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Netflix’s Brazilian Miniseries on the Goiânia Radiation Disaster Breaks Into the Top 10

The drama has renewed global interest in Brazil’s 1987 Goiânia cesium‑137 disaster.

Overview

  • The five‑episode series, now streaming on Netflix, has ranked in the Top 10 in the United States, Latin America, and other regions since its March 2026 release.
  • It dramatizes how scrap collectors opened an abandoned radiotherapy device in Goiânia in 1987 and unknowingly exposed a 19‑gram cesium‑137 source.
  • Authorities ultimately screened about 110,000 people, confirmed roughly 250 contaminations, and recorded four deaths linked to the incident.
  • The story centers on a race by doctors, scientists, and public officials to trace radiation, treat victims, and confront negligence that left the device unsecured.
  • Created by Gustavo Lipsztein and directed by Fernando Coimbra, the Brazilian cast includes Johnny Massaro and Paulo Gorgulho, and coverage notes comparisons to HBO’s Chernobyl.