Summary
Brazillian Series Nobody’s Looking provides a fresh comedy take on guardian angels. Season 1 is inventive and imaginative.
There are many depictions of a guardian angel, including Nic Cage’s famous City of Angels, but I don’t think there are many modernized takes like Netflix series Nobody’s Looking Season 1. The angels (referred to as angelus in the Brazillian series) all wear the same dull clothing — a white shirt and a red tie, with some barely flappable wings that are attached to their backs. The Netflix series is designed to make the angels look as “corporate” as possible; making the art of saving look like a routine process rather than a moment of heroics.
And it’s interesting to note that the angels in Nobody’s Looking do not think very highly of humans. They consider humans to be unremarkable and docile. The angels believe the term “luck” is merely a reflection of the angel’s hard work to ensure no-one dies.
Of course, the humans in Nobody’s Looking cannot see the angels, making the production feel creative, with an edge of comedy. The angels make everything look coincidental to avoid injury and sudden death. The Brazilian series becomes its own story when it introduces us to lead character Uli, a new angel on the block who thinks of humans in higher regard and his curiosity gets the better of him.
The comedy arrives when Uli questions their processes and the cold approach towards helping humans. Uli is flagrantly different from his colleagues from the offset. He is a character that epitomises pure empathy and longing to watch others enjoy their experiences. His indifference is the charm of Nobody’s Looking as he has to clumsily adjust to the corporate nature of being an angelus.
It’s strange that Nobody’s Looking Season 1 has had little advertisement or promo by Netflix. The series has slid onto the thumbnails with barely an applause. It deserves more attention than it is getting, with its imagination and inventive take. The comedy is slightly corny, the angels’ appearances are outrageously plain and frantic at the same time, but there’s a certain charm as Uli becomes accustomed to his new world and applies his own kindness.
