Four years after the end of Globoplay’s hugely successful medical series “Under Pressure”, Andrucha Waddington and Claudio Torres have reunited for another production commissioned by Brazil’s leading streamer. Taking its first bow on the prestigious Berlinale Series market, “Emergency 53” follows a series of doctors, nurses and drivers from the Special Mobile Service Unit as they navigate personal and professional dramas while taking on the responsibility of preventing the deaths of others. The series is produced by Torres and Waddington’s leading Conspiração banner.
Prior to the world premiere, Torres said in an interview with Variety that “Emergency 53” was born at the request of Conspiração CEO Renata Brandão. “Renata wanted another medical procedure series, but this time with multiple protagonists,” he added.
“Renata made a great point. Every country has a medical procedure, but there was no medical procedure created in the context of Rio de Janeiro. Rio is crazy because it mixes war with a very well-organized society. This is a city at war. Doctors come to do internships in public hospitals and see war-like scars.”
Waddington added that one of the most interesting things about the show is that it’s not a spin-off of “Under Pressure,” nor is it trying to imitate the formula that made it successful. “With ‘Under Pressure,’ we had a couple of doctors who had long arcs and episodic arcs dictated by the patients they were seeing. ‘Emergency 53’ has a more pop-leaning tone, with a predominantly young cast that isn’t on location.”
“We aggressively subverted everything about ‘Under Pressure,'” he added. “We have multiple protagonists. We’re not inside a hospital. We’re looking at professionals working in a real functioning Brazilian public health sector.”
Another key proposition of “Under Pressure” is its pop presentation, with fast-paced rhythms, big action, and a young ensemble that modernizes the debate around class inequality.
“We kept thinking about this veteran who had spent years behind a desk dealing with bureaucrats, and wanted to get back on the streets, so we brought a group of rebels into the Special Forces,” Torres said. “It’s a little bit like ‘Seven Samurai’ or ‘Suicide Squad.’ The first episode is very similar to ‘Suicide Squad.’ Our visual language is also inspired by Marvel and DC Comics. We have a garage that looks like something out of Batman. ”
Torres highlights how the creative team “further enhanced the anti-hero concept” commonly seen in the comic book world. “You know Marvel stories are always good when they have a good antihero, and from the moment I saw the character in uniform, I knew I could do that. It felt like a comic book in a way. Then the ambulance became the Batmobile.”
“Emergency 53” provided by Laura Campanella
But a project inspired by pop-leaning comics wouldn’t work without a very strong visual language. Given that “Emergency 53” has had multiple episode directors, including showrunners Waddington and Torres, finding consistency was important.
“We had a large team of creators, directors, producers and cinematographers, so it was very difficult to find a visual standard,” says Waddington. “Claudio and I decided to co-direct the first episode, but we were actually co-directors. We had other directors and creators on set, and it felt like we were inventing a language. We had a very bold and dynamic script for the first episode, so we were able to try different things.”
The director emphasized that the creative team is not bound by a rigid procedural structure and leans towards experimentation rather than tested and tried formats. “This series is very diverse and dynamic. There are episodes with flashbacks, episodes entirely in a garage, episodes at fancy parties…We wanted to avoid formulaicity.”
“Globoplay really believed in us when we proposed the project,” adds Andrucha. “I was a little unsure at first, but after watching all 10 episodes today, I’m a strong believer in the format. Audiences like to be poked at, so we shouldn’t underestimate our audience. ‘Emergency 53’ takes on major social issues without repeating itself in each episode.”
Torres echoed his praise for the Brazilian streaming giant, saying, “Globoplay is a streamer that believes in artistic voice. They don’t try to control the artists, which is really rare. Their notes are smart and their comments are constructive. I think this series has found its perfect home.”
The first season of “Emergency 53” may not have been released yet, but Waddington and Torres have already begun writing episodes for a potential second season. “We don’t know what’s going to happen, but we feel like we still have a lot to say and a lot of work to do on this,” Waddington concluded.
