ney Heist

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Money Heist

Spanish La casa de papel

 Crime drama
Genre
 Thriller

 Heist

Created by Álex Pina

Starring  Úrsula Corberó

 Itziar Ituño

 Álvaro Morte

 Paco Tous

 Pedro Alonso

 Alba Flores

 Miguel Herrán

 Jaime Lorente

 Esther Acebo

 Enrique Arce

 María Pedraza

 Darko Peric

 Kiti Mánver
 Hovik Keuchkerian

 Rodrigo de la Serna
  Najwa Nimri

Theme music composer Manel Santisteban

Opening theme "My Life Is Going On" by Cecilia Krull

Composer(s)  Manel Santisteban

 Iván Martínez Lacámara

Country of origin Spain

Original language(s) Spanish

No. of seasons 2 (3 parts)[a]

No. of episodes 23 (list of episodes)

Production

Executive producer(s) Álex Pina

 Sonia Martínez

 Jesús Colmenar

 Esther Martínez Lobato

 Nacho Manubens

Production location(s) Madrid

Cinematography Migue Amoedo

Editor(s)  David Pelegrín

 Luis Miguel González Bedmar

 Verónica Callón
 Raúl Mora

 Regino Hernández

 Raquel Marraco

 Patricia Rubio

Camera setup Single-camera

Running time 67–77 minutes (Antena 3)

41–57 minutes (Netflix)


Production company(s) Vancouver Media

 Atresmedia
 Distributor Netflix

Release

Original network  Antena 3 (2017)

 Netflix (2019)

Picture format 1080p (16:9 HDTV)

 4K (16:9 UHDTV)

Audio format 5.1 surround sound

Original release 2 May 2017 –

present

External links

Website

Money Heist (Spanish: La casa de papel, transl. The House of Paper) is a Spanish television crime
drama series. Created by Álex Pina, the series was initially intended as a limited series to be told in
two parts. It had its original run of 15 episodes on Spanish network Antena 3 from 2 May 2017
through 23 November 2017. Netflix acquired the global streaming rights in late 2017. It re-cut the
series into 22 shorter episodes and released them worldwide, beginning with the first part on 20
December 2017, followed by the second part on 6 April 2018. In April 2018, Netflix renewed the
series with a significantly increased budget for 16 new episodes total. Part 3, with 8 episodes, was
released on 19 July 2019. Filming of part 4 ended in August 2019.[1]
The first two parts revolve around a long-prepared, multi-day assault on the Royal Mint of
Spain in Madrid, in which a group of robbers take hostages as part of their plan to print and escape
with €2.4 billion. It involves eight robbers, code-named after cities, focusing on Tokyo (Úrsula
Corberó), and led by the Professor (Álvaro Morte) from an external location, as they battle with
hostages on the inside, and the police on the outside. In the third part, the surviving robbers are
forced out of hiding, and with the help of new members, they plan and perform an assault on
the Bank of Spain.
The series was filmed in Madrid, Spain. Significant portions of part 3 were also filmed
in Panama, Thailand and Florence, Italy. The narrative is told in a real-time-like fashion and relies on
flashbacks, time-jumps, hidden character motivations and an unreliable narrator for complexity. The
series subverts the heist genre by being told from the perspective of a woman (Tokyo) and having a
strong Spaniard identity, where emotional dynamics offset the strategic perfect crime.
Money Heist received critical acclaim for its sophisticated plot, interpersonal dramas, the direction
and for trying to innovate Spanish television. The Italian anti-fascist song "Bella ciao", which plays
multiple times throughout the series, became a summer hit across Europe in 2018. By 2018, the
series was the most-watched non-English language series and one of the most-watched series
overall on Netflix,[2] with a particular resonance coming from viewers from Mediterranean Europe and
the Latin world.
 Contents

 1Series overview
o 1.1Season 1: Parts 1 and 2 (2017)
o 1.2Season 2: Part 3 (2019)
o 1.3Narrative format
 2Cast and characters
o 2.1Main
o 2.2Recurring
 3Production
o 3.1Conception
o 3.2Casting
o 3.3Netflix acquisition and renewal
o 3.4Filming
o 3.5Music
 4Themes and analysis
 5Reception
o 5.1Viewership and impact
o 5.2Critical reception
o 5.3Awards and nominations
 6References
 7External links

Series overview[edit]
Main article: List of Money Heist episodes

Originally aired
Notes on
Season[a] Part[a] Episodes
international release
First aired Last aired Network

