Four years after wrapping Globoplay’s immensely successful medical series “Under Pressure,” Andrucha Waddington and Cláudio Torres have reunited for another procedural commissioned by the major Brazilian streamer. “Emergency 53,” making its first bow at the prestigious Berlinale Series Market, follows a series of doctors, nurses and drivers of a special mobile service unit as they navigate personal and professional dramas while burdened by the responsibility to prevent others from dying. The series is produced by Torres and Waddington’s leading Conspiração banner.
Speaking with Variety ahead of the world premiere, Torres says “Emergency 53” was born from a desire from Conspiração CEO Renata Brandão. “Renata wanted another medical procedural series, but this time with multiple protagonists,” he adds.
“Renata made a great observation: every single country has a medical procedural and yet, there wasn’t one made within the context of Rio de Janeiro. Rio is crazy because it mixes war and a very well-organized society. It’s a city in a state of war. Doctors come to do their internship in the public hospital, and they see war-like wounds.”
Waddington adds that one of the most interesting things about the show is that it is not a spin-off of “Under Pressure,” nor does it try to mimic the formula that led to its success. “In ‘Under Pressure,’ we dealt with a couple who were doctors dealing with long arcs as well as episodic arcs dictated by the patients they were seeing. With ‘Emergency 53,’ we have a much more pop-leaning tone, with a mostly young cast that is not contained in a location.”
“We actively subverted everything about ‘Under Pressure,’” he adds. “We have multiple protagonists, we are not inside a hospital, and we’re seeing professionals working in a sector of Brazilian public health that actually works.”
Another key proposition of “Under Pressure” is its pop language, with a fast-paced rhythm, big action numbers and a young ensemble who modernizes discussions around class inequality.
“We kept thinking of this veteran who, after years of dealing with bureaucrats from behind a desk, wants to get back on the streets and enlists a group of renegades for her special unit,” says Torres. “It’s a little like ‘Seven Samurai’ or ‘Suicide Squad.’ Our first episode is very much like ‘Suicide Squad.’ Our visual language is also inspired by Marvel and DC Comics. We have a garage that looks straight out of ‘Batman.’”
Torres emphasizes how the creative team “doubled down on the concept of the anti-hero” often seen in the comic book world. “You know a Marvel story is good when they have a good anti-hero. And we realized we could do that from the moment we saw our characters wearing uniforms. It felt like a comic book in a way, and then the ambulances became out batmobiles.”
“Emergency 53,” courtesy of Laura Campanella
But a pop-leaning, comic book-inspired project does not work without a very strong visual language. Given that “Emergency 53” had multiple episode directors, including showrunners Waddington and Torres, finding consistency was key.
“We had a large team between creators, directors, producers and cinematographers, so it was very tricky to find a visual standard,” says Waddington. “We decided that Claudio and me would co-direct the first episode, but truly co-direct it. We had the other directors and creatives on set, and we felt as if we were inventing a language. It helped that we had a very daring, dynamic script for the first episode, which allowed us to try many different things.”
The director highlights how the creative team did not feel constrained by the often rigid structure of a procedural, leaning towards experimentation instead of a tested and tried format. “The series is very diverse and dynamic. We have an episode with flashbacks, another one entirely at the garage, another one at a lavish party… We wanted to avoid a formula.”
“Globoplay really trusted us when we pitched the project,” adds Andrucha. “We were a bit unsure at first but, today, watching all ten episodes, we firmly believe the format. Audiences liked to be prodded and we shouldn’t underestimate viewers. With ‘Emergency 53,’ we are broaching major societal issues without repeating ourselves with every episode.”
Torres echoes his praise of the major Brazilian streamer: “Globoplay is a streamer that believes in artistic input. It doesn’t try to control artists, which is really rare. Their notes are smart, their comments are constructive. I think the series found a perfect home.”
The first season of “Emergency 53” might not even be out yet, but Waddington and Torres have already begun writing episodes for a possible second season. “We don’t know what is going to happen, but we feel we still have a lot to say and a lot of places to go with this one,” wraps Waddington.