We’ve seen so many IP plays on streaming, we’ve lost count. The ones that are the most interesting to us are the ones that are sequels to decades-old films, where we revisit old characters and get to know new ones. But the producers of those sequel series have to figure out how to bring new fans who might not have seen the original film into the fold. A new Brazilian series, a sequel to a film from 2002, almost succeeds at that.

Opening Shot: We see a closeup of a knife being sharpened, while we see an aerial view of a favela in Rio de Janeiro. Then we see a man walking around holding a camera.

The Gist: Wilson Rodrigues (Alexandre Rodrigues) hasn’t lived in the City Of God favela for a number of years, but he’s still working there as a photojournalist. It’s 2004 and he’s been working this beat since being on the scene as a teen 20 years prior, capturing a gang battle between a group called The Runts and another group of teen drug dealers at Apartments Corner. A closeup of the bleeding head of one Runts leader, Li’l Zé, launched the career of the man the everyone in the neighborhood calls “Rocket.”

There is still plenty of crime in City of God, and lots of firefights between police, the military and gangs, and Rocket is there to capture all of it. Also, his mother and teenage daughter still live in the favela, though his relationship with his daughter is frosty.

Many of the people he grew up with in the favela are still there, including his best friend Barbantinho (Edson Oliveira), who is now in the Residents’ Association and running for a council spot. He is well-loved in the neighborhood and is looking to clean up much of the violence that still affects the area. Also among the “good guys” in the favela are Cinthia (Sabrina Rosa) and her son Delano (Dhonata Augusto). We later meet Berenice (Roberta Rodrigues), who has had too much experience falling for thugs in the favela, and has become a de facto mother to kids in the neighborhood.

Among the not-so-good people is Reginaldo (Kiko Marques), a crooked cop that was nicknamed “Melonhead” in the neighborhood. He’s somehow failed upwards to become the city’s Secretary of Public Security, and he still takes copious kickbacks. There’s also Genivaldo Curió (Marcos Palmeira), who took over the Apartments Corner drug trade when the Runts messed it up. He’s actually well thought of in the neighborhood because he’s generous and has brought relative stability to the area.

Curió wants Rocket to photograph his daughter’s quinceañera, to which Rocket reluctantly agrees. He’s especially perturbed to see his daughter twerking on stage. But everyone gets a surprise when Bradock (Thiago Martins) shows up; he was the leader of The Runts and became like a son to Curió, but he just got out of a six-year prison stint and wants to be back in charge of Apartments Corner. Curió, however, has given the corner to his actual son, angering both Bradock and his girlfriend Jerusa (Andréia Horta). In fact, Jerusa might be even more enraged about the disrespect Bradock is getting than Bradock is; she helped get him out of prison in order for them to take over the corner, unbeknownst to Curió.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? City Of God: The Fight Rages On is a sequel to the 2002 film City Of God, based on the novel of the same name by Paulo Lins; the original film took place in 1984.

Our Take: Like in most series sequels to decades-old films, the writers of City Of God: The Fight Rages On tries to give the fans of the original film insight into what the returning characters are doing now while introducing new characters and making the show accessible to people who never saw the original film. They mostly succeed, but the jumble of characters may make it difficult for newcomers to figure out just who is loyal to whom.

This is a byproduct of the nature of crime in City of God; the drug trade there is a fact of life and an economic driver. It’s the reason why Curió, despite essentially being a crime boss, is well-respected by residents in the favela as well as people like Rocket. Yes, Rocket may think Curió is a charmer and bloviator, but he’s also not going to refuse when Curió asks him to photograph the party he’s throwing for his daughter.

So, while Rocket’s narration sets whom he considers to be the favela’s good guys and bad guys, no one is completely clean. This extends to Rocket; there’s a reason why he was there to take the picture of Li’l Zé’s body that launched his career. If you’re a newcomer to these characters, it’s hard to really keep track of just where everyone is in the pecking order of things in the favela.

Even Bradock’s demands to take the corner over aren’t quite as clear-cut criminal as it might seem, considering he seems to be pushed by Jerusa as much as his own criminal ambitions. In fact, the only person in the entire group that could be considered straight nuts is Jerusa, which is why she apparently has the nickname “Crazy”.

The show does give newcomers plenty of chance to get into the story, with Rocket’s narration and flashbacks to the film. We just hope that we get a little more clarity on some of the character’s in the first season’s subsequent five episodes.

Sex and Skin: Bradock and Jerusa are shown having sex, but Jerusa somehow keeps her bra on.

Parting Shot: After Jerusa puts a bullet in the head of one of Curió’s men, Bradock looks on in shock. “Curió wants a war? He’s got it,” she says.

Sleeper Star: Andréia Horta’s Jerusa is the wild card of the cast, as we discussed above. And Horta does a good job of portraying her barely-controlled thirst for power.

Most Pilot-y Line: If the freeze-frames we see represent Rocket’s photos, they are the worst photos we’ve ever seen coming from a photojournalist.

Our Call: STREAM IT. City Of God: The Fight Rages On is a touch confusing to those who didn’t watch the original 2002 film, but has potential to be a tense thriller of a series after the first episode, which introduces us to characters both old and new.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.