10 things to know about Money Heist

Do you think Money Heist has no secrets for you? We will prove you wrong with secrets you may not have known. Ready for the heist?

A very different working title

The show created by Alex Pina was not supposed to be called La Casa de Papel when it was created. The showrunner wanted to give it the title Los Desahuciados. That could be translated as "The Outcasts". Particularly because the characters are on the fringes of society with a criminal background.

Tokyo was not the narrator

While the character played by Úrsula Corberó tells the (mis-)adventures of the Professor and his robbers for 4 seasons (or parts...), it was expected that it would be the mastermind of the operation (played by Álvaro Morte) or Moscow, the father of Denver played by Paco Tous, who would recount the story of the robberies.

Bella Ciao

All fans of Money Heist know it by heart and have sung it at the top of their lungs many times since the show's arrival on Netflix. But do you know its history? It is the rallying song of the robbers, but it is beforehand and above all an Italian revolutionary song sung by the resistance fighters during the Second World War. They opposed the German troops allied to the fascist Italian Social Republic.

Neymar appeared in the series

He's never hid it, Neymar is a huge fan of Money Heist, and the world association football star even made an appearance in Season 3. In one of the flashbacks with Berlin and The Professor, he plays a monk from the monastery in which they are located. His name is Joao, and the irony of his character is that he doesn't like football.

A small regret

Money Heist did not debut on Netflix, it was on Antena 3 that Spanish viewers could experience the series for the first time. It was by no means intended to last as long as 5 seasons, and the writers decided to strike hard at the end of Season 2: kill Berlin, played by Pedro Alonso. Without knowing the magnitude that the show was going to get. "If we knew the extent of the phenomenon, we would not have killed Berlin. We killed him too soon and there is no way to revive him," said Javier Gómez Santander, script coordinator.

A premature disappearance

While the series is a huge global phenomenon today, it was on the verge of being canceled in Spain when it aired. While the audiences met the expectations for the first episodes, viewers gradually lost interest in the heist and the later episodes weren't really watched as much. Fortunately, Netflix got there, and made it the success it is today.

Disease for all

While we learn in the first two seasons that Berlin is dying, the original idea was to make all robbers seriously ill. It was to be their primary motivation for taking part in the heist of the century, as a glorious final act before dying. The writers finally dropped the idea and kept that aspect only for Berlin.

Denver's Laughter

You'd think this laughter, now legendary to fans, came directly from Jaime Lorente, resolute in bringing a personal touch to his character. Actually, that laughter was expected in the script even before the actor was cast for the role. He obviously doesn't laugh like that in real life.

Nairobi

Nairobi's role was written specifically for Alba Flores. The character didn't exist in the early drafts of the script, and as the writers realized that one female character only (Tokyo) was not a good idea, Nairobi appeared! Alex Pina, who worked with Alba Flores on another show (Locked Up), immediately thought of her.

It's not written in advance

You might think that all the episodes are written before even filming, for overall consistency. Especially since there are twists and turns every two minutes. On the contrary, the scripts are done during filming, to allow the writers to better adapt to the situations and to make the right decisions for the rest of the story.