Director Daniel Bogado reconstructs the rise and fall of Wallace Souza, whose Manaus current-affairs show Canal Livre repeatedly arrived at crime scenes before police, delivering sensational footage that turned the former police officer into a congressman. The seven episodes splice local news tapes, wiretap audio and interviews with reporters, family and the officers who, in 2009, charged Souza with commissioning at least five drug-world hits to keep his ratings high. Camera crews confess they were tipped off hours in advance; prosecutors argue Souza’s team planted evidence and staged heroic arrests.
Between courtroom footage and favela walk-throughs, Bogado charts how Amazonian poverty, weak institutions and audience appetite for gore fused to create what one journalist calls “crime TV as state policy”. Elza Soares’ samba “Hienas na TV” opens each episode, its sneering refrain matching the bleak absurdity of a presenter allegedly directing the murders he moralised about on air. The series leaves Souza’s 2010 death, he died of a heart attack while awaiting trial, and the unresolved fates of his teenage gunmen hanging over Manaus like the tropical haze that colours Beto Villares’ menacing score.
Production Details
Netflix / 1 Season / 7 Episodes / 2019
Created by: Eamonn Matthews, Dinah Lord
Main Cast
Wallace Souza as Himself
