Money Heist, originally titled La casa de papel, has 15 episodes in its original Spanish broadcast and 22 in Netflix's re-edited version because the same long episodes were rearranged into shorter installments. Antena 3 aired nine episodes in its first block and six in its second in 2017. For Netflix distribution, that material became 13 episodes in Part 1 and nine in Part 2. The seven additional episode numbers therefore do not represent seven newly filmed stories for streaming.
There is also a discrepancy worth acknowledging rather than concealing: a 2020 report in Brazil's Folha de S.Paulo said the re-edit had 21 episodes. A Television Academy interview with a Netflix executive, however, documents 22, a total consistent with the 13-plus-nine split in episode guides.
How 15 episodes became 22: comparing the two cuts
| Stage | Antena 3, original Spanish version from 2017 | Netflix, re-edited version |
|---|---|---|
| First block | 9 long episodes | Part 1: 13 shorter episodes |
| Second block | 6 long episodes | Part 2: 9 shorter episodes |
| Total for the originally broadcast story | 15 episodes | 22 episodes |
| Typical length | About 70 minutes per episode | About 45 to 50 minutes, varying by episode |
| Broadcast or release | May to November 2017, in two blocks | Part 1 in December 2017; Part 2 in April 2018, for international distribution |
The series premiered on Antena 3 on May 2, 2017. Its first block ended in June, and the second aired from October through November 23 of that year. The epguides listing places Netflix's re-edited block releases on December 20, 2017, and April 6, 2018. These dates describe historical releases and versions; they do not establish that every territory carried the content in exactly the same way.
Why did Netflix request a new edit?
In an interview published by the Television Academy on September 23, 2021, Diego Ávalos, then Netflix's vice president of original content in Spain, explained that Spanish broadcasters traditionally used episodes lasting about 70 minutes, a format Netflix considered less suitable for international audiences. The company asked Álex Pina and Jesús Colmenar for more compact installments, partly because the commercial-break structure of the original broadcast edit disrupted the action's flow.
There is more to the decision than simply trimming minutes. According to a retrospective by Vertele at elDiario.es, the creative team had already written the longer installments with tension points around the 40-to-45-minute mark, making alternative edits possible for other markets. Netflix changed how the episodes were divided and where they ended. This could affect where viewers encounter a turning point or stop watching for the day, without turning the first heist into a different story.
The consulted sources do not support mapping every Netflix episode directly to a single Antena 3 episode or claiming the only difference was the removal of commercials. These are two editorial ways of segmenting the original material, not a new season made up of seven extra stories.
Why did Folha report 21 episodes while the Television Academy says 22?
On April 2, 2020, a Folha report by Tony Goes described the 15 Spanish episodes of roughly 70 minutes being turned into 21 episodes of approximately 45 minutes. The report documents the re-edit but provides a different total.
The Television Academy's 2021 interview states 22 episodes. That figure aligns with the 13 episodes shown for Part 1 in Netflix Tudum's official guide and the nine Part 2 episodes listed by epguides. Twenty-two is therefore the more firmly documented count for the two-part international edit. The sources examined do not explain why Folha used 21; without further evidence, the difference should not be treated as proof of a third official cut.
Part, season and episode are not interchangeable labels here
Labels create another source of confusion. According to Vertele, Antena 3 originally promoted the production as one season conceived in two parts. Netflix organized its re-edit into Part 1 and Part 2, while some historical guides and reports called those blocks seasons one and two. A search for “season 1” can consequently mix the original run of nine long installments with the 13 episodes in the first streaming batch.
Only after the streaming release became successful did Netflix commission additional episodes: Part 3 premiered in July 2019, followed by Parts 4 and 5. Netflix's Brazil listing displays five parts. The key distinction is that Parts 1 and 2 re-edit the first heist already broadcast in Spain, while the later parts contain newly produced continuation episodes.
Which episode count should you use when looking up or revisiting the show?
- For the original Spanish television broadcast: use 15 episodes, in blocks of nine and six on Antena 3.
- For the original storyline as divided on Netflix: use 22, with 13 in Part 1 and nine in Part 2.
- For the complete series in Netflix's episode numbering: the episode guide lists 48 episodes across five parts, adding 13, 9, 8, 8 and 10. This sum follows the re-edited numbering for the first two blocks rather than the 15 Spanish broadcast installments.
The reliable way to compare lists is to identify which cut and division they describe. That explains 15 versus 22 without mixing the re-edit, the international release and the continuation produced later.
Sources and references
- Television Academy: “Miracle in Madrid” interview
- Vertele / elDiario.es: original episode format and broadcast history
- Folha de S.Paulo: report published April 2, 2020
- Netflix Brazil: series listing and parts
- Netflix Tudum: official series episode guide
- epguides: episode and release-date guide
- Antena 3: official series page
