The Netflix drama that is more popular than Tiger King: What you need to know

Spanish-language drama La Casa De Papel, better known to English-speaking audiences as Money Heist, has been a huge hit on Netflix.

The fourth part of the show, translated as The House Of Paper, is projected to be watched by 65 million households in its first month, more than the 64 million who watched docu-series smash Tiger King, after debuting in early April.

Here is what you need to know about the show:

At the start

The first series, told over two parts, is set in Madrid and follows a mysterious man called The Professor as he recruits a young robber and seven other criminals, all known by the names of cities, for a grand heist targeting the Royal Mint Of Spain.

After taking 67 people hostage inside the Mint, the team plans to remain inside for 11 days to print money as they deal with elite police forces.

Unreliable narrator

The narrative is told in a real-time fashion and relies on flashbacks to the five months of preparation on an abandoned hunting estate in the Toledo countryside, time-jumps, hidden character motivations and an unreliable narrator.

Tokyo

Tokyo, played by Ursula Corbero, is that unreliable narrator. She was a runaway robber until she was scouted by the Professor to participate in his plan.

Like the other robbers – Moscow, Berlin, Nairobi, Rio, Denver, Helsinki and Oslo – she dresses in a red jumpsuit with a mask of the Spanish painter Salvador Dali for the heist.

Spanish language

All the characters speak Spanish, but UK audiences can watch with subtitles or dubbed into English.

After series one

The second series, also told over two parts, picks up several years after the heist on the Royal Mint, when the Professor plans an assault on the Bank of Spain.

New life on Netflix

Like a number of shows, the series was not a Netflix original and had its original run of 15 episodes on Spanish network Antena 3.

However, the streaming service acquired the global streaming rights, recut the series into 22 shorter episodes and released them worldwide, sparking a global phenomenon.

While it was only conceived as a limited series to be told in two parts, Netflix renewed the series with a significantly increased budget for 16 more episodes.

Money Heist parts 1-4 are streaming now on Netflix.