Last Saturday, Netflix surprised Money Heist fans with the announcement that the franchise’s universe will continue to expand after Berlin Season 2 through a new TV show. However, it remains unclear if the new Money Heist project would be a sequel to the original show or another spin-off series.
The exciting announcement was made by franchise lead Álvaro Morte at the premiere event of Berlin Season 2 in Seville, Spain, teasing his iconic character’s return. In the original series, Morte played the fan-favorite role of Sergio Marquina/The Professor, who’s best known as the gang’s brilliant leader and heist mastermind. He was last seen in the Money Heist series finale, where he successfully escaped with his remaining crew members by holding Spain’s gold reserves hostage. Further details about the upcoming new show’s characters, plot, and target release date are still under wraps.
Why the new Money Heist TV show shouldn’t be another spin-off?
After the global hit show ended in 2021, the Money Heist franchise received two spin-offs from Netflix, including the South Korean remake Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area and the prequel series Berlin. It would be surprising if the new project turned out to be another spin-off, given how its previous spin-offs didn’t perform as well as the original series.
Compared to Money Heist’s high rating of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, both Berlin (70%) and the Korean remake (71%) only received average approval scores from critics and audiences alike. This means that fans are clearly more invested in the characters from the main show than in the show’s heist concept. Another reason why the spin-offs weren’t able to reach the same level of success as the original was that new characters introduced in the first two spin-offs just weren’t as impactful and effective as the original show’s main cast.
That’s why Netflix would be better off producing a Money Heist sequel instead of doing another spin-off, as it would deliver the streamer much-improved ratings and views that might be on par with the original. I also believe that’s something fans would prefer more than getting a remake or a spin-off about an unknown character. Since the main show ended with some unanswered questions about the characters’ future, many fans are still eager to see what’s next for the Professor and his beloved team of misfits.
Money Heist is one of Netflix’s non-English franchises that managed to garner a huge and loyal global following. Understandably, the streamer has been trying to find new ways to maintain the show’s influence. However, the show’s creative team doesn’t really need to think outside of the box to expand the Money Heist universe. They just need to listen to what the majority of the fandom wants. If the new project could bring back lots of fan-favorite characters together like The Professor, Tokyo, Nairobi, Rio, Denver, Helsinki, and Lisbon, I’m convinced that Netflix will have another massive hit on its hands.
