailer gives a first impression.