The follow-up to Netflix's megahit has climbed to number one worldwide and hints at an even more spectacular return

The second season of “Berlin,” Netflix's successor series to the wildly popular heist production “La casa de papel” (The Money Factory), has become the streaming platform's most-watched series since its debut weekend.

Data from reference site FlixPatrol shows that the new season, officially named “Berlin and the Lady with the Ermine” after a famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci, has become Netflix's most-watched series in numerous countries, including Germany, Italy, Switzerland and, unsurprisingly for a Spanish-language series, in Spain.

The internal ranking of Netflix published on the website also shows that the second season of “Berlin” – launched on Friday – became its most watched series in Romania as well.

The popularity it enjoys in the European markets with numerous subscribers and in other countries has propelled the production signed by the Spanish filmmaker Álex Pina, who also created “La casa de papel”, to the first position in the general ranking of the most watched Netflix series around the world.

In Romania, the second season of Berlin dethroned “Between Son and Father”, another Spanish-language Netflix series.

The actors of the series “Berlin”, interview for HotNews before the launch of the new season on Netflix

A few days before the release of the new season on Friday, May 15, Netflix brought to Romania the actors Pedro Alonso, who plays the main character Andrés de Fonollosa “Berlin” after whom the series is named, and Joel Sánchez and Julio Peña Fernández, his “lieutenants” Bruce and Roi.

The actors participated in an event where fans, media representatives and others were invited, before a preview broadcast of the first episode of the new season at the National Museum of the Romanian Peasant on Tuesday evening.

Before the event, the three actors gave an interview to the HotNews.ro audience. With Pedro Alonso back in the new series in his role from “La casa de papel”, we asked him how he explains the huge popularity enjoyed by the two heist productions.

“Throughout the whole movie there were some aspects of Robin Hood, the prince who steals from the rich. At the beginning, I would have said to give to the poor, although that's not the case, but he steals with a passion. There was a bit of an anti-system attitude. The producer always told us that what we were doing was entertainment. And we were coming from a time when, and I really believe that, I'm convinced, given the economic crisis we were going through, it was like a download. I would like to steal the system and I think that's what I conveyed,” replied the Spanish actor.

“And obviously we live in a world where power structures, at the level of power, have been proven to steal. It has been proven. Or at least in many places they are stolen. And the average citizen has to pay for these thefts. This feeling that the world is divided, that it's not in balance, the idea of stealing from people who have a lot of money, it's like a kind of recurring thought, like a fantasy. If you see it on the the couch of your house, covered with your blanket, you can consider it a download,” added Pedro Alonso.

The interview given by the three Spanish actors for the HotNews audience can be read in full HERE.

The “La casa de papel” franchise would continue on Netflix with a new series

Before arriving in Bucharest, Alonso revealed in an interview with the great Spanish daily El Pais that he decided to say goodbye to the Berlin character after almost a decade of playing him.

“Basically, I'm parting with a piece of my life. And I measure everything in perspective,” the 54-year-old actor also told HotNews. The first season of the series “Berlin” premiered on Netflix in December 2023, two years after the end of “La casa de papel”, and even then it became the most watched series of the platform worldwide.

Although he has not yet officially announced this, it is almost certain that the new season of “Berlin” will also be the last, considering that the series has been left without the actor who gives life to the main character after whom it is named. But the ending of “Berlin” may not be the denouement for the “La casa de papel” franchise either.

The website Whats on Netflix notes that during the promotion campaign in Spain of the new season for “Berlin”, Netflix used its release to suggest that the franchise will continue. The announcement was made on May 9 in Seville, at an event attended by 4,000 fans and 700 VIP guests. Thousands of guests watched as a boat full of people dressed in the iconic red jumpsuits and Salvador Dalí masks known from the original series sailed down the Guadalquivir River to the beats of 'Bella Ciao'.

During the event, Netflix released an all-new “teaser” trailer and promotional images accompanied by the message: “WHAT'S NEXT HAS ALREADY BEGUN.”

What a new series from the “La casa de papel” universe could be about

Netflix has officially stated, “The stories of 'La casa de papel' do not end with 'Berlin and the Lady with the Ermine,'” appearing to confirm that a new series is in the works. But what exactly does that mean? Not many details have emerged so far, although the dominant theory cited by the Whats on Netflix site is that it will be a direct sequel to the original series, given that the teaser trailer ends with images of gold bars being unearthed.

Two days after this initial announcement, Netflix and the official La Casa De Papel YouTube channel released a mysterious new trailer that includes footage from the May 9 event.

The video ends with actor Álvaro Morte, who played “The Professor” in the original series, removing his Dalí mask into the crowd and is accompanied by the message: “Every dream and every ship needs a captain: Álvaro Morte leads our crew in red overalls and Dalí masks to announce that the universe of 'La casa de papel' lives on.”

Given this video and a message from Netflix India that “The Professor” is back, everything suggests that the next adventure will have Álvaro Morte at the center. However, it should be pointed out that Netflix has not officially confirmed this.

“La casa de papel” fans are speculating on social media that we could see a season 6 for the original series, where “The Professor” will form a whole new team of thieves for a new international target.