Netflix has added true crime drama Bank Under Siege, which tells the story of a huge heist in Spain that "shook a nation" by threatening to kill off the country's new democracy.
Set in Barcelona in May 1981, three months after an attempted coup d’état at the Congress of Deputies, the lower house of the Spanish Parliament, the series opens with eleven hooded men bursting into the city's Central Bank on a Saturday morning.
But this was no ordinary robbery. Netflix teases: "What starts as a spectacular robbery soon becomes a real challenge to Spain's recent democracy. The robbers hold more than 200 hostages and threaten to kill them if the government does not agree to free Colonel Tejero and three others in charge of the 23F."
Colonel Tejero was the leading figure in the attempted coup which had taken place on February 23, 1981. The coup saw Colonel Tejero and his supporters hold the congress members hostage but it failed to win wider army support. King Juan Carlos I denounced the plot on television and they were arrested.
But, as Bank Under Siege, dramatically shows that was far from the end of the story as masked men threatened Spanish democracy, which had only taken place in the country following the death of dictator Franco in 1975.
The bank robbers demanded planes so they and the men jailed could escape safely, threatening that if their demands were not met they would start killing their hostages.
There has been some debate over the true motives of the robbers, explored in the TV series.
The trailer shows the robbers bursting into the bank, firing shots into the air. An official is seen saying: "This could be another February 23." We also see journalists who are trying to get to the truth of the robbery and discover who is ultimately behind the events.
Police snipers lined up trying to take out the robbers if necessary, while the crooks attempted to confuse the police by switching clothes with some of the hostages. While the story is known in Spain, Netflix will no doubt be hoping that a new global audience will be enthralled by the dramatic true story. Viewers might also enjoy the 1980s setting.
All the five one-hour episodes of Bank Under Siege are available to watch now. Check out our best shows on Netflix article for more series to enjoy.
