At a press conference on Wednesday, Netflix made the announcement that production would soon begin on Berlin, a spinoff of La Casa de Papel (Money Heist) that will focus on the character played by Pedro Alonso.

The series is led by Pedro Alonso, who plays the skilled jewel thief Andrés de Fonollosa, also known as Berlin. In the prequel, which takes place before the events of Money Heist, Alonso will be joined by a brand new group of criminals.

Michelle Jenner (The Cook of Castamar) will play electronics specialist Keil , and Tristán Ulloa (Warrior Nun) will make an appearance as Damián, Berlin’s trusted advisor and a philanthropic professor. Begoa Vargas from Welcome to Eden plays the unstable Cameron; Julio Pea Fernández from Through My Window appears as Roi; and Joel Sánchez as the man of action, Bruce.

The eight-part prequel was written by Money Heist creators Esther Martnez Lobato and Alex Pina. During a Netflix event in Madrid, Martnez Lobato talked about the idea and said that “Berlin’s character has the most sparkling personality to place it in another universe. We loved the idea of introducing a new gang around Berlin in a completely different emotional state.

Alonso has disclosed how the first episode of the series was written. “There are only ten things that can turn a terrible day into a wonderful one. The first is love. And the truth is, that wasn’t the case. My third wife had just left me. The second is a spoil of more than ten million euros. But it wasn’t the case either. We were going to steal the link to a much bigger heist, but today’s was easy. But if you have a bad day, you can end up bringing a miserable person to his knees and aiming for his head.”

The series will begin shooting on October 3 in Paris and will take place over several weeks between the French capital and Madrid.