David Farnor | On 30, Apr 2019

Netflix’s The Mechanism returns this May for Season 2, and a new video gives us our first tease of what’s in store.

From director José Padilha (Narcos, Elite Squad 1 & 2, RoboCop) and screenwriter Elena Soarez (Filhos do Carnaval, Eu tu Eles, Casa de Areia), the series grapples with corruption at the heart of the Brazilian government.

Season 2 picks up in 2014, after the presidential elections, when Verena’s task force team has arrested 12 of Brazil’s top 13 contractors. In this season, there is still one missing, the biggest of them all: Ricardo Brecht (Emilio Orciollo Netto). Verena (Caroline Abras) and Guilhome (Osvaldo Mil) and Vander (Jonathan Haagensen) remain engaged in their investigations, as well as Ruffo (Selton Mello): the retired deputy is still acting outside of the law and relentless in his pursuit of Ibrahim (Enrique Diaz), getting more estranged from his wife Regina (Susana Ribeiro) and daughter Beta (Julia Svaccina).

It premieres on Netflix on Friday 10th May. Here’s the trailer:

 

The Mechanism is available on Netflix UK, as part of an £9.99 monthly subscription.

 

 

Brazil’s former president labels Netflix’s The Mechanism “fake news”

28th March 2018

Brazil’s former president, Dilma Rousseff, has dismissed Netflix’s new thriller, The Mechanism, as “fake news”.

From José Padilha (Narcos, Elite Squad 1 & 2, RoboCop) and Elena Soarez (Filhos do Carnaval, Eu Tu Eles), the fictional drama is loosely inspired by the Car Wash scandal and the investigation into allegations of corruption of state and private owned oil and construction companies in Brazil. The show was first announced in 2015, as Brazil saw an attempt to impeach President Dilma Rousseff, before she ultimately left power in 2016.

The six-part series premiered last week, and has already sparked controversy in its home country. Reuters reports that Rousseff has slammed the programme as a travesty of history aimed at her Workers Party.

“Under the guise of telling the story of the Car Wash investigation in a series ‘based on real events’, the director José Padilha distorts reality and spreads all sorts of lies to attack me and President Lula,” said Rousseff. “[He] doesn’t merely reproduce fake news. He has turned himself into a creator of fake news.”

Padilha has previously said to the news agency that the series is non-ideological, and intended to demosntrate that corruption in his country is not the sole fault of a particular politician or party. The Workers’ Party is reportedly consulting lawyers to determine whether to take legal action.

 

Trailer: Netflix’s The Mechanism takes on biggest corruption scandal of all time

1st March 2018

Netflix is tackling the biggest corruption scandal of all time with its new series, The Mechanism.

If that sounds like a bold claim, the full trailer for the series certainly does a good job of backing it up. From José Padilha (Narcos, Elite Squad 1 & 2, RoboCop) and Elena Soarez (Filhos do Carnaval, Eu Tu Eles), the fictional drama is loosely inspired by the investigation about allegations of corruption of state and private owned oil and construction companies in Brazil. The show was first announced in 2015, as Brazil saw an attempt to impeach President Dilma Rousseff.

Written by Soarez in collaboration with Sofia Maldonado, it follows the judicial investigators in Operation Car Wash (Lava Jato in Portuguese), a journey to unveil the largest corruption scheme that the country has ever witnessed.

The series stars Selton Mello (Ligações Perigosas, Meu nome nao e Johnny, O Palhaço) as a retired federal police deputy and Caroline Abras (Avenida Brasil, Se nada mais der certo, Perto de qualquer lugar) will play his mentee, an ambitious federal agent.

All episodes premiere on Friday 23rd March. Here’s the full trailer for the series:

 

Trailer: Netflix’s The Mechanism takes on Brazilian corruption

1st March 2018

 

Netflix unveils teaser trailer for The Mechanism

22nd January 2018

“In the beginning, I couldn’t make out the whole disease. I only saw one symptom.”

That’s the sound of Netflix taking aim at current events in Brazil with its latest thriller, The Mechanism.

Created by José Padilha (Narcos) and Elena Soarez (Filhos do Carnaval, Eu tu Eles, Casa de Areia), the fictional drama is loosely inspired by the investigation about allegations of corruption of state and private owned oil and construction companies in Brazil. The show was first announced in 2015, as Brazil saw an attempt to impeach President Dilma Rousseff. Two years later, and “O Mecanismo” is ready to land, as follows the judicial investigators in Operation Car Wash (Lava Jato in Portuguese), a journey to unveil the largest corruption scheme that the country has ever witnessed.

