Tamal Kundu
Created by Natalia Klein, who also portrays Verônica Morticia and serves as the main narrator, ‘Maldivas’ is a comedy thriller show that revolves around residents of the eponymous condominium in Rio de Janeiro. Liz Lobato (Bruna Marquezine) comes to Maldivas to find her estranged mother, Patricia Duque or Leia but discovers that Patricia’s apartment is on fire. Believing that her mother has died under mysterious circumstances, Liz uses her training as a forensic scientist to figure out what really happened. Both she and the police’s initial suspects are three women known as the Queens of Maldivas — Kat, Rayssa, and Milene. Each of them had reasons to want Patricia dead.
‘Maldivas’ perfectly balances its comedic and dramatic elements. If the show’s detailed exploration of life in a city condominium has made you wonder whether it is based on a true story, we got you covered.
Is Maldivas a True Story?
No, ‘Maldivas’ is not based on a true story. In an interview with E! Online Brasil at the premiere of the series, Klein revealed that she had the idea for the show for a while. “I had the idea of this place a lot, I had a lot of the image of this condominium, almost out of reality, in a very specific aesthetic, with these unique residents, an almost parallel world. That was the first thing that crossed my mind,” she said.
Klein also added that she and Netflix wanted to collaborate for a while, and ‘Maldivas’ gave them that opportunity. She also clarified that there was no single inspiration for ‘Maldivas.’ Instead, it was a combination of what was happening in her life at the time. “And we really wanted to make a series, me and Netflix, that had elements of comedy and drama,” she said. “That had a mystery so that the viewer could keep watching, so we wanted this mix of genres, so it kind of all came together and then came ‘Maldivas.’ It didn’t come from any single inspiration, it was a lot of coincidences that were happening in my life at that moment and I thought, ‘This is it.'”
According to actress Manu Gavassi, who portrays Milene in the show, she became interested in the series after learning that Klein was helming the project. Although Milene wasn’t necessarily written for her, Gavassi immediately fell in love with the character and her psychosis.
“I thought she was a character that allowed a lot of things, she has the poetic license of her being a great debauchery, that she can be extremely fun,” the ‘Me Sinto Bem Com Você’ actress explained. At the same time when you understand that woman’s vulnerability, how she feels inside that apartment, you hand her a cloth. You think, ‘Man, I know what it’s like to feel like this.’ I think everyone, every woman knows what it’s like to try to mold yourself to something or someone. It’s a universal feeling. When I saw that I had these two possibilities, as an actress I really wanted to play Milene.” Clearly, ‘Maldivas’ is not based on a true story, but it’s completely understandable if someone thinks it is.
Read More: Maldivas Ending, Explained
