“La Casa de Papel” Friday launches its final season after a global success on Netflix.
Even the characters of the thieves, all of whom have code names from cities around the world, attracted audiences in the United States that were not accustomed to watching the dubbed works.
Although the "La Casa de Papel" scenario is not "revolutionary", it tells a "very universal story, of the struggle between good and evil... with messages about the power of women, camaraderie, and the need for rebellion," according to Neira.
The professor added that Lupine shares many of the traits of La Casa de Papel, such as his focus on a thief who has a "certain moral" and "extremely intelligent" side.
The Spanish series was also fortunate because Netflix bought its rights shortly after launching its services in January 2016 in more than 130 countries, which gave the work a spread to almost every country in the world except for China.
Alberto Nahum Garcia, professor of audio-visual communication at the Spanish University of Nabara, said that Netflix's recommendation algorithm prioritizes series such as "La Casa de Papel" because of its ability to make viewers "addicted" to events.
He added, "There was a confluence of positive factors at a stage when the distribution became more global."
Neira said the series also benefited from the willingness of the American streaming giant to invest heavily in dubbed works and add subtitles to its programs in dozens of languages.
The series was praised by many critics and newspapers around the world, including the New York Times, which praised the series and its twists and turns, describing it as an "enjoyable journey in every sense of the word."
The red costume and Salvador Dali masks worn by the rebellious gang members of the series soon became a fashionable accessory around the world at masquerade parties and street protests.
"This is the first non-English language series that has become a global phenomenon," said Elena Neira, professor of communication sciences at the Open University of Catalonia.
Thanks to this success, Netflix and its competitors "realized that they didn't need to produce everything in the United States" to attract a global audience, says Neira.
Soon, Netflix achieved additional major successes with other non-English series, such as the French series "Lupin" and the South Korean drama "Squid Game", which this year became the most watched series on the platform at all.
On Friday, Netflix will release the last five episodes of its famous Spanish series “La Casa de Papel”, which opened the door to a torrent of successful non-English-speaking productions on streaming services.
The suspense series, created by the Spanish private network "Antena 3" and centered around complex thefts carried out by a gang of professional thieves, has become the most watched series on Netflix among non-English-speaking works since it was launched on the giant American platform in December 2017.
