In the run-up to Brazilian mega creativity forum Rio2C, Netflix Brazil has unveiled five new titles which show it still exploring new genres and launching new industry partnerships.
At stake for Netflix is its continuing SVOD dominion over one of its biggest subscriber markets in the world. Its lineup and panels at this week’s Rio2C show that it’s going for the jugular, appealing to Brazilian audiences passion for melodrama, fandoms and soccer yet also taking into account the extraordinary diversity of Brazil and its viewers.
The new titles are announced after Netflix Brazil shows and movies have begun to feature frequently in the U.S. Global Top 10 charts, the most recent “Radioactive Emergency,” from “Narcos” director Fernando Coimbra and Gullane, and the most-watched non-English series on Netflix over March 23-29.
Tha said, “we create for Brazilians first, and that is true for every country where we do original content. Stories like the recent hits ‘Radioactive Emergency,’ ‘Rivers of Faith,’ ‘Caramelo’ and ‘Rules of Fortune’ explore diverse aspects of Brazilian culture – regional perspectives, social phenomena, and the country’s complexities,” Francisco Ramos, Netflix VP content Latin America, told Variety in the runup to Rio2C where Netflix has the busiest agenda of any company attending.
Having announced its first legal drama, “Habeas Corpus,” last December, Netflix is now revealing “Med” its first Brazilian medical series, starring Clara Moneke, who broke out in 2023 telenovela “Never Give Up.”
“Brazil is an important market with a diverse audience that constantly challenges us to be bold in our stories and to keep innovating in genres, formats, and narratives,” Ramos added.
“To produce this content, we have built strong partnerships with the local creative community,” Ramos said. That shows in the new titles. “Med,” for instance, is produced by Paranoid, co-headed by Heitor Dhalia, director of “Drained,” “Adrift” and “Bald Mountain” and Netflix hits “Criminal Code” and “Rulers of Fortune,” a Netflix Global No. 1, Non English Shows, over Nov. 3-9. 2025.
A documentary on sailor Tamara Klink’s Arctic voyage marks Netflix’s first production with high-flying Maria Farinha Filmes. An open marriage comedy sees Netflix partnering with Manas Filmes, launched in 2024.
Netflix also announced Monday its third melodrama – its particular brand of telenovela/series hybrids – teaming with Banijay Entertainment’s A Fábrica, behind “Desperate Lies,” Netflix’s first “melodrama” in Brazil and a hugely popular title.
“Melodrama always captures Brazilian audiences, regardless of pace or length. Mixing telenovela emotion with series‑style plot agility creates a powerful blend that feels close and true to life,” Elisabetta Zenatti, Netflix’s VP of Content in Brazil. “Brazilians connect strongly to these stories because they evoke the sense that what’s on screen could happen to you, a friend, or a family member.”
Eye-catching too among the new titles is “Os crentes,” about a group of evangelical friends. Said Zenatti: “Because we serve a wide range of audiences, we have many stories that touch on the topic [of evangelism] from different perspectives. From emotional specials like Deive Leonardo’s to heartwarming films like ‘Unexplainable’ and documentaries such as ‘Apocalypse in the Tropics,’ we offer options for a diverse audience connected in some way to this theme.
“Med” stars Clara Moneke but also features a cast of rising young talents. “Brazil has one of the most passionate fandoms,” Ramos commented. “We have several shows with both BR icons and brand new talent to premiere in ‘26. Only in ‘Brasil 70,’ which is premiering on May 29, for instance, we have Rodrigo Santoro and Bruno Mazzeo, well-known actors, and Lucas Agrícola, a new face that will make you think you’re seeing Pelé again.”
Rio2C, Latin America’s biggesr creativity forum, runs May 27-31 in Rio de Janeiro. A closer look at the five new titles:
“Med”
Set in a university hospital, “Med” captures “the intense daily life of young doctors in training, exploring the emotional, ethical, and human challenges of the profession,” said Zenatti. Series marks the first fiction series created and showrun by Helena Petta and Ana Petta, behind “Quando Falta o Ar,” a 2024 Cinema Brazil Grand Prize nominee. Ana Petta also starred in Gullane’s “Basic Health Unit,” which has run to date to three seasons, bowing in 2016. Lead writers are Gustavo Bragança, a key writer on Netflix hit “Good Morning, Verônica,” Aline Portugal, a best screenplay co-winner for “The Reservoir” at Brazil’s Vitoria Film Festival, João Costa Van Hombeeck, Thays Berbe, a writer on Cao Hamburger’s “As Five” and Victor Hugo Valois, a writer on “Basic Health Unit.”
“Os crentes”
Which could translate as “The Believers.” The title is described as a “comedy special about a group of evangelical friends who get together for a meeting full of surprises.” It is produced by Sony Pictures TV’s Floresta, behind Rose d’Or Latino winner “Shark Tank Brasil,” Intl. Emmy nominee “Luz” and HBO Max novela “Doña Beja. It is also created by a group made up solely of Christian screenwriters. For Zenatti, “‘Os Crentes’ is another angle we’ll explore to strengthen this offering [of programming featuring evangelism] – and the fact that it is written by Christian writers connects it even more with audiences who share this belief.
