‘Reporting for Duty’ Netflix Series Review - An Upstanding Brazilian Comedy Show

Reporting For Duty is about Suzano who was recently transferred to the 8th Precinct, Tijuana in the position of chief. He previously worked in Campo Manso. As the rate of crime in Tijuana is much higher as compared to his previous station, Suzano finds it difficult to handle things. His duty is complicated as the people who were before in the position of chief were often targeted by the mafia.

His staff made bets on the number of days he’ll survive as the Chief. I liked the spirit of people at the station as whenever things started to go other ways, they’d indulged in making bets instead of solving things. For instance, when Suzano saw the pictures of the crime scene, he fainted. Instead of helping him regain consciousness, bets were being made and he was being recorded.

Tijuana’s Police Station is a place where incidents keep on happening. Mantovani, Estevao, Rabeco, Wi-Fi (yes, that’s the name of the character), Zuleide, Pardal, and Guerra often make fun of Suzano. Suzano fails at delivering what is required from a chief, but it is his luck that keeps him going.

This Brazilian comedy series is meant to entertain the audience so, it would be better if we put logic aside. Some scenes didn’t make any sense, but they were fun to watch. I didn’t understand why a man who had no experience and courage to fight the mafia was in the position of Chief in the first place.

The show might not have created much buzz on the Internet, but it is worth a watch. There are just eight episodes with a duration of 25 to 30 minutes each. Once you start watching this comedy series, you won’t regret watching this one. Just like The Upshaws, it has funny characters and good dialogue.

The Chief funnily never wanted to indulge in violence and wanted to take matters lightly. Suzano, the Chief came as a wave of fresh air to the 8th Precinct in Tijuana, Rio de Janeiro as instead of resorting to the usage of ammunition, he preferred dressing up and dancing. Just like his character, the show might not be perfect, but the audience won’t realize that time has passed away while watching Reporting For Duty.

The comic timing of all the cast members was good and I loved how the makers even named a character Wi-Fi. This Police Station in Tijuana got lucky multiple times until one day they landed up in huge trouble.

The most hilarious scene is when Suzano goes to use the washroom and finds a bomb attached to the toilet seats. As per the mafia who set this up, if he stood up from the seat, the bomb would explode. Suzano being helpless wishes to say his adieu only to find out that the bomb was just a prop used by theatre people.

Leandro Hassum as Suzano has done a great job and though the responsibility of the show to be successful rested on his shoulder, he nailed his part. Even when his character was in the background, he was always shining. To play a character with no guts but still holding a powerful position with great comic timing might have been difficult, nevertheless, he aced his part.

This Brazilian Netflix comedy series stars Luciana Paes, Leandro Hassum, Babu Carreira, Jefferson Schroeder, and Digao Ribeiro in the lead roles. Initially, I found it hard to learn the names of the characters. Each character brings its own story on the screen and everyone has been given time to shine. I liked how the emphasis was distributed among them all and we got to know them.

The series might be easily forgettable, but it has been made for the audience to enjoy. Hence, people looking for a pleasant series can go with Reporting For Duty.

Final Score – [7/10]
Reviewed by - Riya Singh
Follow @_riyasinghhh_ on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times