A major hit in Brazil and one of the most talked-about series of the year, Tremembé is based on the book Tremembé: A Prisão dos Famosos (“Tremembé: The Prison of the Famous”), written by journalist Ulisses Campbell. The show reconstructs the world surrounding the country’s most notorious penitentiary, exposing the political, emotional, and social layers behind the crimes that placed those men behind bars — and the society that feeds on their stories.

By portraying not only the inmates but the environment around them — grieving families, ambitious lawyers, sensationalist media, and a public eager for real-life drama — Tremembé becomes more than a series. It becomes a mirror. And sometimes what it reflects is uncomfortable.

At a time when True Crime dominates global streaming, the series forces the essential question: how far can we turn real tragedies into entertainment without violating the memory of those who suffered them?

The reaction in Brazil echoes the backlash that followed Netflix’s Dahmer: families feeling retraumatized, overshadowed by narratives that often prioritize drama over truth. Meanwhile, some criminals — or their relatives — are gaining followers and monetizing their notoriety on social media. Pain becomes content. Crime becomes currency.

I’m not opposed to retelling real stories. What concerns me is the growing use of “creative liberties” that distort facts for the sake of drama. In the Ed Gein case, for example, inventing a sexual relationship between a victim and her killer crosses a boundary I consider ethically indefensible. It adds nothing but violence.

So the question is not whether we should revisit tragedies — but how.

How do we bring a new perspective without causing new harm?

How do we dramatize without falsifying?

How do we respect the dead without rewriting their suffering?

Perhaps the only viable path is centering victims and families, ensuring ethical responsibility from the creators, and resisting the urge to turn true stories into shock-value fiction.

If Tremembé sparked this debate, it has already achieved something meaningful. In an era of true crime consumption, empathy cannot be optional. And by the way, the series is one of the best local productions of the year.