Review: Binge Or Cringe? Season One Of Netflix’s ‘Queer Eye: Brazil’ Brings All The Feel-Good Vibes With An Extraordinary New Fab Five
Queer Eye: Brazil and their Fab Five give our hometown team a run for their money! With Brazil being home to the largest Gay Pride Festival in the world, it’s no wonder Netflix ordered a Brazilian spin-off of the popular series. The series formula is similar to (exactly like) its American counterpart: five men, all part of the LGBTQ+ community, spend a week with a new person and use their expertise to help improve the lifestyle and confidence of a worthy contender nominated by a loved one, with plenty of laughter and crying along the way. Every episode is similar in mission, meeting the contender and making them excited for change with a significant makeover reveal at the end.
Meet the squad: The Brazil team consists of architect and design expert Guto Requena, owner of Estudio Guto Requena – his company is described as a “multidisciplinary creative studio. Investigating intersections between architecture, product design, communication, and technology.” Guto is a tour de force, being mainly involved with the home makeover and providing a place the heroes they help can call home. Aside from Queer Eye: Brazil, the architect also hosts a podcast and is the creator, screenwriter, and host of a design show on the Brazilian television channel GNT called Nos Trinques. His warm demeanor on the show is a significant highlight of the series.
Grooming and beauty guru Yohan Nicolas is a little more reserved than his fellow Fab Five members, but his dedication to his craft and mission of helping these deserving heroes makes him more than a worthy member of the squad. Outside the show, he owns and operates a successful beauty salon in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Talking about his experience on the show, he said on Instagram, “I really put my body and soul into this project, and I hope to leave somehow, with my outlook on life, in making the world better.”
The style expert Rica Benozzati is as bright and colorful as his wardrobe. Rica brings his expertise as a celebrity stylist and fashion designer to elevate the wardrobe of the heroes, but in a way that works for everyone specifically. His mantra “fashion, humor, and love” is felt throughout the first season as he works one-on-one with the contestant to find a style that suits them inside and out.
A noticeable difference between the Brazilian and American Fab Five is that instead of a food and wine expert like Antoni, the Brazilian team has Dr. Fred Nicàcio, a practicing physiotherapist, social activist, and former model. He focuses on healing without drugs or surgery and focuses on treating people of color within his community while emphasizing the importance of being a Black doctor. He works one-on-one with the contestants to show them healthier life habits, like working out and meal prepping, that they can continue to use long after the show ends. His smile brightens every room he enters, and he has always had a passion for helping others.
The Queer Eye franchise sets a remarkable milestone with the culture expert Luca Scarpelli— the first openly trans-man to be included as part of the main cast. As an activist and influencer, Luca’s YouTube channel, TRANSDIÁRIO, chronicles his transition experience since it began in 2017. Luca is the glue of the group and emanates the essence of the show’s mission with every scene he is in. He provides most of the heartwarming one-on-one moments on the show, and his life-altering lessons about self-acceptance are relatable to everyone. He notes in episode three that the average life expectancy of a trans person in Brazil is 35 years old, making his inclusion necessary for representation.
While the show follows the same formula as the original series, the Brazilian Fab Five adds a South American flare that meshes significantly with the overall Queer Eye mission of leaving these deserved contenders with the tools and confidence boost needed to thrive on the inside out.
Was it a binge or a cringe? The entire season is a binge! You will naturally let your Netflix automatically play the next episode without interference to see the Brazilian team’s charm and charisma as they work together to help deserving people. The heroes the Fab Five assists are individuals who have lost a sense of themselves following a personal tragedy or have given so much of themselves to others that they have forgotten about self-care.
The episode that will steal your heart is the season one finale: “An Animal’s Best Friend.” The episode’s hero is an animal rights activist named Sabastian, who has dedicated his life to giving a voice to the four-legged companions unable to speak for themselves. Very admirable because Brazil has a total population of approximately 30 million stray dogs and cats, according to World Animal Protection. When the Fab Five meet Sabastian, his home is overrun with strays he has rescued, and our experts are shocked to see how his hard work and dedication have left him with no personal life and barely any food in the fridge for himself. By the end of his makeover, he has a new sense of confidence that shows in his smile, making him ready to take on the world while continuing his animal rescue mission. An important aspect of the show is that they do not change the heroes’ lives so drastically that it seems unnatural. They work with them to elevate their style, home, and overall way of life that suits them best. Sabastian’s episode concludes with him hosting a dinner party for friends who are amazed at his transformation into a happier man who no longer isolates himself from people by focusing solely on rescue work.
Who Will Like It: Feel-good reality TV lovers and fans of the original series will love this spin-off. Some reality TV programs get a bad rap for feeling overly produced, and in turn, their characters come across as unauthentic (looking at you, Kris Jenner and RuPaul). However, Queer Eye: Brazil is a breath of fresh air, with each Fab Five member genuinely giving their authentic selves to the person they are helping. Queer Eye: Brazil and its Fab Five holds nothing back as it’s a warm, inviting, queer feel-good show that will make you happy to know the mission of the original Queer Eye is spread internationally. I recommend watching the season from start to finish in its native Portuguese with English Subtitles, but an English dub is also available for those who prefer that option.
All six episodes of the first season are now streaming on Netflix and are produced by the Brazilian reality TV production company Floresta Filmes.
