Netflix expands Brazil offer with crime show & Candelaria Massacre drama

Netflix is expanding its Brazilian offering with a flurry of new shows, including an investigative crime series from Paranoid Filmes and a drama about the Candelaria Massacre.

DNA Do Crime will follow the complex work of federal police officers as they unpick organised crime in the country, with Heitor Dhalia directing.

Two comedy shows are in the works from Brazilian star Leandro Hassum and Camisa Listrada, with B.O. and movie Meu Cunhado é um Vampiro.

B.O., from director Pedro Amorim and writer Carol Garcia, is set in a police station in Rio de Janeiro and explores how a chief officer from the countryside adapts to its life.

A comedy special from Whindersson Nunes – Whindersson Nunes: Isso não é um Culto – will also be launched following filming in Portuguese city Porto, while production has started on a new real-life drama focused on the tragedy known as the Candelaria Massacre.

The four-parter explores how a group of men, including off-duty police, shot and killed eight homeless people – including six children – outside a church. It will mix realism, fantasy and afrofuturism to reveal the history of four of the children in the 36 hours that precede the tragedy. Marcia Faria directs alongside Luis Lomenha, who is showrunner and executive producer. Kromaki and Jabuti Films produce.

Other shows on the slate include sequels of film Rich In Love, season 4 of Sintonia, season 2 of Back to 15, a second season of the Brazilian sitcom Smother-in-Law and the third season reality show, Love Is Blind: Brazil.

Netflix added that is investing 5 million Brazilian reais ($1m) in initiatives to support the development of local talents and promote more diverse and inclusive narratives. As part of this strategy, the streamer has launched a new initiative called ‘Segundo Ato’ for black and indigenous screenwriters part of the Brazilian industry.

Elizabetta Zenatti, VP of content at Netflix – which has been producing locally since 2015 – said: “We want our creative and production partners to have the best experience working with us to bring incredible stories to our members. And while today the landscape is very different from where we started, there is one thing that remains absolutely the same: our commitment to the Brazilian creative community. Brazil is a fundamental part of our strategy.”