Released as 13
episodes on 20
1 9 2 May 2017 27 June 2017
December 2017 on
Netflix
1 15 Antena 3

Released as 9
2 6 16 October 2017 23 November 2017 episodes on 6 April
2018 on Netflix

3 8 19 July 2019
2 16[3] Netflix
4 8[3] TBA
a
Some publications refer to "part" as "season".[4][5]
Season 1: Parts 1 and 2 (2017)[edit]
Part 1 begins with the aftermath of a failed bank robbery by a woman named "Tokyo", as a man
named the "Professor" saves her from being caught by the police and proposes an unrivaled heist to
her. After a brief outline of the planned heist, the story jumps to the beginning of a multi-day assault
on the Royal Mint of Spain in Madrid. The eight robbers are code-named after cities: Tokyo,
Moscow, Berlin, Nairobi, Rio, Denver, Helsinki and Oslo. Dressed in red jumpsuits with a mask of
the Spanish painter Salvador Dalí, the group of robbers take 67 hostages as part of their plan to print
and escape with €2.4 billion through a self-built escape tunnel. The Professor heads the heist from
an external location. Flashbacks throughout the series show the five months of preparation in an
abandoned hunting estate in the Toledo countryside; the robbers are not to share personal
information nor engage in personal relationships, and the assault shall be without bloodshed.
Throughout parts 1 and 2, the robbers inside the Mint have difficulties sticking to the pre-defined
rules, and face violence, isolation, mutiny, and an increasing lack of sleep. Denver pursues a love
affair with the hostage Mónica Gaztambide, while another of the hostages, Arturo Román, devises
several escape plans, eventually freeing 16 hostages at the cost of Oslo's life. On the outside,
inspector Raquel Murillo negotiates with the Professor and begins an intimate relationship with his
alter ego "Salva". The Professor's identity is repeatedly close to being uncovered, until Raquel
realises his true identity, but is emotionally unable and unwilling to hand him over to the police. At
the end of part 2, after 125 hours in the Mint, the robbers escape successfully from the Mint with
€984 million printed, at the cost of the lives of Moscow and Berlin. One year after the heist, Raquel
looks at postcards given to her previously by the Professor, which she decodes for a location
in Palawan in the Philippines where she reunites with him.
Season 2: Part 3 (2019)[edit]
Part 3 begins two to three years after the heist on the Royal Mint of Spain, showing the robbers
enjoying their lives paired-up in diverse locations. However, when Europol captures Rio with an
intercepted phone, the Professor picks up Berlin's old plans to assault the Bank of Spain to force
Europol to hand over Rio. He and Raquel (going by "Lisbon") get the gang including Mónica (going
by "Stockholm") back together and enlist three new members: Bógota, Palermo and Marseille. The
disguised robbers sneak into the heavily guarded bank, take hostages and eventually gain access to
the gold and state secrets, while the Professor and Lisbon are in a moving van to communicate with
the robbers and the police. A breach in the bank is thwarted, forcing the police, led by Colonel Luis
Tamayo and pregnant inspector Alicia Sierra, to release Rio to the robbers. Part 3 concludes with
Lisbon being caught, and the Professor interprets gunshots in the distance as her execution. When
Palermo radios the Professor to inform him that Nairobi has been gravely injured by a police-
inflicted sniper shot in the chest and that the police are about to begin another assault on the bank,
the distraught and shaken Professor declares DEFCON 2. The final moments reveal to the audience
that Lisbon's execution was faked, with Lisbon alive and in custody. Tokyo narrates that the
Professor had fallen for his own trap and that "the war had begun."
Narrative format[edit]
Developed for Spanish prime-time television on Antena 3,[6] the first two parts of La Casa de
Papel ran as 15 episodes with a length of around 70 minutes, as is typical for Spanish
television.[7] Cuts for commercial breaks were factored in, which according to creator Álex Pina
disrupted the narrative flow of the series that otherwise played almost in real time.[7] When Netflix
bought the international distribution rights to the series, it re-cut it into 22 episodes of around 50
minutes length.[7] Cliffhangers and scenes had to be divided and moved to other episodes, but this
proved not as drastic as expected because of the series' perpetual flow of events.[7] Pina assessed
the viewer experience on Antena 3 versus Netflix as "very different", although the essence of the
series remained the same.[7]
With the financial backing of Netflix, episodes of parts 3 and 4 were filmed to have a length of
around 45 to 50 minutes.[8] Pina appreciated this change, as the narrative could be more
compressed and international viewers would have more freedom to consume the story in smaller
bits.[9] Viewers would also be more likely to watch the next episode immediately afterwards, unlike
the original broadcast where viewers had to wait a week for the next episode.[10] Pina and Sonia
Martínez of Antena 3 said in hindsight that the series, with its high demand of viewer attention,
unknowingly followed the video-on-demand format from the beginning.[7]

