# Merciless (2014)

> A charming young Brazilian man hides a cold-blooded serial killer behind a flawless public image while the police close in.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/57508

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 13
- Episode runtime: 48 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: crime, drama
- Created by: Glória Perez
- Network: TV Globo
- Cast: Bruno Gagliasso, Débora Falabella, Luana Piovani, Marcello Novaes, Marisa Orth, Aderbal Freire Filho, Paulo Tiefenthaler, Yanna Lavigne
- TMDB rating: 7.5/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4050554/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: brutal
- Tone: tense, unsettling, dread-filled, melodramatic, suspenseful

## Synopsis

Merciless (2014) is a Brazilian crime drama series created by Glória Perez for TV Globo, a single-season run of thirteen hour-long episodes. Bruno Gagliasso plays Eduardo Borges, a handsome, sensitive young man who presents himself as above all suspicion, while beneath that polished surface he is a cold, conniving serial killer who murders purely for pleasure. Débora Falabella plays Ray, and Marcello Novaes plays Delegado Alexandre Dias, the police detective whose investigation into a string of crimes slowly draws closer to the hidden predator. Luana Piovani and Marisa Orth round out the principal cast in a story of social masks and secret lives. The engine of the series is the tension between the killer's need to keep his double life intact and the mounting pressure of an investigation that threatens to unmask him. Each episode layers suspense with the melodramatic sweep familiar from Brazilian primetime television, building toward a tightly plotted conclusion. Set in contemporary Brazil among urban elites, the series is dark, tense and unsettling, with a steady dread that comes from watching a charming face conceal violence. Viewers who enjoy Dexter and the psychological menace of Hannibal will find resonance here, along with fans of Brazilian crime serials looking for something more intense than a typical telenovela.

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