Invisible City is a Brazilian fantasy series created by Carlos Saldanha and released by Netflix in 2021, with Marco Pigossi as Eric, an environmental police officer who encounters entities from Brazilian folklore after a family tragedy. Its defining choice is to portray the boto, Cuca, Iara, Curupira, and other beings as residents of a contemporary city, connecting a police investigation, grief, and popular mythology without reducing folklore to a classroom supplement.
The story of Invisible City deepens when Eric realizes that the family mystery, his wife's death, and the appearance of hidden creatures belong to the same urban fabric. Luna makes the investigation more intimate because her bond with Eric turns the case into a matter of family inheritance and a concrete risk to the child's future.
Eric, Luna, and folklore hidden in the city
The series uses an investigation as its entry point into a world that already exists before Eric discovers it. The environmental police, alleys, beach, and nighttime encounters create a layer of suspense, while the entities appear as people with routines, desires, anger, and fear.
This choice changes the weight of the folklore because every figure serves a dramatic function, with a recognizable appearance placed at the service of the conflict. Cuca is associated with memory, guilt, and protection; Iara appears around seduction and survival; and Curupira brings the forest into a story that begins on asphalt.
| Driving character | What they set in motion |
|---|---|
| Eric | Investigates a family loss and discovers the hidden city. |
| Luna | Connects family, inheritance, and supernatural consequences. |
| Inês | Reinterprets Cuca as a force of memory and authority. |
| Camila | Brings Iara into conflicts of affection, danger, and identity. |
The table helps show how Invisible City organizes folklore by narrative function, allowing mythical characters to take part in the investigation without becoming a glossary.
Cuca, Iara, and season two's Amazonian turn
According to official Netflix material, the second season moves part of its focus to the area around Belém, Pará, and brings Eric close to a nature reserve protected by Indigenous peoples. The threat begins to involve economic exploitation and territorial defense, changing the scale of the fantasy without abandoning the family bond.
Alessandra Negrini continues to anchor Cuca's presence, while Eric and Luna carry the consequences of the first phase. The season trades some of its urban suspense for a territory more closely connected to the Amazon and the dispute over natural wealth.
The Netflix Media Center describes Eric returning to life in sacred waters near Belém and trying to find Luna. The official description distinguishes season two from a repetition of the initial investigation and places Luna's protection at the emotional center of the series.
Netflix Brazil, Belém, trailers, and the campaign
One concrete point of interest is that Netflix announced the renewal of Invisible City on March 2, 2021, noting that the series had entered the list of most-watched titles in more than 40 countries for at least one day. Production continued with Prodigo Films, and season two received its own campaign with a premiere date set for March 22, 2023.
The official trailers also show the change in scale. Netflix Brazil's video for the first season asks what it would mean for Brazilian legends to live among humans, while the second-season trailer replaces that initial curiosity with family urgency, Belém, and a threat to a protected area.
Another identifying feature is the international title Invisible City, used by the Media Center and in the platform's global materials. This variation is useful for searches and catalog records because the same content circulates as Cidade Invisível in Brazil and Invisible City in foreign catalogs, with Netflix, Carlos Saldanha, and Brazilian folklore remaining its main points of identification.