Cast and characters[edit]

Main[edit]

 Úrsula Corberó as Silene Oliveira (Tokyo): the narrator; she was a

runaway robber until scouted by the Professor to participate in his
plan.
 Itziar Ituño as Raquel Murillo (Lisbon): an inspector of the National
Police Corps who is put in charge of the case until she joins the
group in part 3.
 Álvaro Morte as Sergio Marquina (The Professor / Salvador "Salva"
Martín): the mastermind of the heist who assembled the group and
Berlin's brother.
 Paco Tous as Agustín Ramos dos Hermanas (Moscow) (part 1–2;
featured part 3): a former miner turned criminal and Denver's father.
 Pedro Alonso as Andrés de Fonollosa (Berlin): a terminally ill jewel
thief and the Professor's second-in-command and brother.
 Alba Flores as Ágata Jiménez (Nairobi): an expert in forgery in
charge of printing the money for the group.
 Miguel Herrán as Aníbal Cortés (Rio): a young hacker and Tokyo's
boyfriend.
 Jaime Lorente as Daniel Ramos (Denver): Moscow's son who joins
him in the heist.[11]
 Esther Acebo as Mónica Gaztambide (Stockholm): one of the
hostages who is Arturo Román's secretary and mistress, carrying
his child out of wedlock. During the robbery, she falls in love with
Denver and becomes an accomplice to the group.
 Enrique Arce as Arturo Román: a hostage and the Director of
the Royal Mint of Spain.
 María Pedraza as Alison Parker (part 1–2): a hostage and daughter
of the British ambassador to Spain.
 Darko Peric as Yashin Dasáyev (Helsinki): a veteran Serbian
soldier and Oslo's cousin.
 Kiti Mánver as Mariví Fuentes (part 1–2; featured part 3): Raquel's
mother.
 Hovik Keuchkerian as Bogotá (part 3): an expert in metallurgy that
joins the robbery of the Bank of Spain.
 Rodrigo de la Serna as Martín (Palermo / The Engineer) (part 3): an
old friend of Berlin's who planned the robbery of the Bank of
Spain with him and assumes his place as commanding officer.
 Najwa Nimri as Alicia Sierra (part 3): a pregnant inspector of
the National Police Corps put in charge of the case after Raquel's
departure from the force.
Recurring[edit]

 Roberto Garcia Ruiz as Radko Dragic (Oslo / Dimitri Mostovói) (part

1–2; featured part 3): a veteran Serbian soldier and Helsinki's
cousin.
 Fernando Soto as Ángel Rubio: a deputy inspector and Raquel's
second-in-command.
 Juan Fernández as Colonel Prieto: a member of the Spanish
Intelligence who oversees Raquel's work on the case.
 Anna Gras as Mercedes Colmenar (part 1–2): Alison's teacher and
one of the hostages.
 Fran Morcillo as Pablo Ruiz (part 1): Alison's schoolmate and one of
the hostages.
 Clara Alvarado as Ariadna Cascales (part 1–2): one of the hostages
who work on the Mint.
 Mario de la Rosa as Suárez: the chief of the Grupo Especial de
Operaciones.
 Miquel García Borda as Alberto Vicuña (part 1–2): Raquel's ex-
husband and forensic examiner.
 Naia Guz as Paula Vicuña Murillo: Raquel and Alberto's daughter.
 Luka Peros as Marseille (part 3): a member of the gang that joins
the robbery of the Bank of Spain.
 Fernando Cayo as Colonel Luis Tamayo (part 3): a member of the
Spanish Intelligence that oversees Alicia's work in the case.
 Neymar as João (part 3): a monk

Production[edit]
Conception[edit]

Spanish Surrealist painter Salvador Dalí was chosen as the heist team's mask design.

