Netflix Brazil Unveils a ‘Sintonia' Spin-Off, Soccer Shows on Brazil 1970, Ronaldinho and Neymar and a Scripted Series on Brazil's Biggest Ever Radioactive Disaster
Directors Fernando Coimbra ('A Wolf at the Door') and top production houses Gullane ('Senna'), O2 Filmes ('City of God') and Boutique Filmes ('3%') feature among 10 new productions announced Monday by Netflix.
The new announcements matter. Netflix does not break out client figures for individual countries. Brazil ranks, however, as its second-biggest market globally with 20.6 million paid subscribers, according to global analyst Omdia estimates. That places it ahead of the U.K. (17.7 million), Germany (17.5 million), and France (14.6 million).
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One of Brazil's biggest challenges is to export its biggest swings. Save for a rare exception like 'Senna,' Netflix Brazilian shows are not global plays. Yet some achieve global viewership via Netflix, led in 2024 by 'Desperate Lies,' Burning Betrayal,' 'Senna' (which bowed Nov. 29), 'Bionic' and 'Good Morning, Veronica' according to PlumResearch. Further breakouts this year take in 'A Tragedy Foretold: Flight 3054,' 'Sintonia,' 'Senna,' 'Burning Betrayal' and 'Stranded with My Mother in Law,' added Jonathan Broughton, at PlumResearch..
The 10 new unveils were made on the eve of Rio de Janeiro mega creativity forum Rio2C, where the U.S. SVOD leader will host a panel on the technological legacy of 'Senna' and another on the power of reality show casting, underscored by its own 'Stranded With My Mother-in-Law' Seasons 1 and 2.
O2 Filmes is producing high-tech doc series 'Brazil 70 – A Saga do Tri,' about the key match plays and journeys of Brazilian soccer players – Pele, Jarzinho, Carlos Alberto – during Brazil's probably greatest FIFA World Cup triumph.
'Sintonia,' Netflix's biggest Brazilian franchise whose final Season 5 dropped in February, will receive a movie spin-off continuing Nando's story. Johnny Araújo directs again, Gullane produces once more.
Scribe-helmer Coimbra and Gullane ('Noah's Ark,' 'The Second Mother') reunite after 'A Wolf at the Door' and 'Carnival is Over,' on 'Emergencia Radiactiva,' a mini-series inspired by the biggest non-nuclear-plant radioactive accident in history.
Further new Netflix Brazil highlights announced Monday include biopics on soccer greats Ronaldinho and Neymar and Boutique Filmes' fiction chronicle of a crime that rocked Brazil, the Elize Matsunaga case.
To date in 2025, Netflix has already released island-set reality challenge contest 'Stranded With My Mother in Law' Season 2, and three documentaries: 'Larissa: The Other Side of Anitta,' a take on the person behind the pop supernova persona; 'A Tragedy Foretold, Flight 3054,' about the deadliest aviation accident ever in South America, which ranked No. 4 among Netflix global Top 10 non-English shows over April 21-27, and 'Baila, Vini,' a take on Real Madrid soccer star Vinicius Jr.'s career and his troubled battle against racism.
Crime thriller 'Os Donos do Jogo,' a 'Brotherhood' spin-off and 'Stranded With My Mother in Law' Season 3 have all wrapped production.
'Netflix continues to strengthen its investment in Brazil's audiovisual market,' it said Monday.
How is that playing out? Six ways in which Netflix is pushing the envelope in Brazil, followed by a brief drill down on the newly announced productions:
Expanding Netflix's Horizons
In its drive for transformation of Brazil's film-TV scene, Netflix is exploring little frequented genres or shooting firsts for the streaming giant. Among unveils are its first wildlife doc in Brazil and indeed Latin America, 'Marcha das Oncas,' and Netflix's first horror movie, 'Fazenda Colonial,' made by an all female writing-directing team. Continuing to broaden its output. 'We not only aim to offer variety to a diverse audience but to encourage the development of new stories in Brazil,' Netflix Brazil head of films Higia Ikeda said Monday.
A Drive into Brazilian Original Reality Shows
Also unveiled, Korea-set 'Meu Namorado Coreano' joins other Netflix Brazil original reality shows, one of its fastest-building growth axes, reflecting the growing interest of Brazilian audiences in reality formats, said Elisa Chalfon, Netflix Brazil lead of non-fiction. She called Netflix's backing 'Meu Namorado Coreano'as 'very meaningful,' 'supporting the growth of the market, building specialized teams and expanding Brazilian entertainment's repertoire with originality and cultural strength.'
Production Values
Pushing authenticity, Netflix and Zola Filmes drafted in Peter Lee Thomas, a trainer for Halle Berry, to choreograph fight scenes on 'Fúria,' another new show, which required intense physical preparation, rehearsals and workshops. Turning on Elize Matsunaga's murder of her husband, real crime fiction suspense drama 'Uma Garota de Classe' features a faithful and detailed recreation of the apartment where the Matsunaga couple lived.
Cutting-Edge Technology
Marking a major leap in technology, Netflix-O2 Filmes' 'Brazil 70' yokes archival image research to VFX, reconstructing games moves and moments that weren't captured in detail in 1970 due to the limited technology of the time, exploring those in ultra-detailed shots and angles. 'We are making a significant investment in visual effects to recreate the matches and historic plays with the highest level of realism, combining on-location shoots in Brazil and Mexico with meticulous image research and digital finishing,' said Haná Vaisman, Netflix Brazil's scripted series lead.
