Netflix saved Money Heist from being cancelled with two dollars

Although Spanish crime drama television series Money Heist originally titled La Casa de Papel’s last season was talk of the town even in Pakistan, the show was almost cancelled.

Screen writer Javier Gómez Santander told Spanish newspaper El Mundo that the series “was a failure, in Spain.”

“Contrary to what it seems, the life of the series is the story of a failure. Antena 3 cut the number of planned chapters. The series maintained decent figures, but nothing special… The feeling was not flattering and I was already thinking about the next projects of the producer.”

However, the the series was saved when Netflix bought it for two dollars.

According to Left Bank Pictures head Andy Harries, “Literally, three months [after it was scrapped], this show that had been cancelled in Spain was bought by Netflix for literally two dollars… They bunged it out without any promotion and within two weeks, the thing was number one around the world.”

Now, Money Heist is the top viewed show in six countries: France, Italy, Chile, Portugal, Brazil and Argentina. The series also has a significant fanbases in North Africa, the Middle East, and Turkey.