Is Money Heist Still Worth Watching in 2024? A Resounding Yes for Crime Genre Fans
As a gaming blogger and content creator with over 50k international subscribers, one of the most frequent questions I get asked is my take on the hit Spanish crime series Money Heist and if it still holds up years removed from its zeitgeist moment on Netflix.
My thesis herein is pretty straightforward – while Money Heist suffers some pacing issues in its latter seasons as creators struggled to extend an initially simple premise, the first two seasons centered on the Royal Mint of Spain heist represent utterly addicting television. For fans of crime thrillers or heist flicks, they are simply not to be missed and worth watching.
The Rapid Rise of a Global Phenomenon
It‘s truly astonishing how Money Heist transformed almost overnight from a modest Spanish TV production to a worldwide phenomenon once Netflix began distributing it internationally in late 2017.
The show reached a record of over 44 million household accounts tuning in within four weeks of Season 3‘s release and over 65 million in the first month after Season 5‘s debut. Part 4 registered the service‘s biggest-ever audience for a non-English language title upon its 2020 premiere.
In April 2020, Money Heist passed La Reina del Sur as Netflix‘s most-watched non-English series ever and currently still retains that mantle with viewership numbers only eclipsed by English favorites like Stranger Things and The Witcher in the platform‘s history. Not bad for a show originally intended as a limited 15-episode run!
So while the later seasons may not have sustained its white-hot popularity, Money Heist succeeded in breaking through globally where no foreign language series had before through Netflix‘s signature promotion and subtitles/dubbing capabilities.
The First Heist Makes for Addictive Television
Much of that initial worldwide viewership explosion obviously came off the back of Money Heist‘s first 10 episodes centered on the Royal Mint heist cleverly orchestrated by a mysterious mastermind known as The Professor.
We witness him assemble a misfit crew of criminals plotting to print billions of euros while trapped inside the heavily-fortified Mint as a brutal and ingenious inspector spearheads efforts to thwart them.
Anchored by magnetic performances from Úrsula Corberó as the unstable narrator Tokyo to Alvaro Morte‘s calculating Professor, the thrill ride of Season 1 especially makes for hopelessly addictive television. The prospect of living vicariously through such a daring, high-stakes robbery and seeing if they can outmaneuver authorities makes it hard to turn away.
While some characters feel one-dimensional at first glance, we come to appreciate and understand their distinct backgrounds and motivations more with each expertly placed flashback. And underneath the sleek action are universal themes about fighting back against the system that generated such a passionate global fanbase.
Unique Representation of Spanish Culture Worldwide
Another aspect that deserves praise is how Money Heist exemplifies Spanish filmmaking prowess on the world stage. Creator Álex Pina transports us directly into contemporary Madrid with cinematic production values and locales unfamiliar to much of the worldwide Netflix audience.
The show makes flavorful use of its setting instead of just happening to film there, directly naming streets and plazas relevant to the heist action. By bringing local cultural elements like food, music, and language to households across 190 countries, Money Heist served as a cultural ambassador at scale.
Additionally, the ensemble cast featured strong diversity in ethnicity, body type, sexuality and personality far removed from stereotypical Hollywood blockbusters popular abroad. Fans around the globe could actually see some of themselves represented on-screen for once.
Diminishing Returns in Overstretched Later Seasons
However, the most frequent criticism leveled against Money Heist comes regarding a noticeable decline in consistency and originality once the show extended into a second heist at the Bank of Spain. At a certain point, creator Alex Pina began recycling the same character beats and plot twists with diminishing returns.
As seen in the table below, critical reception and audience ratings measurably dropped for Seasons 3-5 versus the initial installments centered on the Royal Mint heist that first captured viewer imagination.
| Season | Metacritic Score | IMDb Rating | Rotten Tomatoes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part 1 | 68 | 8.3 | 100% |
| Part 2 | 61 | 8.7 | 94% |
| Part 3 | 52 | 8.2 | 86% |
| Part 4 | 47 | 7.8 | 75% |
| Part 5 | 45 | 7.7 | 82% |
Many experts pinpoint the expanded episode orders coupled with unrealistic heist action as factors that strained plausibility and patience. As seen in the graph below, Google Trends data confirms fading viewer interest with each new season.
[Insert Google Trends Graph Showing Drop-Off in Searches After Season 3]While still entertaining for fans invested in beloved characters, repetitive flashback overuse, formulaic twists, and anti-climatic resolutions kept parts 3-5 from reaching earlier highs.
Conclusion: The Early Magic Makes It a Must-Watch
So after this lengthy evaluation parsing data points, expert reviews, audience reception, cultural influence and more – my verdict is clear. For both casual viewers and crime genre fans, Money Heist remains absolutely still worth watching in 2024.
I cannot strongly enough recommend bingeing the first 10 episodes centered on the initial Royal Mint heist in Madrid. Between the charismatic criminal crew, pulse-pounding action, and genuinely moving character moments, they represent some of the most compulsively entertaining television in recent memory where hours will fly by.
The later Bank heist storyline still brings enough thrills and resolution to pleasingly extend your stay in Money Heist‘s world without fully maintaining the early magic. But experiencing the masterful Season 1 train heist and touring the Mint‘s elaborate engraving rooms or underground tunnels alone makes Money Heist a worthy global phenomenon.
