About Berlin Season 1 – TV Series

Berlin Season 1

Berlin (also known as Money Heist: Berlin, in Spanish La casa de papel: Berlín) is a Spanish TV series created by Álex Pina and Esther Martínez Lobato for Netflix. The series serves as a prequel to Money Heist, focusing on the life of Andrés de Fonollosa, aka “Berlin”, before the events of seasons 1 and 2 of the original series. It stars Pedro Alonso, Michelle Jenner, Tristán Ulloa, Begoña Vargas, and Julio Peña Fernández. The series premiered on Netflix on 29 December 2023 and consists of eight episodes. Money Heist: Berlin received mixed reviews with many critics feeling that it did not live to the hype of the original Money Heist.

Berlin Season 1

STORY

Many years before the events of Money Heist, Berlin made another heist, stealing €44 million in jewels and framing the one who provided the security for it. He was the leader of a criminal gang by then, Keila (Michelle Jenner), Damián (Tristán Ulloa), Cameron (Begoña Vargas), Bruce (Joel Sánchez) and Roi (Julio Peña Fernández). The series is primarily set in Paris. Things get complicated when, while spying on the victim to be framed, he falls in love with his wife.

CAST

Pedro Alonso as Andrés de Fonollosa or “Berlin”
Samantha Siqueiros as Camille
Tristán Ulloa as Damián
Michelle Jenner as Keila
Begoña Vargas as Cameron
Julio Peña Fernández as Roi
Joel Sánchez as Bruce
Maria Isabel “Masi” Rodríguez as Susi
Itziar Ituño as Raquel Murillo
Najwa Nimri as Alicia Sierra Montes
Miko Jarry as Olivier
Martín Aslan as Alain
Belén López as Eris (Limoncello Lady)

PRODUCTION

In late November 2021, just days before the release of the second volume of the fifth part of Money Heist, Netflix announced that it was developing a spin-off series, Berlin, for a tentative 2023 release, with Pedro Alonso expected to reprise his eponymous role from the original series. On September 28, 2022, Michelle Jenner, Begoña Vargas, Tristán Ulloa, Julio Peña Fernández and Joel Sánchez were cast to co-star alongside Alonso. In March 2023, it was announced that Itziar Ituño and Najwa Nimri would also be reprising their roles as Raquel Murillo and Alicia Sierra from Money Heist. Filming began in October 2022 in Paris, France, and continued in Madrid, Spain.

Creators Alex Pina and Esther Martínez Lobato wanted to do something “lighter” after their previous recent projects. In comparison to its parent show Money Heist, Berlin has more comedic tones and employed more actors and locations. The series was shot in a wider screen 2:1 ratio to give the characters “more of a scenic experience of their surroundings”.