'La casa de papel' is based on an incredible true story, but it didn't happen in Spain

Everyone knows Money Heist, and the fact is that when season 2 premiered in Spain, it had such poor ratings that they moved it to a different day, trying to fit it in somewhere.

Fortunately, Netflix came to the rescue and the rest, as we now know, is history. After 5 seasons and 2 of its prequel and spin-off Berlin, the streamer is not willing to let go of its gold mine, so it’s the perfect time to look back and see how such a huge international phenomenon was created. Who knows, if you take notes, you might be the next successful creator for Netflix!

Robbery at Three

Initially, Money Heist was going to have a different tone and even a different title: Alex Pina, its creator, decided to call it The Foreclosed, because all the members of the gang would come from an absolutely desperate situation. Fortunately, he took note of improvements, changed the name, and the rest is history.

And in history, precisely, the series is based, although not Spanish. Specifically, it is based on an American criminal and on an Argentine robbery that bears very similar similarities to those of the Dalís.

Only there there was not a Professor, but a Master, a man with no criminal record who planned the Banco Río robbery in Acassuso from top to bottom on January 12, 2006. The gang consisted of just 6 people, who, with toy guns, entered, kidnapped everyone who was there, and waited to be surrounded by police. When they entered, 5 hours after the start of the heist, the team had already left: they stole 15 million dollars and escaped through a tunnel they had dug themselves and left in boats. Doesn’t it remind you a bit of the plan of a certain Professor?

Sadly, the end of this Robin Hood case was not happy: the wife of one of them betrayed them, and they spent five years in prison since they had not really harmed anyone. However, only one million was recovered, and the rest remains missing. This pacifist attitude is the same as that of our other protagonist, Willie Sutton, an outlaw from the last century who stole about two million dollars in total and managed to escape from prison three times without ever harming anyone.

He entered banks with a gun, but not for pleasure, rather because, as he stated, you can’t rob a bank just with charisma and personality. Moreover, he apparently never loaded his guns because he didn’t want to hurt anyone. The general public accepted him as a kind of gentleman or Robin Hood, and there were even rumors that he would withdraw from the heists if a woman screamed or a child started crying.

That said, he was much less gallant than the Dalís and even claimed that “I robbed banks because I enjoyed it. I loved it. I was more alive when I was inside a bank, robbing it, than at any other moment in my life. I enjoyed it so much that one or two weeks later I was already looking for my next job. The money was just a bonus, nothing more.” Genius, character, and petty thief: How could he not serve as inspiration for the “ethical thieves” of Money Heist?