After 207M+ Hours Streamed, Netflix’s Darkest Sci-Fi Thriller Feels Uncomfortably Relevant

The release of Billionaires’ Bunker on Netflix generated a lot of noise, both positive and negative. Critics had their doubts about the series, while social media was split over whether it should be supported. However, the Spanish-language science fiction movie has achieved incredible success, accumulating over 207 million hours viewed in less than half a year and becoming Netflix’s second-highest viewed international series of all time. Regardless of opinions, everyone seems eager to continue watching the show.

Written by the Money Heist team of Álex Pina and co-creator Esther Martínez Lobato, this is a show that drinks the Kool-Aid of its creators’ favorite playground of twists and turns, moral gray areas, and concepts too crazy not to work. Although the show lasted only one season, on a darker note, this also explains why it’s become such a talking-point show.

What Is 'Billionaires’ Bunker' About?

In the shadows of a potential nuclear war, Billionaires' Bunker tells the story of The Ultra Wealthy, who are forced into hiding inside Kimera Underground Park. This luxurious bunker is situated nearly a mile underground. These privileged guests plan to make it a temporary refuge from the outside world, but as the world changes, the claustrophobia and lack of social order are putting their relationships to a far greater test than ever before. The elegant nature of their surroundings appears to give them an outlook in which past frustrations, grudges, and power struggles are renewed as soon as the doors are shut.

The main protagonist of this narrative, a young boy named Max Varela (Pau Simón), recently completed his prison sentence for a DUI accident he got into that killed his girlfriend. This tragedy links Max to another family living in the bunker, who have not yet forgiven him or accepted that they are not. In the eight episodes of the series, all the characters find themselves living in a pressure cooker of surveillance, privilege, and paranoia that forces them to confront who they are when wealth no longer affords them the luxury of escaping reality.

The end-of-the-world theme is merely a conversation starter for the public; however, the project focuses mostly on how the end of the world will affect social relationships. The bunker is an additional character in the story – It is beautiful, but it also has an atmosphere of clinical and personal oppression.

Why the Twist in 'Billionaires’ Bunker' Changes Everything

Fans of Pina and Martínez Lobato know to expect the unexpected, and Billionaires’ Bunker wastes no time proving it. A significant revelation near the end of the first episode completely upends everything viewers have learned thus far and shifts the show into psychological thriller mode.

That early pivot proved divisive. While some fans adore how quickly this series pulled the rug out from under its viewers, there is also debate over whether showing audiences such an immense twist so early in the series leaves the plot room to go in any worthwhile direction. Either way, this risk paid off in at least one respect: people continued to watch.

Much like Lost or Silo, Billionaires’ Bunker thrives on uncertainty. Every character interaction feels loaded, every system inside the bunker potentially rigged, and every comfort suspect. The result is a show that constantly asks whether safety built on lies is really safety at all.

Why 'Billionaires’ Bunker' Became a Global Hit Anyway

Stories about ultra-wealthy people preparing for a collapse of society are everywhere right now, and Billionaires’ Bunker is a great fit in this hot trend—although, as noted, with a unique twist. Rather than portraying this lot as insane, out-of-control villains, we see them as scared, imperfect human beings, clinging to their wealth because of fear and because that is who they were brought up to be.

As a whole, it irritated some critics who sought a far edgier satire, but it has given the series its current ambivalence. Horror is not derived from gore or out-of-control action but rather the way people justify cruelty, denial, and control as long as they believe themselves to be good.

It is a reality that, through the bunker’s rules—worn uniforms, constant observation, one-sided information provision—leaves the notion of individuality behind in favor of a perceived need to be safe. But what remains, a sad state of affairs, is that wealth beyond measure creates an unnatural reality that comes crashing down as soon as it is opposed.

As it turned out, Netflix ultimately cancelled Billionaires’ Bunker after a single season, keeping it as a standalone experience, though a disjointed one. While the show may not always land perfectly, it’s an intriguing peek at the direction prestige sci-fi thrills are ultimately heading: darkened, complicated, and preoccupied by decay rather than uplift or redemption.

For viewers who enjoy high-concept mysteries, psychological tension, and shows that aren’t afraid to alienate part of their audience, Billionaires’ Bunker is still worth the trip underground. Just don’t expect easy answers — or a comfortable ride back up.