La Casa de Papel is a TV series in the heist genre.[12][13] It was conceived by Álex Pina and Jesús
Colmenar during their years of collaboration since 2008. When they set up their own production
company named Vancouver Media in 2016, they considered to either film a comedy or develop a
heist story for television.[6] As the latter, Pina envisioned La Casa de Papel to be self-contained[3] and
to have the advantage over typical heist films in that character development could span a
considerably longer narrative arc.[8] It was to combine elements of the action
genre, thrillers and surrealism, but still be credible.[6]
While the heist genre is usually told with a rational male Anglo-Saxon focus, La Casa de
Papel reframes the heist story by telling it from the perspective of a female (Tokyo), injecting comedy
into it and giving the show a strong Spaniard identity.[14][15] As such, emotional dynamics like the
passion and impulsity of friendship and love offset the strategic perfect crime for greater
tension.[14][3] The heist film formula is further subverted by starting the heist straight after the opening
credits instead of lingering on how the gang is brought together.[12] Flashbacks, time-jumps and
Tokyo as an unreliable narrator increase the narrative complexity.[8]
Characters are shown from multiple sides to break the viewers' preconceptions of villainy and to
keep the audience interested.[8] The kindredship of the Professor and Berlin was not in the original
script, but after repeated proposals by actors Álvaro Morte (Professor) and Pedro Alonso (Berlin), it
was built into the characters' backstory late in the first part when the two characters sang "Bella ciao"
together.[16]
The chromatic iconography of the robbers' red jumpsuits was intentional, drawing from the creators'
experience with their previous series Vis a vis (Locked Up).[6] Salvador Dalí was chosen as the
robbers' mask design because of its iconic, pop-culture-like identification symbol for Spain; Don
Quixote as an alternative mask design was discarded.[9] The robbers' code names, which are based
on cities, were chosen at random in the first part.[17]
Casting[edit]
In March 2017, Antena 3 announced that Úrsula Corberó, Álvaro Morte and Alba Flores were to star
in the upcoming series, with further "magnificent acting" of Itziar Ituño, Paco Tous, Pedro
Alonso, Miguel Herrán, Jaime Lorente, Esther Acebo, Enrique Arce, María Pedraza, Darko Peric,
and Kiti Mánver.[18] Corberó was to play the protagonist Tokyo, whom the producers found the
hardest to develop, as she is "a loser at the beginning and had nothing to lose, and then she meets
the Professor".[19] Morte was to play the Professor, a charismatic yet shy villain who could convince
the robbers to follow him and make the audience sympathetic to the robbers' resistance against the
powerful banks.[20] According to writer Esther Martínez Lobato, Morte brought a unique trait to the
table, "a personal virtue beyond technique, talent or its acting qualities: he is capable of whitening
everything."[21] Morte would later appear in Álex Pina's TV series El embarcadero.[21] Flores, who had
starred in Pina's TV series Locked Up before, was the only member of the cast to be directly offered
a role in La Casa de Papel, thus skipping the casting process.[22] Ituño took inspiration for her role as
Inspector Raquel Murillo from the The Silence of the Lambs character Clarice Starling, an FBI
student with a messy family life who develops sympathies for a criminal.[23]
The actors learned of the show's renewal by Netflix before the producers contacted them to
return.[24] In October 2018, Netflix announced the return of Úrsula Corberó, Álvaro Morte, Pedro
Alonso, Jaime Lorente, Miguel Herrán, Darko Peric, Alba Flores, Esther Acebo, Itziar Ituño, Enrique
Arce, Kiti Mánver, Juan Fernández, and Mario de la Rosa.[25][26] Netflix also announced new cast
members to join the series, including: Hovik Keuchkerian, Fernando Cayo, Argentinian actor Rodrigo
de la Serna and Najwa Nimri; Nimri had also starred in Pina's Locked Up before.[25] A small
appearance by Spanish celebrity Belén Cuesta in two episodes of part 3 raised fan and media
speculation about her role in part 4.[27] In late August 2019, Brazilian footballer Neymar was
announced to appear in (the then already released) part 3 as a monk; Netflix re-inserted his scenes
after judicial charges against him had been dropped.[28]
Netflix acquisition and renewal[edit]
A month after the first run of La Casa de Papel on the Spanish TV channel Antena 3 had ended in
November 2017, Netflix acquired the global streaming rights for the series. It re-cut and dubbed the
episodes and renamed the show Money Heist for distribution in the English-speaking
world,[29][30] releasing the first part on 20 December 2017 and the second part on 6 April 2018.
Following the show's success on the streaming platform, Netflix approached Álex Pina and Antena
3's parent media group Atresmedia to produce new chapters of the series. Reluctant to return to the
originally self-contained story,[31] the writers took a long time to decide on a direction,[9] creating a
bible with central ideas for new episodes in the process.[20] The crucial factors in accepting Netflix'
deal were to deviate from the perfectly orchestrated heist of the first two parts and to recognize that
characters still had things to say.[3] The producers wanted part 3 to be a sequel rather than a direct
continuation, and expand on the familiarity and affection between the characters instead of the
former group of strangers.[6] Netflix officially renewed the series for a third part on 18 April 2018.[32]
The acquisition through Netflix came with an increased budget,[17] which Variety assumes made part
3 the biggest-budgeted series per episode in the history of Spanish TV.[8] Netflix announced the start
of filming and the return of most of the old cast on 25 October 2018.[20] Part 3, along with a then-
unannounced part 4, were filmed back-to-back, forming 16 episodes total.[3] With Netflix' new push to
improve the quality and appeal of its English-language versions of foreign shows and over 70
percent of American viewers choosing dubs over subtitles for Money Heist, Netflix hired a
new dubbing crew for part 3 and re-dubbed the first two parts accordingly.[33] Part 3, consisting of
eight episodes, was released on 19 July 2019;[3] the first two episodes of part 3 also had a limited
theatrical release in Spain on July 18, 2019.[8] Filming of part 4 ended in August 2019.[1]
Filming[edit]

