The screenwriter of Netflix's most-watched non-English-language series, Money Heist, is returning to one of his most famous criminal creations with a prequel focused on the enigmatic character Berlin. Álex Pina, who created the original series, has teamed up with co-writer Esther Martínez Lobato to produce Berlin, despite the character's death in the second season of Money Heist.
Pina admitted that killing off Berlin was a mistake, saying, 'If we’d known we’d get on to Netflix, we wouldn’t have killed him.' The prequel explores Berlin's life before the events of Money Heist, portraying him as elegant, arch, snobbish, and manipulative. The series follows his latest heist in Paris, involving a fourth-century chalice, the city's catacombs, and €44m worth of royal jewels.
The tone of Berlin is lighter than its predecessor, with Pina aiming for a mix of comedy, romance, and action reminiscent of 1990s blockbusters. 'We wanted to do something brighter,' he said. The shift away from extreme violence allowed Pina to focus on comic writing, though he noted that balancing comedy with heist tension was a 'complicated bit of tightrope walking.'
Pina defended the violence in his previous works, stating that it generates tension and keeps viewers engaged. He attributed Money Heist's global success to its Spanishness, which he described as 'exotic' and a 'breath of fresh air' compared to English-speaking dramas. The series' popularity has contributed to a surge in Spanish TV content, with the UK and Spain accounting for 37% of global streamers' spending on original European content over the past decade.
