Despite being released in 2017, in the UK at least it seems like this show has spent three years going under the radar. Worldwide lockdown lead millions of people to do the same as we did in our household and give Spanish crime caper “La Casa de papel” a whirl.

Similar to other series that I have reviewed, Money Heist is viewable with English dubbing however, after 3 minutes of trying it we realised the hammy nature of this was ultimately a distraction. We reverted to subtitles and were soon drawn in by the intrigue.

The closest thing I can compare this show to is a cross between Prison Break and Oceans 11 except, the cast spend their time plotting to firstly break in and then break out of the Royal Mint of Spain.

While it had the potential to be one of the best mainstream crime dramas of the past 5 years I can’t help but wonder if it would have been better served as a more condensed series; it is clear that what once was the purveyor of cult status, as its reputation grew so did the need to drive the narrative towards the middle of the road in a bid to appeal to the masses. Season 3 and 4 in particular begin to turn the sublime into the ridiculous.

Some really detestable characters develop as the story evolves but I found it hard to connect with any of the anti-heroes apart from Nairobi and Helsinki. Nevertheless, it seems season 5 is in the offing and I will look forward to it provided their next heist isn’t in a Space Bank or somewhere equally crazy!

Rating: 7.5/10

Viewed: May 2020