The Spanish National Research Council headquarters, the principal filming location of part 1 and 2 of Money
Heist

The Nuevos Ministerios, the principal filming location of part 3 of Money Heist

Each episode of the first two parts was filmed in the greater Madrid region in around 14
days.[8][34] Although the storyline is set at the Royal Mint of Spain in Madrid, exterior scenes were
filmed at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) headquarters, which had much more open
space in front of the building.[34] Interior filming took place at the main sets in Colmenar Viejo and at
the Spanish national daily newspaper ABC in Torrejón de Ardoz for printing press scenes.[35][34] The
hunting estate where the robbers plan their coup was filmed at the Finca El Gasco farm estate
in Torrelodones.[34]
Episodes of parts 3 and 4 were filmed in 21 to 23 days in multiple locations.[8] Main filming moved to
the Netflix production center in Tres Cantos with a set triple the size of the previous installment.[35] To
counter the claustrophobic feeling of the first two parts,[8] the beginning of part 3 was also filmed
in Panama, Thailand, and Florence, Italy.[36][37] The main storyline plays in the Bank of Spain, but the
exterior was filmed at the Ministry of Development complex of Nuevos Ministerios,[35] although
selective filming did take place at the Bank of Spain under security measures.[8][35]
Music[edit]
The show's theme song, which plays against a paper model of each season's particular setting in the
opening credits, is entitled "My Life Is Going On". Spanish composer Manel Santisteban approached
Spanish singer Cecilia Krull to write and perform the lyrics, which are about having confidence in
one's abilities and the future.[38] Krull's main source of inspiration was the character Tokyo in the first
episode of the series.[38]
The Italian anti-fascist song "Bella ciao", which plays multiple times throughout the series, became a
summer hit in Europe in 2018, mostly due to the popularity of the series and not the song's grave
themes.[39] The song accompanies two emblematic key scenes: the Professor and Berlin sing it at the
end of the first part in preparation of the heist, embracing themselves as resistance against the
establishment;[39] and it also plays during the thieves' escape out of the Mint, as a metaphor for
freedom.[40] Tokyo recounts in one of her narrations, "The life of the Professor revolved around a
single idea: Resistance. His grandfather, who had fought against the fascists in Italy, taught him the
song and he taught us."[40]

Themes and analysis[edit]

With the series being set after the financial crisis of 2007–2008, which resulted in severe austerity
measures in Spain,[41] critics argued that Money Heist was an explicit allegory of rebellion against
capitalism.[2][42] The Globe and Mail saw "a deeply serious social agenda" in the series, being
"subversive in that it's about a heist for the people. It's revenge against a government."[41] The New
Statesman explained the show's resonance with international audiences with the "social and
economic tensions it depicts, and because of the utopian escape it offers".[2] According to 'Le
Monde', the Professor's teaching scenes in the Toledo hunting estate in particular highlighted how
people should come to their own conclusions and be courageous to seek new solutions for the
fallible capitalist system.[42] The show's Robin Hood analogy of robbing the rich and giving to the poor
received various interpretations. El Español argued that the analogy made it easier for viewers to
connect with the show, as modern society tended to be tired of banks and politics already,[43] and The
New Statesman said that modern-day Robin Hoods no longer stole from the establishment, but
undermined it at its roots.[2] On the other hand, Esquire saw the Robin Hood analogy as a mere
distraction strategy for the robbers, as they did not use the money from their first heist to improve the
quality of life of regular people at first. Gathering the large following in part 3 was thus not
comprehensible, even though the robbers represented a channel of the discontent for those bearing
economic and political injustices.[44]

