Inspired by the successful North American franchise, the reality show Cheapskate Brazil premieres on the Max streaming platform this Thursday (18). The production aims to show extreme savings strategies created by Brazilians from all over the country.
Muquiranas Brasil has eight episodes in total. The platform will release two episodes per week, with fun stories of Brazilians who are “stingy by conviction”. The reality show addresses not only their incredible strategies, but also their relationships with friends and family and the impact that savings have on their lives.
Brazilian way
“The objective of the production was to localize a format that was already very successful for us and to actually show what is original about the Brazilian theme portrayed in the North American version,” said Luciana Soligo, producer of the series, in an interview with CNN .
Fernando Contreras, vice-president of Endemol, a company that is also part of the production of the reality show, believes that the Brazilian version differs from the original work by bringing the “Brazilian way”.
“In the United States, we have a culture that is more consumerist by nature. So I think that the cheapskate people there actually try to find ways to continue consuming things more cheaply. Brazilians don’t, they actually save their money. I think that another issue in the Brazilian series is the creativity of Brazilians in finding ways to save money,” the professional pointed out.
The production stingy people develop strategies such as reusing bath water to wash clothes, creating ecosystems that reuse rainwater, manufacturing their own weight training equipment and even using clothes from dead relatives.
Luciana explains that some of the techniques used by the muquiranas cause shock, such as using plastic bags as dental floss, not using toilet paper, and even collecting food scraps. However, the series seeks to go further by also promote information and reflection.
Important reflections promoted in Muquiranas Brasil
“We put a little more information there than the original version had, such as how much that person saves by doing a certain strategy so that whoever is watching has a little more information and the option to say ‘Hey, I want that for my life’ or maybe ‘I’m out of that technique’. The narration also present in the reality show provides a bit of a counterpoint by commenting on the techniques”, she said.
According to Fernando, there is also the goal of promoting reflection on waste. “There is a very clear service there, which is basically for us to reflect on our own spending. I think many people watching will also be able to identify with it.”
“I don’t necessarily need to reuse dental floss like some people do, but if we stop to think, don’t we use more dental floss than we need? Don’t we throw away too much? I think it really makes us think about waste and the good use of money,” he adds.
How were the people selected for the reality show?
Casting for Muquiranas Brasil was carried out throughout Brazil, say the producers.
“Our initial plan was for them to be people who save because they really wanted to, as a lifestyle choice, not out of necessity, because they don’t have money. Many of them, in fact, have a lot of money saved and own properties. In addition, they were people who were proud of this lifestyle strategy and wanted to share it naturally and comfortably in front of the cameras,” explains Luciana.
“What we deliver, in essence, are stories of real people, and the strength of these stories is what builds everything,” adds Fernando. “It was a long process, a process of taking care to understand the characteristics of the characters, understand the environment in which they live, their relationships with family and relatives.”
Recently, Max and Endemol also delivered a Brazilian version of the North American hit “Quilos Mortais”.
Source: CNN Brasil
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