8 things you didn't know about Netflix's crime drama Money Heist
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It's one of Netflix's most popular series ever and after four years on our screens and countless tense moments on the edge of our sofas, Money Heist is coming to an end with its fifth and final season airing on Netflix this month.
It's been a wild old ride since we were introduced to the thieving gang of misfits in red jumpsuits and Salvador Dali masks. So, as we wave goodbye to one of our favourite series ever (that's right, you heard) here are eight things you didn't know about the filming of Money Heist.
1. The show used more than 600 red jumpsuits
Across all five seasons over 600 of the iconic red jumpsuits were used to dress the cast. Although, according to series costume designer, Carloz Diez, dressing the characters was far from boring.
"Designing the wardrobe of La Casa de Papel [Money Heist] is such a rich experience because each character is so different from the next. It has been a great challenge to dress all the characters individually and then again as a group, with that iconic red jumpsuit."
2. Filming has taken place in 300 locations in 7 countries
While the series is set in Madrid shooting has taken place all over the world. Reportedly Netflix's later involvement brought more opportunities for the show; taking shooting to a variety of locations outside of Spain, where the entire first series was filmed. Shooting for the series has taken place in Thailand, Denmark, Panama, Portugal, Italy, and the United Kingdom, where the scenes involving the flooded vault at the Bank of Spain were filmed.
3. A lot of fake money was made for the series
The cash is a huge part of the focus of the show, and there are plenty of shots were lots of it is visible, so showrunners had 6000 gold ingots (gold bars) produced as props along with a whopping one million €50 bills which were printed for the scene in which notes are scattered in the streets of Madrid.
4. Money Heist was almost cancelled before Netflix picked it up
Le Casa de Papel (the series' original Spanish title) first aired back in 2017 on Spanish channel Antena 3. Episode one was a big hit, but according to Decider as the series went on viewership dropped off and reportedly the cast and crew had resigned themselves to the fact that they wouldn't make it beyond series one.
However, Netflix quietly acquired the show and retitled it Money Heist for US audiences. Despite little advertising from the streamer it proved a huge hit with Netflix audiences and it's gone from strength to strength since then.
5. Tokyo wasn't meant to be the show's narrator
According to Spanish news site El Mundo Tokyo (played by Úrsula Corberó) wasn't intended to be the series' narrator. Since its first series fans have wondered why the narration comes from Tokyo, suggesting that it should come from The Professor (Álvaro Morte), the heist mastermind and group leader. Well, in reality, that's what show producers originally intended, but eventually decided that it would be too narcissistic for the professor to do it, and also wanted a female voice doing the narration given the fact they had such a male dominated cast.
6. The episodes were written in parallel
Most shows write the scripts for the entire series prior to filming, but on Money Heist scripts are written alongside filming with the writers adapting the entire direction of the series according to what they feel the story asks for during shooting.
Reportedly the writers write a few episodes at a time, but then come to set willing to tweak details and plot points as needed.
7. Álvaro Morte had to audition five times for The Professor
Although it's hard to imagine anyone else playing the role of heist mastermind The Professor, according to TechZimo Álvaro Morte wasn't a total shoe-in. The Spanish actor reportedly had to audition five times over two months to get the part. And we're so glad he did.
8. The series originally had a different name
The actual title of the series Le Casa de Papel translates exactly into "The House of Paper", which makes sense since the gang are robbing The Royal Mint - where money is printed. However, the show was originally set to be titled, Los Desahuciados, meaning "The Outcasts" [via screenrant], but eventually show creators decided that Le Casa de Papel made more sense with the story.
Part 1 of Money Heist season 5 is on Netflix now, with the remaining episodes landing on December 3.
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