André Abujamra

1989. With a clean bill of health, Silvio Santos is riding the wave of success SBT has built as a TV channel. Silvio is running for president of Brazil, and while polls show high favorability for him among the people, his opponents seek to remove him from the race, leading him to fight back where he feels most at ease: in front of the camera. By the early 90s, Silvio is determined to overthrow Globo as the most watched TV channel, but his efforts come at a high cost and he is forced to put Gugu on Sunday afternoons — the coveted time slot he dominated for 20 years. As years pass during the ratings battle between Globo and SBT, the programming becomes more scandalous, with SBT inching closer to the top. A media frenzy grips the country with the kidnapping of Silvio’s daughter Patricia, a situation that leads to Silvio himself being threatened at gunpoint. Years later, a scandal at the PanAmericano bank threatens to upend Silvio’s empire.

An impoverished teen seeking to escape the clutches of a human trafficker must weigh living up to his moral code against his struggle to survive.