The popular Netflix crime drama series Money Heist was originally titled La Casa de Papel in Spanish, translating to The House of Paper. Netflix changed its name to Money Heist when it bought the show in 2017.
Spanish fans have criticized the platform for changing the show’s name, especially since the English title sounds amateurish compared to the poetic quality of the original Spanish one.
However, Netflix had a lot of things in mind when it renamed the series for its international audience. Although the streaming platform did not give any official explanation for the title change, it was a well-thought business decision that worked in the show’s favor.
1. Why did Netflix change ‘La Casa de Papel’ to Money Heist?
Netflix changed the title ‘La Casa de Papel’ to Money Heist to make it easier for the international audience to remember. The platform gave the series a simple English title so that people could easily remember, pronounce, and search for it.
Although the show is made in Spanish, it got its boost when Netflix bought it and revamped it by adding English subtitles and dubbing in other languages.
Netflix thought that renaming the show to something simple like Money Heist would make it easier for those who do not speak Spanish to talk about it. It would also make it easier for them to understand what the show is all about.
Money Heist has been criticized for being a blunt and simple title, but it works from the marketing perspective. It perfectly sums up what the series is about and creates the image of a crime-drama series in the viewer’s mind.
Netflix was definitely thinking in the right direction, as Money Heist quickly became one of Netflix’s top 10 most-watched non-English shows in the United States.
Even today, most of us who’ve watched it on Netflix remember the show as ‘Money Heist’ rather than La Casa de Papel. Some viewers also don’t prefer watching shows with subtitles. For such viewers, an English dubbed version with an English name made the experience of watching the show more comfortable.
However, I have always wondered why Netflix did not name the English title of La Casa de Papel closer to the Spanish original. Strictly speaking, ‘La Casa de Papel’ translates to ‘The House of Paper’.
But the platform may have had a solid reason for not naming the show The House of Paper. Money Heist was a more suitable title, considering all aspects.
2. Why was ‘La Casa de Papel’ not renamed as The House of Paper?
Netflix likely did not rename La Casa de Papel as The House of Paper because it was too similar to one of their flagship shows, The House of Cards. Moreover, despite being an exact English translation, the title also does not clearly convey what the series is about.
Although ‘La Casa de Papel’ strictly translates to The House of Paper, it does not clearly explain what viewers can expect from the show.
Now that we’ve seen the series, we can say that the house referred to in the title is the Royal Mint of Spain. The first two seasons focus on the Professor’s master plan to rob the Royal Mint. The ‘paper’ clearly refers to the money or the notes.
The title would not make much sense for those watching the series for the first time. Netflix wanted to focus more on marketing and make it as easy as possible for its viewers to start watching the show.
The name ‘Money Heist’ perfectly conveys what viewers can expect from the show, so it was chosen over ‘The House of Paper.’
Moreover, The House of Paper is very similar to The House of Cards. The platform did not want its viewers to be confused between two similar titles.
All in all, it was a good business decision on the part of Netflix to rename the show ‘Money Heist.’ You can always refer to the show by its original Spanish title if you find the English one bad!
3. About Money Heist
Money Heist (Spanish: La casa de papel, meaning “The House of Paper”) is a Spanish heist crime drama television series created by Álex Pina.
The series traces two long-prepared heists led by the Professor (Álvaro Morte), one on the Royal Mint of Spain, and one on the Bank of Spain. The narrative is told in a real-time-like fashion and relies on flashbacks, time-jumps, hidden character motivations, and an unreliable narrator for complexity.
The show focuses on the meticulous plans and the specific contingencies of the Professor who has prepared his group of robbers dressed in red jumpsuits and Dali masks.
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