Brazilian production company Studio 10 has launched an animated superhero series addressing gambling-related harm and political corruption.
Adding another entertainment project to the growing public debate around betting in the country, the 2D animation follows Kaleb Lopes, a young Black worker who adopts the secret identity of Mestre K.
Using capoeira techniques rooted in quilombola traditions, he takes on corruption schemes involving businesspeople and politicians in Brasília.
The pilot episode, titled “Jogo Sujo” (“Dirty Game”), is available on YouTube. In the story, betting magnate Sr. Oncinha (Mr. Little Jaguar) arrives in the capital seeking to buy support in the Federal Senate to circumvent restrictions on his “Jogos da Oncinha” (Little Jaguar Game) gambling app.
He is joined by Priscila Fonseca, an influencer who promotes betting while selling cosmetics, in a probable reference to real life influencer Virginia Fonseca. Operating under the villainous identity Pinky, she uses toxic cosmetics as weapons and manipulates public opinion.
Kaleb receives technological and operational support from his childhood friend Erik Bitencourt, who works in technology at Brazil’s intelligence agency, Abin.
Creator Renan Modesto said the series aims to reinterpret the superhero genre through a distinctly Brazilian perspective.
“The federal decree that banned these platforms exposed urgent social wounds and the animation arrives to discuss ethics in public power,” he says. “The idea is combining pop entertainment with critical reflection.”
Betting is also becoming a subject in Brazilian television drama. The series Emergência 53 features Fernanda Montenegro, one of Brazil’s most acclaimed actresses and an Oscar Best Actress nominee, playing a mother secretly struggling with gambling.
The production draws inspiration from comic-book icons such as Batman and Spider-Man, while incorporating Brasília’s architectural identity, including its pilotis, open spaces, monuments and residential superblocks
