By Ridwana Ali

Money Heist (La Casa de Papel) is a compelling case of how Netflix has redefined television through its platform-specific strategies of binge-viewing, algorithmic recommendation, and global content circulation. Originally broadcast on Spain’s Antena 3 to modest success, the series only achieved global popularity after being distributed by Netflix. This transformation aligns closely with what Mareike Jenner describes as Netflix’s “reinvention of television,” where traditional national broadcasting models are overwritten by streaming-era logic (Jenner, 2018).

Central to Money Heist’s appeal is its binge-ready format. Every episode ends on a narrative cliffhanger or character revelation, fostering what Netflix calls a “hook and hold” strategy, an intentional design to maximise continuous viewing. Amanda Lotz identifies this as a hallmark of nonlinear, internet-distributed television, where the show is structured not around weekly release rhythms but user-controlled pacing (Lotz, 2017). Emotional momentum, rather than episodic closure, becomes the dominant storytelling principle.

Furthermore, Money Heist exemplifies Netflix’s “global-local” programming strategy. While deeply embedded in Spanish cultural and political contexts, the show was dubbed, subtitled, and algorithmically recommended across markets. Jenner notes that this type of content exists in a hybrid space, local in production, global in reception, tailored to the platform’s goal of transnational engagement (Jenner, 2018). The viral spread of the show’s iconography, especially the Bella Ciao anthem and the Salvador Dalí mask, points to its status as a global cultural artefact, engineered through platform affordances.

The show’s genre hybridity, blending heist mechanics, soap-opera romance, and revolutionary allegory along with its high-tempo pacing, reflects the aesthetics of streaming-native TV. It wasn’t simply hosted on Netflix; it was reimagined by it. Its success suggests that in the age of digital distribution, what matters as much as the story is the infrastructure of its delivery: how it’s edited, packaged, and streamed.

References

Mareike Jenner (2018), ‘Introduction: Netflix and the Reinvention of Television’, ‘Introduction: Binge Watching Netflix’, Netflix and the Reinvention of Television, pp. 1-31, 109-118.

Amanda Lotz (2017), ‘Theorising the Nonlinear Distinction of Internet-Distributed Television’, Portals: A Treatise on Internet Distributed Television, https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/maize/mpub9699689/

Money Heist clips from S1-S4  [Netflix clips] . YouTube. Available at:https://youtu.be/rfJP2Sc7hvE?si=vXtDqqBOmwRk1knf

Highlight of the Money Heist Fan event (2021). YouTube. Available at:

https://youtu.be/Ppw9rSkdBzo?si=4A4twKpbPn8jOfTR