Reception[edit]
Viewership and impact[edit]
More than four million viewers watched the premiere of La Casa de Papel on the free-to-air Spanish
TV channel Antena 3, nearly double the number of its closest competitor,[29] but the first part's
viewership eventually slipped to a lower figure than expected by the Antena 3
executives.[45] Variety described the ratings of the original run in Spain as "so-so", noting that it was
the acquisition through Netflix that turned the show into a hit.[46] Without a dedicated Netflix marketing
campaign and to the creators' surprise,[9] Money Heist became the most-watched non-English
language series on Netflix in early 2018, within just four months of being added to the
platform.[47][2] This prompted Netflix to sign a global exclusive overall deal with La Casa de
Papel creator Alex Pina shortly afterwards.[46] In August 2019, Netflix announced that Money
Heist part 3 was streamed by a 34 million household accounts within its first week of release, of
which 24 million finished the series within this period,[15] thereby making it one of the most-watched
Netflix series and movies of all time in any language, including English.[48]

Cosplay in Patras, Greece, in 2019.

Viewership is especially high in Mediterranean Europe and the Latin world, in particular
Spain, Italy, France, Portugal, Brazil, Chile and Argentina.[3] The robbers' costumes were worn at
the Rio Carnival,[9] and the Musée Grévin in Paris added statues of the robbers to its wax
museum.[2] Meanwhile, La Casa de Papel made negative headlines when two real heist men wore
the show's red costumes and Dalì masks in a hotel attack in Nantes in August 2018,[2] and a
journalist from the Turkish state channel AkitTV and an Ankaran politician warned against the show's
encouragement of "terrorism" and it being “a dangerous symbol of rebellion”.[2] Creator Alex Pina
saw the viewers' resonance stemming from the show's implicit social message of the skepticism of
people towards the banks and the governments,[14] director Diego Ávalos attributed the show's
appeal with the viewers' identification with the portrayal of marginalized people finding a way
forward,[15] and actor Pedro Alonso (Berlin) argued that the Latin world used to feel at the periphery
of global importance, but that there was a new sentiment coming where Spain could compete with
the global players in terms of production levels.[15]
Critical reception[edit]
Natalia Marcos of Spanish El País lauded the first part for its outstanding direction, musical selection
and for trying to innovate Spanish television, but criticized the length and ebbing tension.[45] Adrian
Hennigan of Israeli Haaretz said the series was "more twisty thriller than soapy telenovela, driven by
its ingenious plot, engaging characters, tense flash points, pulsating score and occasional moments
of humor", but taunted the English title "Money Heist" as bland, although "it could have been worse –
'Money Shot', for example".[12] Meanwhile, Pauline Bock of British New Statesman wondered about
the series' global hype, since it was "full of plot holes, clichéd slow-motions, corny love stories and
gratuitous sex scenes; the music is pompous, the voice-over irritating, and it's terribly edited," but
she suspected its international resonance coming from the "social and economic tensions it depicts,
and because of the utopian escape it offers".[2]
John Doyle of The Globe and Mail praised parts 1 and 2 for the heist genre subversions, although
the series might be "deliciously melodramatic at times" with telenovela-like "outrageous twists and
much passion".[41] Jennifer Keishin Armstrong of the BBC saw the heist series' true appeal in the
interpersonal dramas emerging along the heist between "the beautiful robbers, their beautiful
hostages and the beautiful authorities trying to negotiate with them."[29] David Hugendick of Die
Zeit noted likewise and praised the strong scenes between Álvaro Morte and Itziar Ituño in particular.
He found the series "sometimes a bit sentimental, a little cartoonesque" and the drama sometimes
too telenovela-like, but "all with a good sense for timing and spectacle" so that its fast-paced pushing
of capitalism criticism seems excessive.[13]
Awards and nominations[edit]