Written by Soarez in collaboration with Sofia Maldonado, the series taps into Narcos director Padilha’s talent in turning fast-moving current events into compelling narratives, with the helmer placing an emphasis on the project’s efforts to remain impartial. The series stars Selton Mello (Ligações Perigosas, Meu nome nao e Johnny, O Palhaço) as a retired federal police deputy and Caroline Abras (Avenida Brasil, Se nada mais der certo, Perto de qualquer lugar) will play his mentee, an ambitious federal agent.

All episodes of The Mechanism premiere on Friday 23rd March. Here’s the teaser trailer:

 

Netflix’s new Brazilian series begins production

10th May 2016

Principal photography is now underway on Netflix’s new Brazilian series, O Mecanismo.

Created by José Padilha (Narcos) and Elena Soarez (Filhos do Carnaval, Eu tu Eles, Casa de Areia), the show is a fictional drama loosely inspired by the investigation about allegations of corruption of state and private owned oil and construction companies in Brazil.

The show was first announced last year, as Brazil saw an attempt to impeach President Dilma Rousseff. A year on, and O Mecanismo is on the way to our screens, following the judicial investigators in Operation Car Wash (Lava Jato in Portuguese), their journey to unveil the largest corruption scheme that Brazil has ever witnessed. Written by Soarez in collaboration with Sofia Maldonado, the series taps into Narcos director Padilha’s talent in turning fast-moving current events into compelling narratives, with the helmer placing an emphasis on the project’s efforts to remain impartial.

The series will star Selton Mello (Ligações Perigosas, Meu nome nao e Johnny, O Palhaço) as a retired federal police deputy and Caroline Abras (Avenida Brasil, Se nada mais der certo, Perto de qualquer lugar) will play his mentee, an ambitious federal agent. The cast will also include Enrique Diaz (Justiça, Felices para Sempre?), Lee Taylor (A pedra do reino; Velho chico, Riocorrente), Antonio Saboia (The wolf behind the door; Fora da lei), Jonathan Haagensen (City of God, Noel, poeta da vila), Alessandra Colasanti (A verdadeira história da bailarina de vermelho), Leonardo Medeiros (Cabra-cega, Onde quer que você esteja), Otto Jr. (Malhacao, The silver cliff), and Susana Ribeiro (O Dono do Mundo, Meu Bem Querer).

At the helm, Padilha will be joined by Marcos Prado (Elite Squad, Estamira, Artificial Paradises) and Felipe Prado (Drift, Elite Squad), with the series produced by Zazen Productions for Netflix. Padilha and Marcos Prado are Executive Producers.

The eight-episode series began shooting last week, with locations including Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba and Brasilia. It will debut globally on Netflix in 2018.

 

Netflix turns Brazil corruption scandal into series

21st April 2016

Earlier this week, Brazil saw an attempt to impeach President Dilma Rousseff, following accusations of breaking budget laws. The ensuing crisis has hit the country just as it tries to emerge from a recession and deal with a corruption scandal involving state-run oil firm Petrobas. It’s the kind of political and financial drama that you expect from a Netflix series – and, sure enough, the streaming giant is already on the case.

Netflix has confirmed that the recent Brazilian corruption investigation, Operation Car Wash (Lava Jato in Portuguese), will be the basis of a new series. Written by Elena Soares, the show will have the ideal director in the form of José Padilha, who previously helmed Netflix’s gripping drug thriller, Narcos.

“Netflix recognizes José Padilha’s talent in turning fast-moving current events into compelling narratives and he is well placed to document this important time in Brazilian history,” says Erik Barmack, Netflix VP of International Original Content.

“This project will follow the judicial investigators in their journey to unveil the largest corruption scheme that Brazil has ever witnessed. It was fundamental for the series to be produced in an impartial way, and I have no doubt that Netflix is the best partner for the project,” comments Padilha.

The series marks Netflix out as a studio with the appetite to back such ambitious projects – and the speedy commissioning process to make sure the show is as topical as possible. It also sees the site continue to diversify its line-up of original content to both attract and retain subscribers across it increasingly global footprint – this will be the second Netflix original series produced in Brazil, following the dystopian sci-fi 3%, which premieres later this year.

Padilha’s series will begin filming in the country in 2016 with a release date set for 2017.

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