Brazilian Relevance
'Documentaries and reality shows are a direct bridge to the reality of our country and our subscribers — and Brazil has countless stories that have yet to be told,' said Chaflon. Brazilian stories can hike local audience engagement through their emotional proximity, while boosting a sense of authenticity. Netflix's aim, it said in a statement Monday, is 'to play a transformative role in Brazil's audiovisual landscape, offering globally resonant content rooted in local authenticity.' 'Brazilian content performs best when it leans into local identity, music or true stories, builds emotional resonance over spectacle and uses urban realism and cultural specificity to feel universal,' said Broughton.
The Move Into Real Life Inspired Action Thrillers
That authenticity takes in action thrillers, Brazil's potentially biggest next international calling card. Netflix confirmed Monday completion of filming on series 'Os Donos do Jogo,' co-created and directed by Heitor Dhalia, inspired by Rio's gaming mafia. At January's Next on Netflix, it showed new first look photos of the second season of smash hit series 'Criminal Code,' its most watched Brazilian series of second half 2023 inspired by a 2017 heist and subsequent real-life events. The series was heavily researched, creator Dhalia has said. 'Jogo' is following suit. Of Netflix's 10 new productions announced Monday, seven are inspired by real-life events or figures.
Here Are the 10 New Productions
Series
'Emergencia Radiactiva,' (Fernando Coimbra, Gullane)
Coimbra's sharp human observation wrapped in a thriller format were major merits of 'A Wolf at the Door.' He returns to the same mix in this mini-series, relating the 1987 Goiâna radioactive accident – where scavengers unwittingly sold to neighbors 40 TBq of Caesium-137 found in a hospital radiation-therapy machine. People were curious about its glow. The miniseries frames a race against time, spotlighting the battle between physicists and doctors to save thousands of lives.
'Fúria,' (José Henrique Fonseca, Zola Filmes)
Director of Netflix hit 'Bom dia, Verônica,' on Netflix over 2020-24, Fonseca returns with 'Füria,' about an amnesiac MMA fighter battling for a place in the MMA world and the rediscovery of his true identity as he's embroiled in a dangerous web of crime, ambition, and secrets that threaten his life and that of his mentor.
'Brazil 70 – A Saga do Tri,' (Naná Xavier, Rafael Dornelles, 02 Filmes)
The 1970 World Cup saw Brazil's greatest team and some of its greatest goals such as Pele's nonchalant pass into space for Carlos Alberto in the final against Italy. Such moments are now rooted in a generation's collective memory, Netflix noted. Produced by O2 Filmes and directed by Pedro and Paolo Morelli, behind Series Mania title 'Raul Seixas: Let Me Sing,' 'Brazil 70 – A Saga do Tri,' recreates such highlights while chronicling the troubled personal journeys of Brazilian players.
Reality Shows
'Meu Namorado Coreano,'
Five Brazilian women hit a bustling Seoul to find out whether 'their relationships can withstand distance, cultural differences, and a whole new routine,' said Netflix. 'Each new production is an opportunity to innovate, test new storytelling styles, and engage directly with the audience,' commented Netflix's Chalfon.
Documentaries
A Ronaldinho Bio-Doc
Winning near every trophy out – a World Cup, Copa América, Copa Libertadores and 2005 Ballon d'Or – and author of goals of extraordinary technique, imagination and often sheer cheek, the doc-feature will tell Ronaldinho's career story with 'humor and lightness, revealing little-known episodes and never-before-seen interviews,' according to Netflix. It is produced by Floresta ('Shark Tank Brazil,' 'Lady Night,' 'Bugados'), part of Sony Pictures Television International Productions.
Untitled Neymar-Santos Doc
Another Brazilian soccer doc, catching Neymar as he returns to soccer club Santos, where he first made his name, bidding to regain its former glory, having been relegated in 2023 to the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B for the first time in its 111-year history. It will prove no cake walk. Improbable and Ginga Pictures produce.
'Marcha das Oncas,'
Described as the journey of three jaguars in Brazil's Pantanal using advanced technology to reveal challenges faced by the species and the vital importance of its conservation. Entirely conceived, created and produced in Brazil, directed by Lawrence Wahba and co-produced by Duo2 and France's Bonne Pioche, behind 'The March of the Penguins,' a 2006 best doc feature Oscar winner.
Films
'Uma Garota de Classe,' (Vellas, Boutique Filmes)
Elize Matsunaga case, which saw her shoot dead and dismember her husband, heir to the Yoki food empire, already inspired a 2021 Netflix true-crime docuseries. Here it receives a fiction film makeover, billed by Netflix as 'a thriller with melodramatic touches, exploring social class, ambition, and violence in a provocative way.' Directed by Vellas, who helmed Amazon Prime's 'DOM' and two episodes of Netflix's 'Crime Code,' the series is written by acclaimed crime novelist turned screenwriter Raphael Montes whose 'Perfect Days' inspired Anonymous Content Brazil's first scripted project.
'Sintonia' Nando Spin off
Launched August 2019, set in São Paulo's outer-radius slums and created by music producer KondZilla, the driving force behind Brazilian urban funk, along with producer-writer Felipe Braga and Guilherme Quintella, 'Sintonia' made waves through its mixture of KondZilla's street cred, a potent mix of Brazilian funk, drug crime and teen ambition and a universal theme of bedrock friendship between by Season 5 incarcerated drug trafficker Nando, law school graduate Rita and music impresario Doni. The movie spin-off continues Nando's story, details to be revealed at a later date.
'Fazenda Colonial,' (Marcela Mariz, Renata di Carmo)
A group of friends' take a celebratory trip to an old farm, which ends in a sinister reunion with the past. Kromaki ('Birthright') and Panda Filmes ('Los Terrines') produce, Mariz ('David Mirisch, The Man Behind the Golden Stars') and Di Carmo ('Senhoras') direct. 'The work subverts the genre by incorporating elements of Brazilian social history, a smart and subversive take on social issues such as racism, told through the lens of horror,' Netflix noted Monday.
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