It’s hard being a child performer. Even harder to be a former child performer. No one knows this better than the titular protagonist of Netflix’s Brazilian comedy Samantha! Played by Emanuelle Araujo in present day, Samantha used to be a sensation when she was younger as part of The Plimploms, a kiddie trio whose spacey costumes would’ve been right at home on Xuxa’s morning shows. Indeed, it’s that ’80s nostalgia that the comedy mines as it follows a washed up Samantha trying to make sense of her life devoid of fame and plenty of responsibilities. That includes her former (and disgraced) soccer player husband and her two kids.
The colorful satire of Brazilian has-beens taps into collective memories of Xuxa’s outlandish costumes, and former kid star Simony’s attempts to reclaim her ’80s fame. And for its second season, the show is making its protagonist deal firsthand with how little she’s grown since becoming a star. Her former Plimpoms bandmates, turns out have written a tell-all. Titled Samonstra, the book already tells you just how well she comes off. Moreover, they are planning on adapting it for the big screen. “This is torture. We suffered emotional torture in her hands,” they claim in the trailer as we see a young Samantha (in a cutesy Barbarella-like getup) throwing a tantrum. Which cuts to: present-day Samantha not doing any better at controlling her temper. “Unlike what those jerks say, I did grow up,” she complains. “Who paid singlehandedly to renovate this house? I did. With my honest work: selling beer, judging kids, and having a TV wedding!” Giving you The Comeback vibes, the Brazilian comedy is tailor-made for those who relish seeing an actress at the edge of a nervous breakdown.
Take a look below at the full trailer and see how Araujo’s Samantha deals with such bad publicity, a planned stage-bound comeback, and a slew of lookalikes hoping to play her on screen.
Samantha! season two is currently streaming on Netflix.