Untitled Tamara Klink Arctic Documentary
In 2025 Klink sailed solo the Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific in 45 days, becoming the first Latin American and second woman to achieve the feat. Details of the title are nit yet available but it sits well with Maria Farinha Filmes, whose projects profile extraordinary women pioneers whether artist activist Claudia Andujar or Black gymnast Daiane dos Santos. Klink is quick to relate her achievement and climate change. Any record of an Arctic voyage with her will inevitably do the same.
Tamara Klint, in the Arctic
JCORREA
Netflix’s Third Melodrama Series in Brazil
Set to direct is Rogério Gomes (“Papinho”), a famed Globo telenovela and series director (“Love is a Knife”). Banijay Entertainment’s A Fábrica, behind Desperate Lies, coming in at 17 episodes, will once more produce. Netflix announced a second melodrama last December, about the secrets and intrigues of an elite Rio de Janeiro family, created in partnership with Amaia Produções and Conspiração, with general direction by Mauro Mendonça Filho.
Untitled Open Marriage Comedy
A comedy about open marriage created by Alexandre Machado, co-creator of “Filhos da Pátria,” starring Fernanda Torres, and directed by José Alvarenga Jr. (“Desejos S.A.”) The comedy is set up at Manas Filmes, a São Paulo-based production house set up in 2024 by Bel Berlinck, the long-time O2 Filmes producer, and Joana Cooper.
What Else Is in the Hopper for Netflix Brazil?
The five new Netflix titles join 12 other titles set to premiere over 2026-27. Potential highlights among the already announced dozen include “Habeas Corpus,” with “Under Pressure” star and Any Gabrielly; “A Estranha na Cama,” which sees high-flying crime writer Raphael Montes (“Scars of Beauty,” “Perfect Days”) adapting his own novel, and “Rauls,” Netflix’s second project with YouTube urban rap channel phenomenon Kondzilla and LB Entertainment.
‘A Estranha na Cama,’ the latest from Raphael Montes
Marcos Serra Lima/ Netflix
Co-creator Heitor Dhalia and Paranoid will deliver both “Rulers of Fortune” (“Os Donos do Jogo”) Season 2, inspired by the criminal underworld spawned by the illegal lottery game “jogo do bicho,” and police action thriller “Criminal Code” (“DNA do Crime”) Season 3.
Gabriel Martins (“Mars One”) is directing “On Behalf of My Son” (“Vicentina Pede Desculpas”), produced by Filmes de Plástico. Vicente Amorim is directing an adaptation of Paulo Coelho’s “The Pilgrimage” (“O Diário de Um Mago”), produced by Gullane and starring Rodrigo Santoro and Johnny Massaro.
Netflix at Rio2C
Netflix will stage or take part in six panels and events at Rio2C. Brief details:
Tuesday, May 26, 4:30 p.m. (House of Brands): A focus on Netflix brand partnerships and its aimed-for innovation to deliver uniqueness to brands, with cases studies of partnerships with Ambev and Unilever). With Fernanda Guimarães.
Tuesday, May 26 7 p.m. A Netflix industry party, helping to bring down the flag on Rio2C, which runs May 26-31.
Wednesday, May 27 11.30 a.m. (Writer’s Room). Sports panel: “How Netflix drives excitement for sports even for non-sports fans; diversity in formats to cover sports stories (“Ronaldinho”; “Tetra”; “Brazil 70”).”
Does Ramos see non-live sport programming as a growth area for Latin America? “Definitely, especially when you have some of the most passionate fans in the world,” he answered. “On Netflix, you can experience the story behind the sport – authentic, local storytelling that plays like the best kind of drama. This year, of course, many are tied to soccer, the largest sport worldwide: ‘Ronaldinho: The One and Only,’ ‘James,’ ‘Emi Martínez: The Kid Who Stops Time,’ ‘Brazil ’70,’ ‘México 86,’ ‘USA 94: Brazil’s Return to Glory,’ and ‘Várzea: The Root of the Game.’”
Thursday, May 28 10 a.m. (Global Stage): A fireside chat, entitled From Latin America to the World, the New Cartography of Audiovisual Media, with Francisco Ramos. He will address how Netflix is shaping the global perception of Latin American content, highlighting its creator‑first approach and commitment to local industry development.
Thursday, May 28, 12.15.p.m. (Rio2C’s Story Village). As part of Vision 2030, a discussion with execs from YouTube, Globoplay and Conspiração and Netflix’s Elisabetta Zenatti who will highlight its creator-first approach to drive innovation in storytelling and Netflix’s economic and cultural impact in the last 15 years – and beyond,
Thursday, 28 May @ 2:00pm (Screening Room): Licensing and Co-productions: Netflix’s “aggressive” but “broad and flexible strategy, highlighting different kinds of partnerships for a wide range of films and series.
“Our multiple Rio2C stages demonstrate how hard our local team works to deliver high‑quality content via Netflix‑branded productions, while also investing in shows from the local indie community. Being part of discussions about the future of the AV business and brand opportunities in the streaming ecosystem further shows our long‑term commitment to the market and its development,” Ramos concluded.