Hey, a familiar face… Berlin, hero of the saga The House of Paperreturns to Netflix with a series in his name. As (it’s no longer a secret) the character died in season 2 of the Spanish heist series, this “sequel” is actually a prequel: it recounts events located before the main series.
We therefore find Andrés de Fonollosa, alias Berlin, already a genius robber, preparing a super jewelry heist, in Paris, with an unprecedented team of ups and downs… Nothing very original then, except for a less violent and more romantic tone (Paris obliges…). However, success should be there. Nervous and well-conducted, with the right amount of slightly Nawak twists and crazy secondary characters, Berlin has everything to be the star series of early January on the platform.
Laziness?
Unless Netflix subscribers are suddenly fed up with the prequels. Before Berlin, several major series have in fact told the genesis or youth of their characters. Let’s quote Young Sheldon, House of the Dragon, Better Call Saul…It’s a real epidemic.
So much so that some Internet users 20 minutes are tired of the trend. Florian thus sees it as “laziness” and a “lack of creativity”, as he explains in responding to our call for contributions: “Maybe they find their audience but I am personally tired of prequels for series. Just like I’m tired of sequels 2, 3, 4, 5 etc. for films whose first part was a success. It’s a highway for easy business. And that doesn’t interest me. »
Many of them in the same situation confirm that they get tired of the series after a few seasons, and do not understand the point of a prequel. They want something new.
Prequel talent
However, there are many defenders of the Prequel cause, provided that the series really adds something to the plot. Several Internet users, including Xavier, cite Better Call Saulprequel to breaking Bad, which “equaled, or even exceeded, the original. The plot is great, and we find the atmosphere of the basic series, but with a particular tone. »
Other series lovers confess that they sometimes have difficulty abandoning the series they loved, like Stéphanie: “At the end of Game Of ThronesI felt like an orphan, so I was delighted to find the universe with House of the Dragon, even without the characters from the original saga. » Likewise, Sylvain appreciates being able to immerse himself in a universe for years thanks to series: “The difference with a film is that a series accompanies us for long periods, and I find it great to be able to discover the youth of certain characters. It’s like going behind the scenes. I loved Downton Abbey and I dream of a series which tells the story of the youth of the Crawley girls, with a still dapper Lady Grantham… There are characters that we never want to leave! »
Realism
Finally, there are those who, without having a passion for the prequels, recognize that it is a very natural phenomenon. “We see the same thing in series as in video games: the sums invested are so large that a number 5 or a prequel represents less risk because there will always be a minimum audience and therefore a minimum amount of money. assured, analyzes Nicolas. It demonstrates the maturity of a market and it is a consequence of our way of consuming. »
Like him, Marie also explains that Netflix is adapting with Berlin to a practice of its subscribers: “We don’t all have the time to find the little series which is a hidden gem… Of course, I too love discovering an original series, talking about it to my friends, letting them know about it… But when you arrive in the evening in front of Netflix, with a prequel to a series that you liked, you are guaranteed to have a good time. » So, if many Internet users of 20 minutes say they prefer 6-episode mini-series with a rounded plot, most confess that they will watch Berlin…