City of God: The Fight Rages On (Portuguese: Cidade de Deus: A Luta Não Para) is a Brazilian crime drama television series that premiered on Max on August 25, 2024. The series serves as a follow-up to the 2002 film City of God, adapted by Bráulio Mantovani from the novel by Paulo Lins and directed by Kátia Lund and Fernando Meirelles. It stars Alexandre Rodrigues, Thiago Martins, Roberta Rodrigues, Sabrina Rosa, Edson Oliveira, Marcos Palmeira, and Andréia Horta.
Produced by Miramax and O2 Filmes, it takes place twenty years after the events of the original film, with Wilson "Rocket" Rodrigues recounting how conflicts between the police, drug dealers and militias affected the community.
The series received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its faithfulness to the source material, social commentary and cast. HBO renewed the series for a second season.
Contents
Plot summary
Set two decades after the events of the film, the series has Wilson "Rocket" Rodrigues achieving his dreams of becoming a photojournalist. He returns to the favela to document the disputes between drug dealers, police, militiamen, and politicians and how the events impact the lives of its residents.
Cast
Translation into English of character's names that were nicknames are between parenthesis when applicable.
Main
Alexandre Rodrigues as Wilson Rodrigues / "Buscapé"
Thiago Martins as Valdemar Cavalcante / "Bradock" / "Lampião" (season 1)
Roberta Rodrigues as Berenice Aguiar
Sabrina Rosa as Cinthia Braga
Edson Oliveira as João Augusto Barbacena / "Barbantinho" (season 1)
Marcos Palmeira as Genivaldo / "Curió" (season 1)
Andréia Horta as Jerusa Rocha
Recurring
Dhonata Augusto as Delano Braga
Eli Ferreira as Lígia Rodrigues
Shirley Cruz as Marta / "Martinha"
Luellem de Castro as Leka Rodrigues
Kiko Marques as Reginaldo Cavani / "Cabeção"
Victor Andrade as Genis / "Geninho"
Demétrio Nascimento as Cleiton Machado / "PQD"
André Tristão as "Afrânio" (season 1)
Felipe Paulino as "Pézinho"
Otávio Linhares as "Touro" (season 1)
Matheus Nachtergaele as Sandro / "Cenoura" (season 2)
Production and release
HBO announced in May 2024 that a sequel to the 2002 film City of God would be released as a six-episode series. The series continues to adapt the works of Paulo Lins and follow the photographer Buscapé. Several cast members from the film returned for the series over two decades later.
The series began airing on HBO Latino and streaming on Max on August 25, 2024.
On August 30, 2024, HBO renewed the series for a second season.
Reception
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 83% based on reviews from six critics, with an average rating of 5.5/10. On Metacritic, the series holds a score of 53 out of 100 based on four critic reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
