Television series

La Casa de Papel

Five seasons, two impossible jobs, one crew in red jumpsuits and Dalí masks pulling off the biggest heist in Spanish history while the country falls in love with them live on television. It's melodrama dressed as heist thriller — flashbacks, betrayals, tearful monologues, Bella Ciao on repeat. Gloriously overstuffed, unapologetically soapy, built for anyone who wants their crime drama maximalist rather than restrained.

TVMaze rating8.0

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Peaky Blinders2013

Cillian Murphy's Tommy Shelby brings the same magnetic criminal-genius energy as the Professor, leading a family crew through beautifully shot violence and impossibly precise plans in 1920s Birmingham.

But Slower burn, thicker accents, and a plot that often trades heist mechanics for gangland politics and family grudges.

Peaky Blinders poster

Lupin2021

Omar Sy's gentleman thief pulls off elaborate disguises and public humiliations of the wealthy with the same theatrical flair as the crew, just solo, stylish, and French.

But Shorter seasons mean less room to breathe, and some found the central mystery thinner than the swagger promised.

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Breaking Bad2008

Watch an ordinary man become a criminal mastermind through sheer intelligence and desperation — the slow-burn engine behind every great heist plan, just applied to meth instead of gold.

But Far darker and more punishing; there's no romance here, just consequences piling up relentlessly.

Breaking Bad poster

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Rififi1955

La Casa de Papel's obsession with showing every mechanical step of the plan — drilling, timing, silence — descends directly from Rififi's legendary heist scene, the genre's founding document.

The wordless, thirty-minute robbery sequence in this French noir invented the template every heist story since has copied — the tension of pure process, no dialogue needed.

But Black and white, in French, and slow by modern standards — it demands patience but repays it fully.

Rififi poster
More like this (8)

Prison Break2005

All the meticulous planning, code names, and impossible escapes you loved, but inverted — this crew is breaking out, not in, and a tattoo is the blueprint.

But Later seasons stretch credibility well past breaking point; the first run is the best by a wide margin.

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Ocean's Eleven2001

The gold standard of stylish, charismatic heist-crew cinema — a perfect job, a perfect team, and a swagger La Casa de Papel clearly studied closely.

But Two hours means none of the sprawling soap-opera relationships or slow-build tension you're used to.

Ocean's Eleven poster

Narcos2015

Trade the Bank of Spain for Colombian cartels — a Spanish-language crime saga with real stakes, moral compromise, and a country transfixed by criminals it can't stop watching.

But Based on true events, so it's grimmer and less playful — the violence carries real weight.

Narcos poster

Now You See Me2013

Pure heist theatre — magicians instead of robbers, but the same delight in reveals, misdirection, and a crew who treat crime as performance art.

But Glossier and dumber than what you're used to, with none of the emotional investment or political edge.

Now You See Me poster

The Italian Job2003

A tight, fun heist-crew film with gadgets, banter, and a job that goes sideways in satisfying ways — comfort food for anyone missing the crew dynamic.

But Much lighter stakes, no political texture, and a runtime that leaves you wanting more crew time.

The Italian Job poster

Sky Rojo2021no page yet

From the same creator, same pace, same love of flashbacks and primary-colour style — three women on the run, faster, trashier, and even less interested in subtlety.

But Even more over-the-top and less grounded; some will find it exhausting rather than fun.

Great Pretender2020no page yet

Same architecture as the Professor's crew: a criminal genius assembling specialists, each hiding behind a persona, for a multi-stage con — just rendered in vivid, playful animation instead of red jumpsuits.

This Japanese anime follows a crew of con artists pulling elaborate international scams under false identities, with the same pleasure in disguise, reveals, and a mastermind orchestrating every role.

But It's anime — a real tonal and visual leap if you've never tried the format, on top of subtitles or dubbing.

The Baader Meinhof Complex2008no page yet

Both dress their criminals in ideology, anti-establishment heroes robbing the powerful, but this one is history rather than fantasy, and shows exactly what that logic costs in real blood.

A true story of a real political group who robbed banks and committed violence believing themselves revolutionaries against the state — the same question La Casa de Papel asks, played completely straight.

But There's no romance or wit here — it's brutal, morally exhausting, and offers no satisfying resolution.

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