It seems like it was in another life. “Rabo de Peixe” debuted in 2023. The series created by Augusto Fraga brought together a bunch of young actors in a small, beautiful Azorean corner, in charge of “dispatching” a huge shipment of cocaine, a news event that marked the entire life of that community 24 years ago. A series on steroids, with color, rhythm, blunders and exaggerations, marked a turning point in the Portuguese industry. Now, the country was also firmly in the shark lake, after “Glória”, the first of all to arrive on Netflix, did not have the expected success. It also brought criticism, debates and overwhelming praise that placed, for some time, the series in the top of the tops. Actress Maria João Bastos, a name synonymous with national audiovisual, is part of the cast as a PJ inspector who goes to the island to discover the whole truth. And she is also the guest on the most recent episode of “No Último Episode”, an Expresso podcast led by film and television critic José Paiva Capucho. Opportunity to talk about the second season, which premieres this Friday.

The Heart and Hustle of Portugal

José Fonseca Fernandes

“‘Rabo de Peixe’ left its mark. They told me about the series in several countries, such as Brazil, where I work, or even in the United States of America. They got to know our industry”, Maria João Bastos begins by saying in the second episode of “No Último Episode”. It is a fact that the flood of articles, opinions and home debates among friends and family generated an expectation and enthusiasm that is unusual in our industry. It was necessary to wait for a second season — recorded at the same time as the third — but here it arrived and got it right: you can feel the writing time and the characters gained history, context, pulling on the viewer’s empathy. Now, yes, it’s a real series. “Of all the seasons, I believe this is the best for that very reason. We get to know another side of the characters, including mine.” Which will, as far as it was possible to ascertain, be an almost impossible challenge to overcome in the third take of “Rabo de Peixe”. Curiosity remains.

José Fonseca Fernandes

While it is still too early to assess the public’s reaction, Maria João Bastos, who is recording a film in Brazil and was in Iceland recording the series “Cold Heaven”, believes that the doubts of the Azorean community itself have already disappeared. “At first there was discomfort, of course, but now they feel that the series is already theirs. We were very well received. We knew that that event in 2001 had been a scourge, but we didn’t want to make a documentary. Of course we wanted the truth but it only made sense to tell that story the way Augusto Fraga wanted to tell it”, reveals the actress.

Maria João Bastos doesn’t know if she had to do more work because of the success of this project, but she is sure that the brand will continue over time. And that the small national industry had a lot to learn from what happened in “Rabo de Peixe”. “We spent a lot of time together. There was rehearsal time. This is basic but little is done.” That’s what he did with his “partner in crime”, or, in fact, in the police, the comedian turned actor Salvador Martinha. They took that time so seriously that they ended up drawing a Mexican family with connections to the comedian’s character. More details are available to anyone who listens to the new episode of “No Último Episode”.

How many times have I wanted to know more about “that” last episode? Finding answers that create more questions and only leave you wondering when the next chapter will premiere?

In “In the Last Episode”, José Paiva Capucho offers no guarantee of reassuring series fans. Come to join the party.

Features behind-the-scenes stories, audience reviews vs. critics’ reviews, and scene analysis.

All this in a podcast that will be dedicated to the best national and international television of the year.

‘No Último Episode’ airs every Friday on Expresso and all podcast platforms. Listen to the trailer for the second season here.

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