Tamal Kundu
Created by Pablo Illanes, ‘Netflix’s ‘Fake Profile’ or ‘Perfil Falso’ is a Spanish-language Colombian romantic thriller series. It revolves around Camila Román (Carolina Miranda), an exotic dancer in Las Vegas. She meets Fernando Castell, a charming Colombian man claiming to be a Cartagena plastic surgeon, on a dating app. There is instant chemistry, and a relationship develops over four months. After spending some time apart, Camila decides to visit Fernando in Colombia and is stunned to discover that even though there is a plastic surgeon named Fernando Castell in Cartagena, he is not the man she knows.
That man’s name is Miguel Estévez, an engineer with a wife and two children who works for his father-in-law’s company. With the apparent intention of not letting Miguel hurt any more women, she moves into the house beside his family’s in a gated community. As a suspense thriller series, ‘Fake Profile’ succeeds in introducing new mysteries in the story until the very last episode of season 1. None of the characters can be considered truly good, not even Camila. If you wonder whether it is based on true events, we have you covered.
Fake Profile is Entirely Fictional
No, ‘Fake Profile’ is not based on a true story. Illanes seems to have developed the series from a script he himself penned. Klych López and Catalina Hernández share the directing credits on the series. Because of the considerable sexual content, there is an obvious comparison with ‘365 Days’ and its sequels, though ‘Fake Profile’ is objectively better. It has several genuine moments of mystery and shock that will surprise the audience. Actress Manuela González, who portrays Miguel’s wife, Ángela Ferrer, in the series, said in an interview that the audience should anticipate nothing and enjoy the show step by step.
Each episode ends on a cliffhanger, enticing the audience to watch the next episode. In a world dominated by technology, certain aspects of ‘Fake Profile’ are grounded in reality by design. The eponymous issue and catfishing are quite rampant on dating apps. Many people who have sought love and pleasure online have their share of horror stories on the subject. According to González, it is becoming increasingly difficult to know who a person truly is because of the online tools to alter every aspect of their physical appearance.
As a show, ‘Fake Profile’ takes these elements from real life and uses them as themes. We see the negative impact of technology on Miguel and Ángela’s son, Lucas, who installs surveillance devices in Camile’s home and keeps an eye on her. In the process, he catches a glimpse of his father’s infidelity. Although acting, writing, and direction are pretty realistic in ‘Fake Profile,’ it does resemble telenovelas from that region. The sex, drama, and mystery only add to the series’s narrative, turning it into wholesome entertainment.
Like her character, González is a mother in the real life. She and her husband have decided to be somewhat transparent with their lives on social media and have photos of their children on their accounts. But the children are still very young and are kept at a distance from any electronic device. In many ways, ‘Fake Profile’ is a traditional mystery series for a modern audience. Almost all the characters that inhabit it are incredibly complex. Their actions are often driven by what they consider to be the greater good, which almost inevitably brings chaos to their lives. So, to sum it all up, the reality of today’s world inspires certain aspects of ‘Fake Profile, but the Netflix series is not based on a true story.
Read More: Where is Netflix’s Fake Profile Filmed?
